Mighty Microeconomics
A Guide to Thinking Like An Economist

A highly accessible text for learning microeconomics with a unique approach of simplifying technicalities for students and general readers.

Michihiro Kandori (Author)

9781009161084, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 July 2023

500 pages
25.3 x 20.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.93 kg

'Written in a lucid style, Mighty Microeconomics guides complete beginners to an advanced level, advanced enough to be a prudent and well-reserved theorist, through clear, precise, and thoughtful yet plain expositions.' Takashi Hayashi, Professor of Economics, University of Glasgow

Economics helps us to understand that certain slick mechanisms are operating beyond what we see in our daily economic lives. To fully understand and appreciate these mechanisms, we need to master the core mathematical theories, some of which are highly advanced and typically covered in a graduate course. This textbook presents those theories without compromising rigor, but, at the same time, the author offers a number of innovative pedagogical twists that make the difficult materials completely accessible to undergraduate students, and even to general readers. Written in a chatty, colloquial style, the author explains basic messages and core insights that are usually hidden between the lines. The usefulness of these theories is shown through a number of real-life examples, and, in the end, the readers can see that the mathematical models provide deep insights into social justice and philosophy. This book helps readers to think like an economist.

Part I. Price Theory: Merits and Limitations of the Market Mechanism: 1. Theory of Consumer Behavior
2. The Theory of Firm Behavior
3. Market Equilibrium
4. Market Failures
5. Monopolies
Part II. Game Theory and Economics of Information: 6. Simultaneous-Move Games and Nash Equilibrium
7. Dynamic Games and Credible Strategies
8. Insurance and Moral Hazard
9. Adverse Selection and Signaling
10. Last but not Least – Let's Talk about Social Justice and Philosophy
Appendix A. Essential Mathematical Concepts: All You Need to Know to Read this Book
Appendix B. Constrained Maximization Problems and the Method of Lagrange Multiplier
Appendix C. Compensating Variation and Equivalent Variation
Appendix D. A Step-by-Step Guide to Proving the Second Welfare Theorem.

Subject Areas: Microeconomics [KCC]