Principles of Macroeconomics by Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen

  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Authors
  • Supplements
Publication Date: Apr 2009
License: Creative Commons
ISBN 13: 978-0-9820430-4-2
ISBN 13 Color: 978-1-936126-13-2

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Listen to a podcast here of Libby discussing her textbook to gain perspective on her and Tim's text.

Flat World Knowledge is honored to publish a new, first edition re-launch of Tim Tregarthen’s wonderful principles of macroeconomics book, and proud to bring Tim's incredible talents as a teacher back to life so future generations of students can continue to learn from him.

In 1996, he published the first edition of his principles of microeconomics textbook to great acclaim, and it became widely used in colleges around the country. That same year, MS made him wheelchair-bound. The disease forced his retirement from teaching at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1998. He lost the use of his arms in 2001 and has been quadriplegic ever since.

Tim never let his disease get him down. In fact, he turned back to his love of writing and teaching for inspiration. He obtained a voice-activated computer, recruited a co-author, Libby Rittenberg of Colorado College, and turned his attention to revising his principles of economics book.

Today we are excited to introduce Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen’s Principles of Macroeconomics. The authors teach economics as the study of “choice “ by providing students with an accessible, straightforward overview of economics. This text combines the clarity and writing of Tregarthen's seminal periodical "The Margin" with great teaching insights.

Rittenberg and Tregarthen help students to understand how real individuals actually work with economics. In this new book, the authors illustrate the practicality and relevance of economics with a variety of new illustrations and insights.

The authors take a three-pronged approach to every concept: (1) the concept is covered with a “Heads Up” to ward off confusion, (2) a “You Try It” section makes sure students are staying on top of the concept and (3) a “Case and Point” section that uses a real-world application to harness the concept in reality. For one example of how this plays out in the text see "Chapter 3, Section 2 on Supply".here

This book is intended for a one-semester course in Macroeconomics taught out the social sciences or business school.

  • Book Options and Supplements
  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1: Economics: The Study of Choice
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    • Section 1: Defining Economics
    • Section 2: The Field of Economics
    • Section 3: The Economists’ Tool Kit
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 2: Confronting Scarcity: Choices in Production
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    • Section 1: Factors of Production
    • Section 2: The Production Possibilities Curve
    • Section 3: Applications of the Production Possibilities Model
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 3: Demand and Supply
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    • Section 1: Demand
    • Section 2: Supply
    • Section 3: Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 4: Applications of Demand and Supply
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    • Section 1: Putting Demand and Supply to Work
    • Section 2: Government Intervention in Market Prices: Price Floors and Price Ceilings
    • Section 3: The Market for Health-Care Services
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 5: Macroeconomics: The Big Picture
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    • Section 1: Growth of Real GDP and Business Cycles
    • Section 2: Price-Level Changes
    • Section 3: Unemployment
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 6: Measuring Total Output and Income
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    • Section 1: Measuring Total Output
    • Section 2: Measuring Total Income
    • Section 3: GDP and Economic Well-Being
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 7: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
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    • Section 1: Aggregate Demand
    • Section 2: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply: The Long Run and the Short Run
    • Section 3: Recessionary and Inflationary Gaps and Long-Run Macroeconomic Equilibrium
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 8: Economic Growth
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    • Section 1: The Significance of Economic Growth
    • Section 2: Growth and the Long-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
    • Section 3: Determinants of Economic Growth
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 9: The Nature and Creation of Money
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    • Section 1: What Is Money?
    • Section 2: The Banking System and Money Creation
    • Section 3: The Federal Reserve System
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 10: Financial Markets and the Economy
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    • Section 1: The Bond and Foreign Exchange Markets
    • Section 2: Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium in the Money Market
    • Section 3: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 11: Monetary Policy and the Fed
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    • Section 1: Monetary Policy in the United States
    • Section 2: Problems and Controversies of Monetary Policy
    • Section 3: Monetary Policy and the Equation of Exchange
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 12: Government and Fiscal Policy
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    • Section 1: Government and the Economy
    • Section 2: The Use of Fiscal Policy to Stabilize the Economy
    • Section 3: Issues in Fiscal Policy
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 13: Consumption and the Aggregate Expenditures Model
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    • Section 1: Determining the Level of Consumption
    • Section 2: The Aggregate Expenditures Model
    • Section 3: Aggregate Expenditures and Aggregate Demand
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 14: Investment and Economic Activity
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    • Section 1: The Role and Nature of Investment
    • Section 2: Determinants of Investment
    • Section 3: Investment and the Economy
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 15: Net Exports and International Finance
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    • Section 1: The International Sector: An Introduction
    • Section 2: International Finance
    • Section 3: Exchange Rate Systems
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 16: Inflation and Unemployment
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    • Section 1: Relating Inflation and Unemployment
    • Section 2: Explaining Inflation–Unemployment Relationships
    • Section 3: Inflation and Unemployment in the Long Run
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 17: A Brief History of Macroeconomic Thought and Policy
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    • Section 1: The Great Depression and Keynesian Economics
    • Section 2: Keynesian Economics in the 1960s and 1970s
    • Section 3: An Emerging Consensus: Macroeconomics for the 21st Century
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 18: Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination
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    • Section 1: Income Inequality
    • Section 2: The Economics of Poverty
    • Section 3: The Economics of Discrimination
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 19: Economic Development
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    • Section 1: The Nature and Challenge of Economic Development
    • Section 2: Population Growth and Economic Development
    • Section 3: Keys to Economic Development
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 20: Socialist Economies in Transition
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    • Section 1: The Theory and Practice of Socialism
    • Section 2: Socialist Systems in Action
    • Section 3: Economies in Transition: China and Russia
    • Section 4: Review and Practice
  • Chapter 21: Appendix A: Graphs in Economics
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    • Section 1: How to Construct and Interpret Graphs
    • Section 2: Nonlinear Relationships and Graphs without Numbers
    • Section 3: Using Graphs and Charts to Show Values of Variables
  • Chapter 22: Appendix B: Extensions of the Aggregate Expenditures Model
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    • Section 1: The Algebra of Equilibrium
    • Section 2: The Aggregate Expenditures Model and Fiscal Policy
    • Section 3: Review and Practice
Libby Rittenberg
Libby Rittenberg

