prolog

1. Products and Markets
Market Forces - The Invisible Hand
That's a product so far
The Economics of Organ Trading
The pain of a bubble bursting
Farmer's Paradox
Lessons from Price Ceilings
The Economics of Marriage
Things money can't buy

2. The Foundations of Economic Thinking
The 'high school rookie' of the pro league
Opportunity Cost - Cost from an Economic Perspective
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Sunk Costs - Let the past be the past.
Concorde's error
Jo Sam Mo Sa
Marshmallow Story
Coca-Cola Index and Chocolate Index
Let's say we have a can opener.
The effectiveness of economics education

3 The World of Consumers
The more the better?
When the price of barley falls
The Economics of Conspicuous Consumption
Should I quit smoking if it's expensive?
Why Are Americans Getting Fat?
Starbucks' humiliation
Exchange benefits everyone
Why won't book hoarding disappear?

4 The World of Business
The company with the longest history in the world
Corporate Social Responsibility
Is profit the only ultimate goal for a company?
Maximize stock price?
X-efficiency - efficiency that exists as a bonus
Economies of scale - bigger is better
Economies of scope - the wider the better
Coca-Cola's ingenious sales strategy
Raw rubber prices and tire prices

Competition in the 5 markets
Perfect Competition - Why We Care, Even When It's Hard to Find
Why are monopolies bad?
The story of a country doctor
The hidden meaning of bargain sale
To be good at bargaining
Amusement Park Story
A big chicken?
Are you really going to destroy the price?
Competitive Market - The Wolf Outside the Fence
Why are all the snacks at movie theater concessions the same price?

6 Distribution of economic fruits
What is a just distribution?
Who becomes poor and who becomes rich?
Home - A Hotbed of Inequality
Gini coefficient - Blind man touching an elephant
Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century
The Economics of Superstars
Who is middle class?
Who is poor?
bucket with holes in it
Trickle-down effect and sticky effect
Shouldn't I be charged interest?
Rent Seeking - A Way to Make Big Money Easily
Economic Rent - What if the number of people passing the bar exam increases significantly?

7 National income
Gross Domestic Product - the income earned by all citizens
Economic growth and business cycles
Nominal or Substantial
The boundary problem of GDP - what can be included in GDP?
Private education expenses and national income
Does a higher per capita national income mean a better life?
NEW, Green GDP, National Happiness Index
Underground economy - economic activities that are not readily apparent to the public
The Economics of Natural Disasters

8 Unemployment and Inflation
What is unemployment?
The Truth About Unemployment Statistics
0% unemployment and full employment
Ocon's Law - The relationship between the rate of change in the unemployment rate and the rate of change in GDP.
Why fear inflation?
What does stable prices mean?
Inflation over the past 100 years
History of Hyperinflation
Is inflation a monetary phenomenon?
Which products are subject to the Consumer Price Survey?
What impact will the introduction of 'Shin Ramyun Black' have on prices?
How reliable are price statistics?
Various inflations in the world
Economic Misery Index

9 Business Cycles: The Cyclical Cycle of the Economy
Indicators of unofficial economic fluctuations
When is a recession?
What is the difference between a recession and a panic?
There's no need to be too afraid of a recession.
Lessons from the Great Depression
Inflation or Unemployment - Which Is the More Serious Problem?
Political Fluctuations - The Money Wind Blows During Election Season
Once you say something, you must keep it.
The foreign exchange crisis of 1997 and the financial crisis of 2008

10 Currency and Banking
The ever-changing face of money
The Money Story of Yap Island
Bitcoin - A Virtual Currency with a Growing Range of Uses
What if all the paper money and coins disappeared from this world?
Atahualpa's Revenge
The Story of the Congressional Babysitting Cooperative
The origins of banking
Do commercial banks also create money?
History of Central Banks
Will Cryptocurrency Drive Out Central Banks?

11 Keynesian Economic Theory and Its Critics
Keynesian Revolution
What if there is no flexibility in wages?
The Paradox of Savings - Is Saving a Vice?
The Multiplier Effect - The Power of a Bucket of Water
Crowding-out effect - government spending crowds out private sector investment.
Stagflation - Simultaneous occurrence of job insecurity and price instability.
Rational Expectations - Why Expectations About the Future Matter
Rational Expectations Theory - Economic Stabilization Policies Achieve Nothing?
Keynesian vs.
Chicago School 1
Keynesian vs.
Chicago School 2

12? Economic growth and development
Easterlin's Paradox - Does Happiness Increase as Income Increases?
A Dismal Science - Malthus's Dismal Prospects
The 20th Century - A Century of Dazzling Growth
Convergence - a long and difficult road
Growth Accounting - What Drives Economic Growth?
Jobless Growth - Why Are There No More Jobs Despite Growth?
Eating quickly increases growth rate?
Why do the levels of development differ across countries?
The tragedy of Liberia
The resource curse - having an abundance of resources isn't necessarily a good thing.

