Providing a business-centred approach to economics, this text relates prevailing economic theories to the realities of business activity through the use of case studies. It should be particularly helpful to students with business experience as it shows the application of economic concepts to the business world. Among the case studies are Caterpillar Construction Equipment, showing how reduced costs of manufacture might undermine cost recovery; cases from the privatised utilities i.e. BT and the Water Companies, illustrating the problems of performance measurement within the private as well as the public sector; and Shell, Brent Spar and Nigerian Oil in the chapter on the natural environment.