Economics ─ An A-Z Guide

Economics is all around us, essential to every aspect of our lives.

But just how much does the average person understand about what Economics is for, how it underpins crucial decisions taken every day and how it has, and continues to, evolve?

Step forward The Economist's official guide to Economics, written with the clarity and wit for which the newspaper is renowned and featuring bite-sized overviews of the most important economic ideas, concepts and terms.

If you need to understand why a country's balance of payments is such a big deal , whether deflation is always a bad thing, or exactly why John Maynard Keynes or Milton Friedman were so influential, then dipping into this A-Z Guide will provide the answers.

Primer, glossary, dictionary and guide, Economics offers everything you always wanted to know about Economics, but perhaps were afraid to ask.

Matthew Bishop is the Globalization Editor of The Economist. Previously the magazine's US Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief, and before that the London-based Business Editor, he is the author of several books, including co- author of Philanthrocapiltalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.