Economics

Citation

Sloman, J., Garratt, D., & Guest, J. (2026). Economics (12th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter Summary

The book is a single-volume principles text covering microeconomics, macroeconomics and the world economy in 26 chapters, grouped into seven lettered parts. The structure follows a conventional order: foundations of microeconomics, then the theory and policy that build on them, then foundations of macroeconomics, then macroeconomic models and policy, and finally international economics. Pearson's description says each chapter works from definitions, case studies and real examples from the news, with activities and questions for checking understanding. A library catalogue record for an earlier edition gives the first edition's date as 1991, so this is a long-running title.

Part A, Chapter 1: Economics and Economies

The single chapter of the introductory part. Its title points to the discipline and to the economies it studies, and it precedes both halves of the book.

Part B, Chapters 2-3: Supply and Demand; Government and the Market

The foundations of microeconomics. Chapter 2 introduces supply and demand; Chapter 3 turns to the way government intervenes in markets, so the standard market model and the policy question appear together at the start of the micro half.

Part C, Chapters 4-10: Microeconomic Theory

Seven chapters of theory. On the demand side, Chapter 4 ("Background to Demand: the Rational Consumer") is followed by Chapter 5, "Consumer Behaviour in an Uncertain World". On the supply side, Chapter 6 ("Background to Supply") leads into Chapter 7, "Profit Maximising under Perfect Competition and Monopoly", and Chapter 8, "Profit Maximising under Imperfect Competition". Chapter 9 ("The Behaviour of Firms") broadens the treatment of firms, and Chapter 10 ("The Theory of Distribution of Income") moves to how incomes are determined.

Part D, Chapters 11-14: Microeconomic Policy

Four policy chapters: "Inequality, Poverty and Policies to Redistribute Income"; "Markets, Efficiency and the Public Interest"; "Environmental Policy"; and "Government Policy towards Business". They apply the theory of Part C to distribution, efficiency, the environment and competition policy.

Part E, Chapters 15-16: An Introduction to Macroeconomic Issues and Ideas; The Development of Macroeconomic Thinking: a Historical Perspective

The foundations of macroeconomics. Chapter 15 introduces the main issues and ideas; Chapter 16 sets out how macroeconomic thinking has developed, a historical chapter placed before the models rather than after them.

Part F, Chapters 17-23: Macroeconomic Models, Theories and Policy

The core of the macro half. Chapter 17 treats short-run macroeconomic equilibrium and Chapter 18 banking, money and interest rates. Chapter 19 links the money and goods markets. Chapters 20 and 21 ("Aggregate Supply, Inflation and Unemployment"; "The Relationship between Inflation, Unemployment and Output") cover inflation and unemployment. Chapter 22 handles fiscal and monetary policy, and Chapter 23 closes the part with long-term economic growth and supply-side policies.

Part G, Chapters 24-26: International Trade; The Balance of Payments and Exchange Rates; Economies in an Interdependent World

The world-economy part covers trade, the balance of payments and exchange rates, and the interdependence of national economies.

Key Concepts

Parts A-D: Microeconomics

• Supply and demand: the market model that opens the micro half in Chapter 2.
• The rational consumer and uncertainty: the demand-side theory of Chapters 4 and 5.
• Profit maximisation under different market structures: perfect competition, monopoly and imperfect competition in Chapters 7 and 8.
• Distribution of income: how incomes are determined (Chapter 10), and the policy question of redistribution (Chapter 11).
• Market efficiency and the public interest: the topic of Chapter 12, which precedes the environmental and business policy chapters.

Parts E-G: Macroeconomics and the World Economy

• Short-run macroeconomic equilibrium: the basic macro model of Chapter 17.
• Money, banking and interest rates: the monetary side of the economy, Chapters 18 and 19.
• Inflation, unemployment and output: the relationships examined in Chapters 20 and 21.
• Fiscal and monetary policy: the stabilisation tools of Chapter 22.
• Balance of payments and exchange rates: the open-economy concepts of Chapter 25.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Complete principles coverage in one volume. The contents run from supply and demand to exchange rates, so one book can serve a course that teaches micro, macro and international economics together.
• Theory kept apart from policy. The micro half separates theory (Part C) from policy (Part D), and the macro half separates foundations (Part E) from models and policy (Part F). A reader can study the models first and the policy applications afterwards.
• A historical chapter on macroeconomic thinking. Chapter 16 places the development of macroeconomic thinking before the models of Part F, which gives students a map of the debates before the equations.
• Current examples and practice. The publisher stresses case studies, real examples from the news, and activities and questions, and the edition comes with a companion website.

Limitations

• Length and breadth. Twenty-six chapters across seven parts make a long text; the 11th edition ran to 1,008 pages according to its Google Books record. A course that covers only one half will leave much of the book unused.
• One volume for three areas. With microeconomics, macroeconomics and international economics sharing 26 chapters, each area gets less room than in a dedicated intermediate text, so students continuing in economics will need one.
• Orientation. A library catalogue record for an earlier edition describes the book as written from a European perspective. The twelfth-edition description names no country focus, so readers elsewhere should check how far the institutional examples suit their own syllabus.

Where It Fits in the Course

Among the principles-level books on the site's list, this is the full-length text covering both halves of the subject. Mankiw's Principles of Economics is a comparable single-volume introduction, described as built around a small set of organising principles with light mathematics. OpenStax's Principles of Economics 3e covers micro and macro in a free single volume, and is the obvious choice when cost matters. CORE's The Economy 2.0: Microeconomics takes a different route, starting from real-world problems and data, and covers only microeconomics. Sloman, Garratt and Guest is the longer, more detailed alternative among the single-volume texts, with a separate microeconomic policy part and a separate chapter on the history of macroeconomic thinking.

Bowles's Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution and Acemoglu and colleagues' Microeconomics are graduate-level texts and belong after, not instead of, a principles book like this one.

How to Use This Book

The book is intended for first-year students on courses covering economic principles; no prior economics is required, though comfort with basic algebra and diagrams helps.

A practical plan: read Chapters 1-3 first, since later chapters build on supply and demand. On a micro-first course, continue through Part C, taking Chapters 4-8 as the core and Chapters 9 and 10 as extensions, then use Part D as applications chosen to fit the syllabus. On a macro-first course, read Chapter 15, then decide whether Chapter 16 comes before or after the models; Chapters 17-22 are the core, and Chapter 23 connects to growth. Part G suits a course with an international component and can be read on its own after the micro foundations. Use the end-of-chapter questions and the companion website as practice, and move to an intermediate text when the models start to feel routine.