13 International Trade and Finance
Principle of comparative advantage
Why China Exports Sneakers
Intra-industry Trade - Why do Germany and Japan buy and sell cars to each other?
Product Life Cycle Theory - Malaysia Exports Computers?
Why Protectionism Is Necessary
Candle Makers' Petition
Does globalization lead to polarization in income distribution?
The Truth About Balance of Payments Surpluses and Deficits
Big Mac Index - Compare Burger Prices Around the World
Why the world is paying attention to US interest rates
Will raising the exchange rate reduce the balance of payments deficit?
Benefits of issuing currency

14 A World of Uncertainty
The Benefits of Diversification - Umbrella and Clog Businesses
The St. Petersburg Paradox: Why People Don't Bet on Hugely Beneficial Bets
Insurance and lottery
The origins of the insurance industry
Gifts - A Means of Hedging Risk 1
Options - A Means of Hedging Risk 2
stock options
Derivative financial products

15? Choices in strategic situations
Game theory and economics
A Beautiful Mind
The Suspect's Dilemma Game - To Confess or Not to Confess, That Is the Question
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth strategy: inducing cooperation through retaliation against the opponent.
The Truth of Multiples - Reduce your own choices to achieve better results.
First mover advantage - it's advantageous to beat the first mover.
The Winner's Misfortune - Don't be quick to celebrate your winnings at auction.
Free agents in professional sports - not necessarily "eat-and-run"
Negotiation Skills 1
The Art of Negotiation 2

16? Information is valuable
Information and search behavior
Restaurants and cafeterias in front of the station
How to Choose a Good Restaurant
The price of a large bowl of Jjajangmyeon
Theory of the Used Car Market: Why Buying a Used Car Based on Appearance Is Scary
Adverse selection - Murphy's Law?
Ripe rice bows its head
The principal-agent problem: the agent may seek to prioritize his own interests.
How can we prevent moral decay?
Theory of Efficiency Wages - The size of wages determines workers' productivity.
Let them each do their own thing?

17 Markets and Government
Does the market bring us paradise?
government failure
The Public Goods Problem: Why States Should Be Responsible for National Defense
The Problem of Externalities - Can Markets Solve Pollution?
The Fable of the Bees
The nature of the crisis facing basic science
Wagner's Law
The Economics of Corruption

18 Environmental Conservation Issues
tragedy of the commons
Environmental issues in human history
The Great Odor Incident and the Great Smog Incident
Silent Spring
The consequences of global warming
Taxing livestock farts?

19? Social Choice and Economic Welfare
Compensation Principle - Evaluate improvement by comparing gains and losses measured in monetary units.
Theory of Second Bests - Counting the number of unsatisfied conditions is meaningless.
Impossibility Theorem: There is no democratic and efficient way to make group decisions.
The Paradox of Voting: Changing the Order of Comparisons Can Change the Voting Results
Point Voting System - Allows for the Strength of Preferences to be Expressed
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Meteorite Impacts
The value of life—like it or not—can only be measured in monetary terms.
Value of Existence - What is the value of the great tit of Gwangneung Forest?

20 The World of Taxation
Tax Story
Theatrical performances and taxes
Excessive tax burden - the actual burden on taxpayers is greater than the taxes paid.
Shifting the burden of taxation - the burden can be passed on to others.
Will lowering income tax rates lead to more people working?
Inflation tax - rising prices reduce government debt
Fat Tax - The Government Intervenes in What We Eat
The Economics of Tax Evasion

21 Human Economics
Behavioral Economics: Economics That Feel the Warmth of Humanity
Heuristics - You don't always have to use a calculator.
The Anchoring Effect - The Magic of Meaningless Numbers
Loss aversion - I really hate losing money.
The Endowment Effect - You Don't Want to Lose What You Have
The frame effect - just a change in expression
Mental Accounting - Every Money Has Its Own Address
Self-serving bias - We believe we are different.
Confirmation bias - it's impossible to convince someone of something they don't agree with.
The paradox of packaged goods
'Gwichanism' is a reality of our lives.
If you don't like it, don't play the game - Just because you have a sword doesn't mean you can swing it around as you please.
Will everyone try to free ride on public goods?

Lives of 22 Great Economists
Adam Smith (1723-1790) - The grandfather of economics
David Ricardo (1772-1823) - wealthy radical
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) - A genius who could not focus solely on economics.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) - A fierce critic of the capitalist system
Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) - the first American economist
Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) - A man who demanded a cool head and a warm heart.
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) - The last giant of economics
Epilogue??