Cover: Modern Principles of Economics, 6th Edition by Tyler Cowen; Alex Tabarrok

Modern Principles of Economics

Sixth Edition  ©2024 Tyler Cowen; Alex Tabarrok Formats: Achieve, E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Tyler Cowen

    Tyler Cowen

    Tyler Cowen is Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University. His latest book is Big Business. With Alex Tabarrok he co-writes the Marginal Revolution blog, often ranked as the #1 economics blog. He is also the author of Discover Your Inner Economist (Dutton, 2007) and numerous other books on economics. He writes regularly for the popular press on economics, including for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, and The Wilson Quarterly.  University web page: http://economics.gmu.edu/faculty/tcowen.html WATCH: Tyler Cowen at the Economic Bloggers Forum.


  • Headshot of Alex Tabarrok

    Alex Tabarrok

    Alex Tabarrok is Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Tabarrok is co-author with Tyler Cowen of the popular economics blog, Marginal Revolution. His recent research looks at bounty hunters, judicial incentives and elections, crime control, patent reform, methods to increase the supply of human organs for transplant, and the regulation of pharmaceuticals. He is the editor of the books, Entrepreneurial Economics: Bright Ideas from the Dismal Science; The Voluntary City: Choice, Community, and Civil Society; and Changing the Guard: Private Prisons and The Control of Crime. His papers have appeared in the Journal of Law and Economics, Public Choice, Economic Inquiry, Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Theoretical Politics, The American Law and Economics Review, Kyklos and many other journals. His popular articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other magazines and newspapers.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 The Big Ideas

Chapter 2 The Power of Trade and Comparative Advantage

Part I Supply and Demand

Chapter 3 Supply and Demand

Chapter 4 Equilibrium

Chapter 5 Elasticity and Its Applications

Chapter 6 Taxes and Subsidies

Part II The Price System

Chapter 7 The Price System: Signals, Speculation, and Prediction

Chapter 8 Price Ceilings and Floors

Chapter 9 International Trade

Chapter 10 Externalities: When the Price is Not Right

Part III Firms and Factor Markets

Chapter 11 Costs and Profit Maximization Under Competition

Chapter 12 Competition and the Invisible Hand

Chapter 13 Monopoly

Chapter 14 Price Discrimination and Price Strategy

Chapter 15 Oligopoly and Game Theory

Chapter 16 Networks, Platforms, and the Economics of "Free Goods"

Chapter 17 Monopolistic Competition and Advertising

Chapter 18 Labor Markets

Part IV Government

Chapter 19 Public Goods and the Tragedy of the Commons

Chapter 20 Political Economy and Public Choice

Chapter 21 Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy

Part V Decision Making for Businesses, Investors, and Consumers

Chapter 22 Managing Incentives

Chapter 23 Stock Markets and Personal Finance

Chapter 24 Asymmetric Information: Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection

Chapter 25 Consumer Choice

Part VI Economic Growth

Chapter 26 GDP and the Measurement of Progress

Chapter 27 The Wealth of Nations and Economic Growth

Chapter 28 Growth, Capital Accumulation, and the Economics of Ideas: Catching Up vs. the Cutting Edge 

Chapter 29 Saving, Investment, and the Financial System

Part VII Business Fluctuations

Chapter 30 Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

Chapter 31 Inflation and the Quantity Theory of Money

Chapter 32 Business Fluctuations: Aggregate Demand and Supply

Chapter 33 Transmission and Amplification Mechanisms

Part VIII Macroeconomic Policy and Institutions

Chapter 34 The Federal Reserve System and Open Market Operations

Chapter 35 Monetary Policy

Chapter 36 The Federal Budget: Taxes and Spending

Chapter 37 Fiscal Policy

Part IX International Economics

Chapter 38 International Finance 

Product Updates

Summer 2026 Updates

What's New

The Summer 2026 update brings new data activities, refreshed teaching resources, and extensive ebook revisions to help instructors teach economics with the latest research, policy developments, and real-world examples.

New in Achieve

  • New F.R.E.D. (Federal Reserve Economic Data) activities that help students work with authentic economic data.
  • Updated lecture slides featuring dynamic Datawrapper visualizations.
  • Refreshed student and instructor resources aligned with the latest ebook revisions.

New in the eBook

Highlights

  • Updated economic data throughout key microeconomics and macroeconomics chapters through 2024–2025.
  • Expanded coverage of current policy issues, including U.S. tariffs, Chinese EV trade policy, AI and economic growth, and carbon pricing.
  • Enhanced explanations of foundational concepts, including externalities, GDP, labor markets, inflation, monetary policy, and fiscal policy.
  • Added new examples, figures, and real-world applications that connect economic theory to current events.
  • Introduced new and updated discussions of Federal Reserve policy tools, labor markets, and international trade.

