To the Instructor

Economics is a living discipline, changing and evolving in response to
developments in the world economy and in response to the research of
many thousands of economists throughout the world. Through sixteen
editions, Microeconomics has evolved with the discipline. Our purpose in
this edition, as in the previous fifteen, is to provide students with an
introduction to the major issues facing the world’s economies, to the
methods that economists use to study those issues, and to the policy
problems that those issues create. Our treatment is everywhere guided by
three important principles:

1. Economics is scientific, in the sense that it progresses through the

systematic confrontation of theory by evidence. Neither theory

nor data alone can tell us much about the world, but combined

they tell us a great deal.

2. Economics is relevant, and it should be seen by students to be so.

An understanding of economic theory combined with knowledge

about the economy produces many important insights about

economic policy. Although we stress these insights, we are also

careful to point out cases in which too little is known to support

strong statements about public policy. Appreciating what is not

known is as important as learning what is known.

3. We strive always to be honest with our readers. Although we

know that economics is not always easy, we do not approve of