本书专门为经济学专业学生设计，较为系统介绍理论经济学和应用经济学各学科的基础知识和基本问题，内容涉及微观经济学、宏观经济学、人口资源与环境经济学、发展经济学、财政学等。为适应高校开课一学年学时的需求，设计了上下分册，本书在第三版上册基础上修订，更新完善了内容。本书在原第三版的基础上，主要从三个方面进行了修订和完善：一是根据经济发展实践变化情况，对书中各单元的主要数据及材料进行了更新，使之更加贴近实际，更好地反映现实经济状况；二是对书中各单元的练习题做了适当精简和更新，使之更加切合教学实际和需要；三是为了使本书内容更好地体现经济学相关理论的核心内容及其系统性、逻辑性和近期新进展，对书中一些课文的内容进行了替换和补充，尤其对第九单元主课文“通货膨胀”和副课文“失业”等全部内容做了全新的替换和完善。

Unit One
Text: What Is Economics?
Additional Text: The Economic Problem
Unit Two
Text: Demand and Supply
Additional Text: Utility and Consumer Choice
Unit Three
Text: Price Elasticities of Demand and Supply
Additional Text: The Factors Influencing the Price
Elasticities of Demand and Supply
Unit Four
Text: Cost of Production
Additional Text: Economies and Diseconomies of Scale
Unit Five
Text: Monopoly
Additional Text: Perfect Competition
Unit Six
Text: Oligopoly
Additional Text: Monopolistic Competition
Unit Seven
Text: Gross Domestic Product
Additional Text: Two Alternative Approaches of Measuring GDP
Unit Eight
Text: Economic Growth
Additional Text: Sources of Economic Development
Unit Nine
Text: Inflation
Additional Text: Unemployment
Unit Ten
Text: Money and Banking
Additional Text:  The U.S. Central Bank: The Federal Reserve System
Unit Eleven
Text: Foreign Exchange and Exchange Rate
Additional Text: The Effects of Exchange Rates on the Economy
Unit Twelve
Text: The Balance of Payments
Additional Text: International Monetary Systems
Unit Thirteen
Text: Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Additional Text: Lags in the Economy’s Response to Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Unit Fourteen
Text: Role of Government in the Economy
Additional Text: Government’s Policies Toward Externalities
Appendix Ⅰ Answers to Exercises
Appendix Ⅱ Chinese Translation of the Texts