The American economist Heilbroner once said that, ‘Mathematics has given economics rigour, but alas, also mortis’ and that might be a surprising and bold opening to a textbook with has both ‘mathematics’ and ‘economics’ in its title. But, in a way, Heilbroner was right to imply that too often mathematics can overtake the economics leaving us with long pages of equations which are perfectly described but which we cannot relate to the world we all observe and experience. Both authors are economists and both have a passion for teaching and learning. As students, both authors have sat through hours of dreary lectures of mathematics which threw little if any light on the fascinating, dynamic and puzzling world of business and economics. It was against this backdrop that we set about creating a textbook which genuinely provided an interesting and engaging introduction to the world of business and economics through mathematics, and not the other way around.

The book is aimed at students who are embarking on a course of economics or business at first or second year undergraduate level and no mathematical proficiency is presumed beyond perhaps having undertaken a GCSE. The techniques we cover can be applied to a wide variety of related undergraduate modules and topics including accounting and finance, operational research, pure mathematics, statistics, marketing and geography.

Readers should feel that the mathematics here is a tool or perhaps a ‘way-in’ to better understand the contemporary problems in the world of business and economics, rather than an end in itself. In this way, we hope to secure the rigour but avoid any of the mortis.