The Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics

by Thomas, Christopher R.; Shughart II, William F.

• ISBN13: 9780199782956
• ISBN10: 0199782954
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-07-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, the first of its kind, aims to provide researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and teachers with summaries of the state of the art in the field of managerial economics. Edited by the coauthors of two managerial economics textbooks, comprising 25 chapters contributed by leading scholars and business consultants from around the globe, and drawing on the literature of, among others, economics, finance, industrial organization, marketing, behavioral psychology, game theory and auction theory, the Handbook summarizes cutting-edge approaches to the analysis of the decision-making challenges faced by the managers of for-profit and nonprofit enterprises. The problems addressed run the gamut from cost estimation, product development and promotion, optimal pricing strategies for network industries and make-or-buy decisions, to organizational design, performance pay, corporate governance, strategies for multinational corporations and the social responsibilities of business. Each of the managerial economics experts commissioned for the volume also identify the problems that are yet to be solved and thus point the way toward topics for future research. Managerial economics has moved far beyond simply applying neoclassical microeconomic theory to the actual world of practical business decision-making. By illustrating how disciplines other than economics can fruitfully be brought to bear in helping to analyze and to understand the incentives and constraints under which business managers operate, the Handbook fills in the gaps between theory and practice. Sometimes technical, but always reader-friendly, no one with an interest in the modern world of business or public policies toward it can afford to ignore the analyses and the important lessons taught by the contributors to it.

Author Biography

Christopher R. Thomas is Associate Professor of Economics and has served as Exide Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at University of South Florida. He is the author or coauthor of many journal articles, book reviews, and chapters in books. His textbook in managerial economics is in its eleventh English edition and is also published in Chinese.
William F. Shughart II is J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at Utah State University, a senior fellow of The Independent Institute, and the editor-in-chief of Public Choice. Previously the holder of three named professorships at the University of Mississippi, he is the author or editor of eleven books and has published more than 200 book chapters, peer reviewed academic journal articles, and book reviews.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Nature, Scope, and Future of Managerial Economics
1. Managerial economics: Introduction and overview
2. Managerial economics: present and future
Part 2: Managing Demand and Cost Conditions
3. Estimating market power and strategies
4. Advances in production and cost frontier analysis of the firm
5. Supply chain design and risk management
6. Combinatorial Auctions
Part 3: Analytical Foundations of Modern Managerial Economics
7. Game and information theory in modern managerial economics
8. Issues in analysis of time, risk, and uncertainty
9. Behavioral economics and managerial decision making
Part 4: Pricing and Marketing Tactics and Strategies
10. Advances in pricing strategy and tactics
11. Product development and promotion
Part 5: Strategy and Business Competition
12. Market imperfections and sustainable competitive advantage
13. The new managerial economics of firm growth: the role of intangible assets and capabilities
14. Strategies for network industries
15. Internalization theory as the general theory of international strategic management: past, present and future
16. Competitive strategy in the nonprofit sector
Part 6: Firm Boundaries and Organizational Architecture
17. Organizational design and firm performance
18. Design and implementation of pay for performance
19. Vertical merger
20. The evolving modern theory of the firm
Part 7: Financial Structure, Incentives, and Governance
21. Financing the business firm
22. Corporate governance and organizational performance
Part 8: Public Policy for Managers
23. Managing workplace safety and health
24. Merger strategies and antitrust concerns
25. On the profitability of corporate environmentalism