Price Theory and Applications

by Landsburg, Steven

• ISBN13: 9780324059793
• ISBN10: 0324059795
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-20
• Publisher: South-Western College Pub

Summary

Intermediate microeconomics is both fun and intellectually challenging in this new edition, written by the author of The Armchair Economist, the popular trade book that explains basic economics to the general public. The text provides an exceptionally friendly and application-rich presentation, combined with a rigorous and careful development of microeconomic theory. All of the standard topics of intermediate price theory are included, as well as innovative topics such as alternative normative criteria, efficient asset markets, contestable markets, antitrust law, human capital, and the demand for public goods. A unique unifying theme of social welfare is used with little higher-level mathematics.

Author Biography

Steven E. Landsburg teaches economics at the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium	p. 1
Demand	p. 1
Supply	p. 11
Equilibrium	p. 14
Summary	p. 24
Author Commentary	p. 26
Review Questions	p. 26
Numerical Exercises	p. 27
Problem Set	p. 27
Internet Exercise	p. 31
Prices, Costs, and the Gains from Trade	p. 32
Prices	p. 33
Costs, Efficiency, and the Gains from Trade	p. 36
Summary	p. 43
Author Commentary	p. 44
Review Questions	p. 44
Numerical Exercises	p. 45
Problem Set	p. 45
Internet Exercise	p. 47
The Behavior of Consumers	p. 48
Tastes	p. 49
The Budget Line and the Consumer's Choice	p. 58
Applications of Indifference Curves	p. 64
Summary	p. 71
Author Commentary	p. 72
Review Questions	p. 72
Numerical Exercise	p. 72
Problem Set	p. 73
Internet Exercise	p. 79
Cardinal Utility	p. 80
Consumers in the Marketplace	p. 84
Changes in Income	p. 84
Changes in Price	p. 89
Income and Substitution Effects	p. 94
Elasticities	p. 103
Summary	p. 109
Author Commentary	p. 110
Review Questions	p. 110
Numerical Exercises	p. 111
Problem Set	p. 112
Internet Exercise	p. 118
The Behavior of Firms	p. 119
Weighing Costs and Benefits	p. 120
Firms in the Marketplace	p. 126
Summary	p. 137
Author Commentary	p. 138
Review Questions	p. 138
Numerical Exercises	p. 138
Problem Set	p. 139
Internet Exercise	p. 142
Production and Costs	p. 143
Production and Costs in the Short Run	p. 144
Production and Costs in the Long Run	p. 158
Relations Between the Short Run and the Long Run	p. 172
Summary	p. 177
Author Commentary	p. 179
Review Questions	p. 179
Numerical Exercises	p. 179
Problem Set	p. 180
Internet Exercise	p. 183
Competition	p. 184
The Competitive Firm in the Short Run	p. 184
The Competitive Industry in the Short Run	p. 196
The Competitive Firm in the Long Run	p. 203
An Introduction to the Competitive Industry in the Long Run	p. 205
Constant-Cost Industries	p. 211
Increasing- and Decreasing-Cost Industries	p. 218
Applications	p. 221
Using the Competitive Model	p. 227
Summary	p. 229
Author Commentary	p. 230
Review Questions	p. 231
Numerical Exercises	p. 231
Problem Set	p. 234
Internet Exercise	p. 236
Welfare Economics and the Gains from Trade	p. 237
Measuring the Gains from Trade	p. 238
The Efficiency Criterion	p. 249
Examples and Applications	p. 258
General Equilibrium and the Invisible Hand	p. 273
Summary	p. 285
Author Commentary	p. 286
Review Questions	p. 286
Problem Set	p. 287
Normative Criteria	p. 293
Internet Exercise	p. 300
Knowledge and Information	p. 302
The Informational Content of Prices	p. 302
Financial Markets	p. 316
Topics in the Economics of Information	p. 321
Summary	p. 333
Author Commentary	p. 333
Review Questions	p. 333
Problem Set	p. 334
Internet Exercise	p. 338
Monopoly	p. 339
Price and Output under Monopoly	p. 340
Sources of Monopoly Power	p. 349
Price Discrimination	p. 354
Summary	p. 370
Author Commentary	p. 371
Review Questions	p. 371
Numerical Exercises	p. 372
Problem Set	p. 372
Internet Exercise	p. 377
Market Power, Collusion, and Oligopoly	p. 378
Acquiring Market Power	p. 379
Collusion and the Prisoner's Dilemma: An Introduction to Game Theory	p. 394
Regulation	p. 403
Oligopoly	p. 413
Monopolistic Competition and Product Differentiation	p. 418
Summary	p. 421
Author Commentary	p. 422
Review Questions	p. 422
Numerical Exercises	p. 423
Problem Set	p. 424
Internet Exercise	p. 426
The Theory of Games	p. 427
Game Matrices	p. 428
Sequential Games	p. 439
Summary	p. 442
Author Commentary	p. 443
Problem Set	p. 443
Internet Exercise	p. 446
External Costs and Benefits	p. 447
Costs Imposed on Others	p. 447
The Coase Theorem	p. 452
Transactions Costs	p. 465
The Law and Economics	p. 473
Summary	p. 480
Author Commentary	p. 481
Review Questions	p. 481
Problem Set	p. 482
Internet Exercise	p. 489
Common Property and Public Goods	p. 490
The Tragedy of the Commons	p. 490
Public Goods	p. 499
Summary	p. 505
Review Questions	p. 506
Numerical Exercises	p. 506
Problem Set	p. 506
Internet Exercise	p. 510
The Demand for Factors of Production	p. 511
The Firm's Demand for Factors in the Short Run	p. 511
The Firm's Demand for Factors in the Long Run	p. 518
The Industry's Demand Curve for Factors of Production	p. 525
The Distribution of Income	p. 527
Summary	p. 532
Review Questions	p. 533
Numerical Exercises	p. 534
Problem Set	p. 535
Internet Exercise	p. 536
The Market for Labor	p. 537
Individual Labor Supply	p. 537
Labor Market Equilibrium	p. 546
Differences in Wages	p. 552
Discrimination	p. 556
Summary	p. 559
Review Questions	p. 560
Problem Set	p. 560
Internet Exercise	p. 562
Allocating Goods Over Time	p. 563
Bonds and Interest Rates	p. 563
Applications	p. 570
The Market for Current Consumption	p. 580
Production and Investment	p. 595
Summary	p. 598
Author Commentary	p. 599
Review Questions	p. 599
Problem Set	p. 600
Internet Exercise	p. 606
Risk and Uncertainty	p. 607
Attitudes Toward Risk	p. 607
The Market for Insurance	p. 621
Futures Markets	p. 624
Markets for Risky Assets	p. 627
Rational Expectations	p. 636
Summary	p. 642
Author Commentary	p. 644
Review Questions	p. 644
Problem Set	p. 645
Internet Exercise	p. 647
What is Economics?	p. 648
The Nature of Economic Analysis	p. 648
The Rationality Assumption	p. 653
What is an Economic Explanation?	p. 657
The Scope of Economic Analysis	p. 662
Author Commentary	p. 667
Problem Set	p. 667
Internet Exercise	p. 670
Calculus Supplement	p. 671
Answers to Exercises	p. 701
Answers to Problem Sets	p. 714
Glossary	p. 731
Index	p. 739
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