一些發人深省的經濟箴語：

"The Age of Chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded." -Edmund Burke

"All models are wrong, but some are useful." -G. Box

"Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns." -J.M. Clack

"You can make even a parrot into a learned political economist-all he must learn are the two words "supply" and "demand."

-Anonymous

"Of all monopolies, that of opinion is the worst." -G.J. Stigler

"The world will always be governed by self-interest. We should not try to stop this, we should try to make the self-interest of cads a

little more coincident with that of decent people." -S. Butler

"經濟學無所不能!" -林建甫

"天下大勢，合久必分，分久必合！" -羅貫中

"Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life." So wrote Alfred Marshall, the great nineteenth-century economist, in his textbook, Principles of Economics. Although we have learned much about the economy since Marshall's time, this definition of economics is as true today as it was in 1890, when the first edition of his text was published.

Why should you, as a student soon to enter the twenty-first century, embark on the study of economics? There are three reasons.

The first reason to study economics is that it will help you understand the world in which you live. There are many questions about the economy that might spark your curiosity. Why are apartments so hard to find in New York City? Why do some airlines continue to operate even though they are losing money? Why do prices rise quickly in some countries and slowly in others? These are just a few of the questions that we address in the coming chapters.

The second reason to study economics is that it will make you a more astute participant in the economy. As you go about your life, you make many economic decisions. While you are a student, you decide how many years to stay in school. Once you take a job, you decide how much of your income to spend, how much to save, and how to invest your savings. Someday, you may find yourself running a small business or a large corporation, and you will decide what prices to charge for your products. Although studying economics will not by itself make you rich, it will give you some tools that may help in that endeavor.

The third reason to study economics is that it will give you a better understanding of the potential and limits of economic policy. As a voter, you help choose the policies that guide the allocation of society's resources. When deciding which policies to support, you may find yourself asking various questions about economics. What are the effects of free trade with other countries? What is the best way to protect the environment? How does a government budget deficit affect economic well-being? These and similar questions are always on the minds of policymakers in mayors' offices, governors' mansions, and the White House.

Thus, the principles of economics can be applied in many of life's situations. Whether the future finds you reading the newspaper, running a business, or sitting in the Oval Office, you will be glad that you studied economics.

期中考，期末考。為了避免一試定江山的遺憾，你可以交報告以彌補考不好的影響。報告有兩種型式，學術論文式，須以嚴謹的方式寫出，如寫明研究動機及詳列參考文獻；另一為應用說理式，重在觀念學理的直接應用。報告應在一月20日以前交上。

以下是本門課的課程大綱: