"Let us begin with a definition of economics. Over the last half-century, the study of economics has expanded to include a vast range of topics. Here are some of the major subjects that are covered in this book:● Economics explores the behavior of the financial markets, including interest rates, exchange rates, and stock prices. ● The subject examines the reasons why some people or countries have high incomes while others are poor; it goes on to analyze ways that poverty can be reduced without harming the economy. ● It studies business cycles — the fluctuations in credit, unemployment, and inflation — along with policies to moderate them. ● Economics studies international trade and finance and the impacts of globalization, and it particularly examines the thorny issues involved in opening up borders to free trade. ● It asks how government policies can be used to pursue important such as rapid economic growth, efficient use of resources, full employment, price stability, and a fair distribution of income.This is a long list, but we could extend it many times. However, if we boil down all these definitions, we find one common theme:Economics is the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable goods and services and distribute them among different individuals"