Don't Worry About Micro

Transcription

1 Don't Worry About Micro An Easy Guide to Understanding the Principles of Microeconomics Bearbeitet von Dominik Heckner, Tobias Kretschmer 1. Auflage Taschenbuch. xxi, 386 S. Paperback ISBN Format (B x L): 15,5 x 23,5 cm Gewicht: 621 g Wirtschaft > Volkswirtschaft > Mikroökonomie, Binnenhandel schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei Die Online-Fachbuchhandlung beck-shop.de ist spezialisiert auf Fachbücher, insbesondere Recht, Steuern und Wirtschaft. Im Sortiment finden Sie alle Medien (Bücher, Zeitschriften, CDs, ebooks, etc.) aller Verlage. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch Services wie Neuerscheinungsdienst oder Zusammenstellungen von Büchern zu Sonderpreisen. Der Shop führt mehr als 8 Millionen Produkte.

2 Contents Preface I...v Preface II...x Acknowledgments...xiii List of Abbreviations...xxi 1. An Introduction to Economics and this Book About this Book A Brief History of Economic Thought Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter, Milton Friedman, The Modern Study of Economics How Economics Differs from Other Social Sciences What Is Economics? Why Should You Care About Economics? Positive vs. Normative Questions Basic Economic Concepts Good, Bad and Intermediate Good Profit and Opportunity Cost Market Utility and Disutility Marginality Ceteris Paribus Reserved Letters and Symbols Basic Mathematical Concepts Functions Slopes, Rise over Run...27

3 xvi Contents Derivatives Asterisk Chapter Summary...32 Part I Consumer Theory Supply and Demand Demand vs. Want The Demand Curve Demand vs. Quantity Demanded Price Elasticity of Demand Elastic and Inelastic Goods Substitutability The Influence of Market Definition on Substitutability Supply Market Clearing Price Ceilings and Price Floors Price Ceilings Price Floors Tax Chapter Summary Rational Consumer Choice Introducing Rational Choice Cost Benefit Analysis Explicit Cost vs. Implicit Cost Sunk Costs Understanding Consumption Bundles and Budget Constraints/Lines Consumption Bundles Budget Constraint and Budget Line Change in Price Multiple Goods The Utility Function Introducing the Utility Function Marginal Utility A Framework for Improving the Utility Function Finalising the Utility Function Introducing Indifference Curves The Marginal Rate of Substitution Finding Optimal Bundles Given Budget Constraints Two Special Indifference Curves...119

4 Contents xvii Perfect Substitutes Perfect Complements Chapter Summary Decomposition of Quantity Demanded Introducing Normal and Inferior Goods Shift and Rotation of the Budget Line Income and Substitution Effects The Hicks Decomposition Doing it the Slutsky Way Deriving the Slutsky Equation Chapter Summary Part II The Firm and Factor Input Markets The Firm and Production Introducing the Process of Production Factors of Production The Production Function Changing the Quantity of One Input The Short Run The Distinction Between Short and Long Run The Law of Diminishing Returns Marginal Product The Change in Total Product Average Product The Connection Between Marginal and Average Products Introducing the Long Run Returns to Scale A Change in Both Inputs The Cobb Douglas Production Function Introducing Isocost Line and Isoquant The Isocost Line The Isoquant The Slope of the Isoquant Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution MRTS Optimal Input Combinations Cost Minimisation Perfect Complements and Substitutes Chapter Summary Labour and Capital Choosing an Optimal Amount of Labour Perfect Competitor s Labour Demand in the Short Run Perfect Competitor s Labour Demand in the Long Run The Imperfect Competitor s Labour Demand...200

5 xviii Contents 6.2 The Backward Bending Labour Supply Curve What Is Capital? Choosing the Optimal Amount of Capital Capital Growth Present Value How Firms Raise Capital A High Level Overview Weighted Average Cost of Capital Summary Cost Analysis An Introduction to Cost Analysis Fixed Cost, Variable Cost, Total Cost Breakeven Analysis Introducing Average Cost Introducing Non-linear Cost The Cost on the Margin Long-Run Costs Seven Plus Three Costs Chapter Summary Part III Market Structure and Game Theory An Introduction to Market Structure Basic Terms Market Industry Correctly Defining a Market Important Variables for the Market Definition Defining the Market too Widely Defining a Market too Narrowly Getting it Right Product Differentiation and Marketing An Overview of Market Structures Comparing the Market Structures Measuring Market Power The Lerner Index Chapter Summary Perfect Competition Assumptions of Perfect Competition Firms Produce Homogenous Goods Firms Are Price Takers as There Are Many Sellers No Barriers to Entry or Exit...259

6 Contents xix Perfect Information Short-Run Profit Maximisation The Short-Run Shutdown Condition Perfect Competition in the Long Run Shifting Supply Reality vs. Theory The Connection Between Marginal and Average Costs More About the Firm s Supply Producer and Consumer Surplus Chapter Summary The Monopoly Making the Connection to Perfect Competition Good Monopoly, Bad Monopoly? National Rail Transport Luigi s Pizza in Barnville StayAwake Marginal Revenue Revisited Profit Maximisation Shutdown Conditions in Short and Long Run Elasticity of Demand and Marginal Revenue Deadweight Loss The Good Kind Natural Monopoly Price Discrimination Turning Consumer Surplus into Profit First-Degree Price Discrimination Second-Degree Price Discrimination Third-Degree Price Discrimination Sustaining a Monopoly Chapter Summary Game Theory The Basic Tool Kit The Normal Form The Extensive Form The Prisoner s Dilemma Game Coordination Games (Battle of the Sexes) Differentiation Games A Business Application of an Extensive Form Game Imperfect Information Chapter Summary...333

7 xx Contents 12. Oligopoly Competition Introducing the Oligopoly Bertrand Competition Cournot Competition Stackelberg Leadership Collusion A Summary of Our Findings Chapter Summary Glossary Index...383