In this engaging text Joshua Gans turns economic teaching on its head. Specifically aimed at the management or MBA student, Core Economics for Managers covers the essentials but does so in ways that build on and reinforce the student’s work experiences

Beginning with the tools of decision-making, this book does not shy away from the complexities of managerial decisions but embraces them to consider both uncertainty and strategic interaction in a readily accessible way. This allows the student to move with ease to considering the principles of negotiated exchange and how prices are formed when parties interact face to face rather than anonymously in markets. This provides a natural way of talking about competition and the gains from cooperation.

The traditional topics of economics and competitive strategy can then be introduced by considering pricing; that is, how a firm chooses its price, how a firm can innovate in pricing, how prices are constrained by competition and how prices can act as signals for investment. Finally, with all of these tools in hand, the student can seamlessly move on to topics of contracting, outsourcing, the provision of incentives and the building of relationships.

No other single book covers this multitude of topics in such an accessible way. Gone are unnecessary jargon from economics and strategy. All that remains is the core. And that core can be taken with the student back into their studies and commercial life.