Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction
1: The Economics of Financial Markets
2: Financial Markets and Economic Efficiency
Part II: Intertemporal Allocation by Consumers and Firms When Future Payments are Certain
3: The Fundamental Economics of Intertemporal Allocation
4: The Fisher Diagram for Optimal Intertemporal Allocation
5: Maximizing lifetime utility in a firm with many shareholders
6: A Transition to Models in which Future Outcomes Are Uncertain
Part III: Rates of Return as Random Variables
7: Probabilistic Models
Part IV: Portfolio Theory and Capital Asset Pricing Theory
8: Portfolio Theory
9: The Capital Asset Pricing Model
10: Multifactor Models for Pricing Securities
Part V: The Informational Efficiency and the Allocative Efficiency of Financial Markets: The Concepts
11: The Efficient Market Hypothesis
12: Event Studies
Part VI:The Informational and Allocative Efficiency of Financial Markets: Applications
13: Capital Structure
14: Options
15: Futures Contracts
16: Insider Trading
17: Summary and Conclusions

Reviews

"James Bradfield's Introduction to the Economics of Financial Markets is a well-written non-technical introduction to finance theory. While covering all of the traditional topics, the book emphasizes the contributions that financial markets can make to economic well-being. It will be particularly appealing to undergraduates studying economics who want to understand risk-return tradeoffs in securities markets, the market efficiency concept, futures and
options, and the economic implications of debt and equity contracts."--John P. Caskey, Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College
"Professor Bradfield has written a wonderful book on the Economics of Financial Markets. It's one of the few texts focusing on the economics of securities markets and their operation. Professor Bradfield starts with the basics, but moves on to present extremely complex financial concepts in a transparent and intuitive manner. This book is a "must read" for anyone seeking to understand how economists view the efficiency (informational and otherwise) of
financial markets and securities." --Daniel Jubinski, Assistant Professor of Economics, Colgate University, Department of Economics
"James Bradfield's Introduction to the Economics of Financial Markets is a well-written non-technical introduction to finance theory. While covering all of the traditional topics, the book emphasizes the contributions that financial markets can make to economic well-being. It will be particularly appealing to undergraduates studying economics who want to understand risk-return tradeoffs in securities markets, the market efficiency concept, futures and
options, and the economic implications of debt and equity contracts."--John P. Caskey, Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College
"Professor Bradfield has written a wonderful book on the Economics of Financial Markets. It's one of the few texts focusing on the economics of securities markets and their operation. Professor Bradfield starts with the basics, but moves on to present extremely complex financial concepts in a transparent and intuitive manner. This book is a "must read" for anyone seeking to understand how economists view the efficiency (informational and otherwise) of
financial markets and securities." --Daniel Jubinski, Assistant Professor of Economics, Colgate University, Department of Economics