Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I: Getting Started with Microeconomics 5
Chapter 1: Discovering Why Microeconomics Is a Big Deal 7
Chapter 2: Considering Consumer Choice: Why Economists Find You Fascinating 17
Chapter 3: Looking at the Behavior of Firms: What They Are and What They Do 31
Part II: Doing the Best You Can: Consumer Theory 43
Chapter 4: Living a Life without Limits 45
Chapter 5: Considering the Art of the Possible: The Budget Constraint 55
Chapter 6: Achieving the Optimum in Spite of Constraints 69
Part III: Uncovering the Alchemy of Firms’ Inputs and Outputs 87
Chapter 7: Working with Different Costs and Cost Curves 89
Chapter 8: Squeezing Out Every Last Drop of Profit 107
Chapter 9: Supplying the Demanded Information on Supply and Demand 121
Chapter 10: Dreaming of the Consumer’s Delight: Perfect Competition 143
Part IV: Delving into Markets, Market Failure, and Welfare Economics 155
Chapter 11: Stepping into the Real World: Oligopoly and Imperfect Competition 157
Chapter 12: Appreciating the Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics 175
Chapter 13: The Monopoly Game 187
Chapter 14: Examining Market Failure: Pollution and Parks 203
Chapter 15: Understanding the Dangers of Asymmetric Information 215
Part V: Thinking Strategically: Life Is Just a Game! 225
Chapter 16: Playing Games with Economic Theory 227
Chapter 17: Keeping Things Stable: The Nash Equilibrium 245
Chapter 18: Knowing How to Win at Auctions 255
Chapter 19: Understanding the Game: Credible Threats and Signals 267
Part VI: The Part of Tens 277
Chapter 20: Meeting Ten Great Microeconomists 279
Chapter 21: Top Ten Tips to Take Away 287
Glossary 295
Index 301