PART 2: 『Principles of Economics 5th edition』 Gregory N. Mankiw

1. Economists try to address their subject with a scientistﾁsobjectivity. Like all scientists, they take appropriate assumptions and build simplified models in order tounderstand the world around them. Two simple economic models are the circular-flow diagram and the production possibilities frontier.

2. The field of economics is divided into two subfields:microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomist sstudy decisionmaking by households and firms and the interaction among households and firms in themarketplace. Macroeconomists study the forces and trends that affect the economy as a whole.

3. A positive statement is an assertion about how the world is. A normative statement is an assertion about how the world ought to be.When economists make normative statements, they are acting more as policy advisers than scientists.

4. Economists who advise policymakers offer conflicting advice either because of differences in scientific judgments or because of differences in values. At other times, economists are united in the advice they offer, but policymakers may choose to ignore it.

PART 1 : 『Principles of Economics 5th edition』 Gregory N. Mankiw

　1. The fundamental lessons about indivisual decisionmaking are that people face tradeoffs among alternative goals, that the cost of any action is measured in terms of forgone opportunities, that rational people make decisions by comparing marginal costs and benefits, and that people change their behaviors in responce to the incentives they face.

2. The fundamental lessons about interactions among people are that trade can be mutually beneficial , that markets are usually a good way of coordinating trade among people , and that the government can potentially improve market outcomes if there is some market failure or if the market outcome is inequitable.

3. The fundamental lessons about the economy as a whole are that productivity is the ultimate source of living standards, that money growth is the ultimate source of inflation, and the society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.

読書録

　アメリカの大学院では、一週間に十冊の本を読ませるらしい。某経済学者曰く、一日に一本の論文が読めなきゃ研究者にはなれないんだとか。
　これは大変や！　っつーことで、読書録を載せてみることにした。まだまだ学問的基礎がなっておらんので、それらの勉強と並行しながら二日・三日に一本書こうと思います。目標は、1400文字。極力、英語の本を読むこと。