Abstract
Economics is to the economy what science is to the natural world. The sciences are the disciplines that study, try to understand and find ways to interact with and manage the natural world. Beyond its importance in the social and political sphere, economics also looms large as a valued academic subject, at least in the market place. PayScale and Wall Street Journal, in a 2007 study, assessed the mid-career (ten years post-graduation) incomes of various undergraduate majors. This introduction also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book then is a call to arms to bring the discipline of economics more into the public domain. It describes the various ways they have been working to make economics more public to specific audiences and in specific places. The book focuses on challenges, including complexity, politics, trust and ethics.