A lively introduction to the key principles of economics, shown through real-world business examples. Essentials of Economics, 6th Australian edition is the market-leading introductory text, making economic principles relevant by demonstrating how businesses, individuals and policymakers use them to make decisions every day. It provides the expected rigour for the discipline with easy-to-understand explorations of the key concepts while being highly supported by real-world business examples and policy applications that bring these concepts to life.

The 6th edition has been revised to provide students with the most up-to-date and relevant content they need to succeed in the field of economics. In the past few years, to take just a few relevant examples, we have witnessed the introduction of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into mainstream use, the runaway success of smartphones and tablet computers, the rapid growth of the sharing economy including companies such as Uber and Airbnb, increased policy debate about how best to address climate change, and experienced the global impact of the economic contractions and recessions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent high rates of inflation. This new edition helps students understand these changing economic realities.