Dr. Libby Rittenberg is Professor of Economics at Colorado College since 1989. She has been the Dean of the Summer Session since 2003. She frequently teaches the Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, Comparative Economic Systems, and a senior seminar on the International Political Economy. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Simmons College and her Ph. D. in Economics from Rutgers University in 1980. She was a Fulbright Lecturer from 1982-1984.


Timothy Tregarthen
Timothy Tregarthen

There is one word that captures the essence of Dr. Timothy Tregarthen - inspiring. Tim was first diagnosed with MS in 1975. Yet, he continued a remarkable academic career of teaching and research. In 1996, he published the first edition of his principles of economics textbook to great acclaim, and it became widely used in colleges around the country. That same year, MS made him wheelchair-bound. The disease forced his retirement from teaching at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1998. He lost the use of his arms in 2001 and has been quadriplegic ever since. In 2002, Tim’s doctor expected him to die.

He was placed in the Pikes Peak Hospice program, and was twice given his last rites by his priest. UCCS Chancellor Shockley-Zalabak says that “I really thought that Tim would die in Hospice. That’s what the doctors told me, and I really believed that. I remember one day they called me and told me to try to come see him. They didn't expect him to live through the night.”

Not only did he live through the night, but eventually recovered to the point that he moved from hospice to a long term care facility. There, he never let his disease get him down. In fact, he turned back to his love of writing and teaching for inspiration. He obtained a voice-activated computer, recruited a co-author, Libby Rittenberg of Colorado College, and turned his attention to revising his principles of economics book. Flat World Knowledge is honored to publish a new, first edition relaunch of this wonderful book, and proud to bring Tim's incredible talents as a teacher back to life for future generations of students to learn from.

In addition to completing the re-write of his textbook, Tim recently completed an autobiography about the 32 years he has had multiple sclerosis, titled Suffering, Faith, and Wildflowers. He is nearing completion of a novel, Cool Luck, based on the life of a friend. It is the story of a young couple facing the husband's diagnosis of ALS — Lou Gehrig's disease. Remarkably, in 2007, he was able to return to the classroom at UCCS, where he taught economics for 27 years.

Perhaps Tim’s approach to life is best summed up by an observation by UCCS English professor Thomas Naperierkowski: “One of the remarkable things is, heck, I can wake up with a headache and be a pretty grouchy character, but given his physical trials, which he faces every minute of his life these days, I've never seen him grouchy, I’ve never seen him cranky.”

Carry on, Tim.

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Schools Using Principles of Macroeconomics by Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen :

  • Allied American University
  • Cabrini College
  • Central Michigan University
  • Central New Mexico Community College
  • Chaminade University of Honolulu
  • Columbus State
  • Columbus State Community College
  • Cuesta Community College
  • Delta College
  • Dominican College
  • Dominican College of Blauvelt
  • Eastern Washington University
  • Empire State College
  • Fullerton College
  • Grays Harbor College
  • Huntington University
  • Irvine Valley College
  • JBS University
  • Johnson State College
  • Lyndon State College
  • Mary Baldwin College
  • Mesa College
  • Metropolitan Community College
  • Miami University
  • New Mexico State University
  • Northern Illinois University
  • Ohio State University-Marion
  • Riverside Community College District, Moreno Valley
  • Riverside Community College, Moreno Valley Campus
  • Rutgers University
  • Saddleback College
  • Sam Houston State University
  • San Bernardino Valley College
  • Simon Fraser University
  • Southern Oregon University
  • St. Gregory's University
  • Transylvania College
  • U of Akron
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
  • United States Air Force Academy
  • University of New Hampshire
  • University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
  • University of Texas at Arlington
  • Washtenaw Community College
  • Webster University
  • Westfield State College
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Western Oregon University
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute