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The Economics of Social Issues

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The Economics of Social Issues

First Edition   Self, © 2017, 274 pages

This textbook is suitable as a supplement in an economics course.

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About the Author

Sharmistha Self person
Sharmistha Self was born and raised in India. She came to the United States in 1994 to pursue graduate studies in Economics. She received her Ph.D in Economics from Southern Illinois University in 2002. After teaching at St. John’s University in Minnesota for four years, she moved to Missouri State University in 2006 and has been working there ever since. She is currently a Professor of Economics at Missouri State University. Self teaches in a variety of areas but her research expertise lies mainly in development economics with a focus on development issues in Asia. Self is also interested in the teaching of economics and has published journal articles related to this line of research. She has published several scholarly journal articles on different aspects of economic development including education, healthcare, and gender related issues. Her most recent publications have focused on the importance of improving female autonomy to achieve economic development in developing countries in South Asia. She has co-authored a scholarly textbook on development economics Economic Development: A Regional, Institutional, and Historical Approach which was published in 2007 and it currently in its second edition. This book has also been translated into Japanese and is being studied in Development Economics courses in Colleges in Japan.

Description

The basic pedagogical approach to this book is to focus on contemporary social issues in America and to use Economics as a tool to better understand the social issues. The approach is not a quantitative or a theoretical one but rather a very hands-on and practical approach to social issues. Thus, the economic theory has been kept to a minimum. The objective of this text is to use basic Economic Principles to understand and explain social issues that Americans face on a regular basis. What makes this book unique is that the social issues addressed in this book are those identified by the American people, revealed via their responses to public polls. This is the first time an attempt such as this has been made.

One may wonder why would we use Economics to understand social issues, or where does Economics fit in with social issues. This question usually arises from a lack of understanding what the subject of Economics is about. Economics explains how we allocate resources which basically translates in simple English to what determines the choices we make. Social issues develop as a result of choices we make. Thus, the connection between social issues and Economics is almost inextricable. The expectation is for students to be able to see just how inextricably different social issues are connected with each other and with economics. One can try to visualize the relationship between Economics and social issues like looking at either side of a two-sided picture. Each side gives you a different perspective but both are looking at the same picture. We hope, the reader will be able to see both sides of the picture through the experience of what they learn from this text.

Even though the primary focus of this text is on social issues, it also wants students to learn and appreciate Economics because it provides the tools to understand the social issues. We hope a textbook like this one will dispel the myth about Economics being a ‘hard’ or difficult’ subject and enable students to see just how helpful Economics can really be. This is an introductory level textbook so it provides an overview and does not go in-depth into the social issues being discussed or into the economic theories being used to understand the social issues. However, the hope is to make students aware and interested both in the social issues and in Economics. No prior knowledge of Economics is necessary to use this textbook.

In the first Chapter we lay out the different issues which have been identified by the American people as being top priority issues. In Chapter Two, we lay out some basic Economics Principles and Theories. We return to these principles and theories as we discuss individual social issues in the following chapters. Thereafter, the chapters follow a predictable pattern. Each chapter begins by introducing students to a particular social issue. It offers a brief historical context to understand where and how this issue originated. Thereafter, the chapter explains where things stand today and the different views Americans have about this particular issue. Finally, the student is shown how simple theories which were introduced at the beginning of the textbook can be applied to understand deeper social issues troubling America today.

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