This innovative text ushers in a new way of examining basic economic issues. It teaches economics from a different standpoint, based on specialization and the division of labor. Resource allocation for a given level of division of labor is shown as not the only determination for demand and supply. Levels of division of labor are shown as a major factors as well.

Xiaokai Yang is Professor in the Department of Economics at Monash University and an affiliated Fellow in the Center for International Development, Harvard University. His research papers have appeared in The American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, and other refereed journals. He is the author of eight books, and is co-author, with Jeffrey Sachs, of Development Economics (Blackwell, 2001).