This publication provides an introduction to basic concepts that form the core of economics education and gives a framework for curriculum planning and teaching. A brief introduction addresses the topic "Why study economics?" One major reason for promoting economic education may be to create a literate voting population. Fourteen concepts are then discussed. The first concept is "economic wants," wants that all people have for materials, goods, and services. "Productive resources" is the second concept. There are three productive resources that must be present for production to occur: natural resources, capital goods, and human resources. Concept number three is "scarcity and choice." The fourth concept of "opportunity costs and trade-offs" is a major one in dealing with the economic problem of scarcity. In a mixed market economy such as ours, the greatest "economic incentive" (concept five) behind econcomic behavior is individual self-interest. Modern industrial economies are based on the sixth concept discussed--"specialization, division of labor, and comparative advantage." The remaining concepts discussed include interdependence; markets, supply, and demand; the price mechanism; aggregate supply and productive capacity; aggregate demand, unemployment and inflation; money and monetary policy; fiscal policy, and saving and investment. (Author/RM)