Economics – The Key Concepts

Citation

Edwards, P. (2008), "Economics – The Key Concepts", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 35 No. 1/2, pp. 133-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290810843891

Economics – The Key Concepts is a fantastic book for those who are new to economics or need a quick reference for specific concepts in the field. The book is written in simple, straightforward language, easy to understand for all levels. The concepts covered and their explanations are particularly useful for those who are in the early phases of their economic journey. For this audience, Rutherford covers a diverse range of facets of economics, including micro‐ and macro‐economics, labour, environmental, and resource economics, to name a few. To me, this gives the book a wide, interdisciplinary appeal.

The book is well organized, with a comprehensive list of the key concepts covered at the front of the book for quick reference, as well as a full index. Economics – The Key Concepts is set up for easy use, with all of the concepts used in alphabetical order. Concepts that are used in the explanation of other concepts are, with some exceptions, bolded for easy cross reference. Additional concepts in the book that are closely related are given at the end of the explanation to facilitate a broader understanding of a particular economic field.

This book encourages further research to understand concepts in greater detail. Throughout the text of the explanations, Rutherford integrates the work of notable authors in the field with, for the most part, the full reference in the extensive bibliography at the end of the book. At the end of most individual concept explanations, there are several additional references for additional reading; the full citation is again in the bibliography.

Each concept comprises several distinct components. They commence with a brief, generic dictionary‐type definition, followed by a more detailed explanation, drawing on one or more facets of economics (environmental, labour, etc.) or other fields, such as politics and government. This helps to integrate economics into a broader, holistic context. These definitions and explanations are detailed, yet short enough that they do not lose the reader's interest.

One distinct downside to this book is the lack of figures and diagrams, which would be highly complementary to the text in a number of cases. Certain concepts such as the cycles involved with accelerators, the demand curve, cost curves and trade cycles could be more easily understood by neophytes with figures or diagrams. This might be even more relevant when they are used to explain other related concepts, allowing the reader to visualize the connections. Ironically, while 279 concepts are defined and explained, there are a number of specialised terms that are used repeatedly in the text without any clarification. Explaining these concepts, such as Paretian ideas, ceteris paribus and zero‐sum game, would improve understanding for non‐economists.