New Economics for Senior Secondary Schools 1

Our set objective is to write a lucid and readable book which fully satisfies the syllabus requirements for Economics at the Senior Secondary School level. In achieving this objective, we have, throughout the book, made a distinction between descriptive economics and mathematical economics. Such a distinction is not only an essential part of economic training but it also helps the subject come alive to the students. Many years ago, Economics earned a place in our school time-table but it was only of recent that we have begun to witness a massive upsurge in the enrolment figure for this subject. This is probably not unexpected as the downturn in the national economy has virtually turned everybody into a student of Economics. Every home, and indeed every office, must have witnessed a conversation on the value of the naira, commodity price, consumer choice, role of banks, interest rates, rent, cost of living, population changes, internet banking, human capital development, industrialisation, privatisation, commercialisation, etc. These are all issues in Economics, and this book has shed more light on such issues and also on other related issues.

Although there are books on this subject each of which is partly relevant, there is obviously a dearth of recommendable books. This is an unsatisfactory situation and this book sets out to assuage the situation. As a rule, each chapter in this book ends with a self-assessment exercise, a clear indication that we have kept in mind both the regular students and the private students. We should like to seize this opportunity to thank all those who assisted us in diverse ways during the writing of this book.