Chapter Updates

Major updates across the macroeconomics chapters improve clarity, incorporate current economic developments, and refresh data through 2024–2025. Highlights include:

  • Updated examples and data on International Trade
  • Updates to Externalities: When the Price Is Not Right
  • Updated examples and data on Labor Markets
  • Updates to GDP and the Measurement of Progress
  • Updates to the Wealth of Nations and Economic Growth
  • Updates to Growth, Capital Accumulation, and the Economics of Ideas
  • Updated examples and data on Unemployment and Labor Force Participation
  • Updates to Inflation and the Quantity Theory of Money
  • Updates to the Federal Reserve System and Aggregate Demand
  • Updates to Monetary Policy
  • Updates to the Federal Budget: Taxes and Spending
  • Updates to Fiscal Policy

December 2025 Update: Impact of AI Modules

The Impact of AI modules in Achieve are a flexible, text-agnostic series of assignable, auto-graded activities designed to help students learn how to use AI responsibly through the lens of economics. Formats include case studies, simulations, and prompt engineering exercises.

Winter 2024 Updates:

The updated Econ Math and Graphing Tutorials in Achieve bridge foundational math gaps for economics students through revamped, interactive modules featuring modern videos, algorithmically generated questions, and improved assessments designed to deepen understanding and reflection. Comprehensive accessibility features ensure that all students can effectively engage with the material.

This materials covers 10 foundational areas including Slope, Graphs, Percent Change, Ratios, Linear Equations, Averages, and more.

Sixth Edition Updates (2024):

Interactive Graphs, in the e-book and in a Graphing Bank, allow students to engage with economic models to see how components of the graph change as market dynamics change. Every data graph in the text is now interactive, so students can explore live visualizations and improve their data literacy.

Learning Economics from AI! (in the preface) show students how to use resources such as ChatGPT or Bing Chat to get meaningful answers to economics questions. The cover for 6e was generated by author Alex Tabarroks use of AI, as well.

12 NEW Marginal Revolution University Videos in Achieve accompanied by assessment questions.

Are free goods good? Surprisingly, the answer is "Not necessarily." In the chapter on Taxes and Subsidies, We contrast two strategies for making a good "free": 1) outlawing the sale of a good for money, i.e., mandating a zero-price ceiling, and 2) subsidizing production to such an extent that prices plummet to zero. In the first scenario, deadweight loss arises as society forfeits the value of transactions that never occur. In the second, deadweight loss results from excessive transactions where the marginal cost exceeds the marginal value.

The Great Depression is over: Modern Principles focuses on the Great Financial Crisis and the Pandemic Recession, exemplifying the core of macroeconomics and policy. These events showcase a demand-driven recession followed by a supply-driven one, well-illustrated by our dynamic AD-AS model. Focusing on these recessions also moves the lessons beyond the shifting of curves and towards important discussions of shadow banking, securitization, the microeconomics of externalities, and how monetary and fiscal policy must change when the goal – as during a pandemic -- is not to get people back to work!

The new tools of the Federal Reserve: In the sixth edition, the authors emphasize that although the Federal Reserves ultimate power is the power to create money, its daily influence on aggregate demand is accomplished through the payment of interest on reserves held at the Fed. Open market operations are still relevant for discussions on quantitative easing and repurchase agreements, but the primary focus is on understanding how the Fed affects aggregate demand by adjusting interest on reserves.

Teach the Principles of Economics, teach the World, and help students ACHIEVE.

Modern Principles helps students connect economic theory to the real world through engaging explanations, current examples, and integrated multimedia.

For more than 20 years, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok have made economics more accessible through their teaching, the Marginal Revolution blog, and educational videos. They bring that same approach to Modern Principles, pairing clear explanations with real-world applications and policy discussions that help students understand how economics shapes everyday decisions.

Building on the Marginal Revolution University video series, Modern Principles integrates more than 100 explanatory videos throughout the text. These videos reinforce key concepts, helping students visualize economic principles and strengthen their understanding.

Designed for today's learners, Modern Principles combines contemporary examples, real-world data, intuitive graphs, and accessible explanations while maintaining the rigor expected of a principles of economics course.

Success Stories

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See how the resources in Achieve help you engage students before, during, and after class.

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Here’s why educators who use Achieve would recommend it to their peers.

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