Price Theory and Applications
Decisions, Markets, and Information

This seventh edition of the book offers extensive discussion of information, uncertainty, and game theory.

Jack Hirshleifer (Author), Amihai Glazer (Author), David Hirshleifer (Author)

9780521523424, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 September 2005

632 pages, 187 b/w illus. 102 tables
25.7 x 17.7 x 2.6 cm, 1.094 kg

'When I needed a text for intermediate microeconomics, I had three criteria in mind: (1) a rigorous exposition that included calculus and yet did not require the reader to be a mathematician, (2) a discussion of cardinal versus ordinal utility with a 3-D graph showing indifference curves as contour lines on a utility surface, and (3) a book containing lots of real-world examples and applications. When I opened Price Theory and Applications, I knew my search had ended. Its wonderful treatment of capital theory - in particular the often neglected distinction between rent and interest - was just icing on the cake. Robert Murphy, Hillsdale College, Michigan

This new seventh edition of the book offers extensive discussion of information, uncertainty, and game theory. It contains over a hundred examples illustrating the applicability of economic analysis not only to mainline economic topics but also issues in politics, history, biology, the family, and many other areas. These discussions generally describe recent research published in scholarly books and articles, giving students a good idea of the scientific work done by professional economists. In addition, at appropriate places the text provides 'applications' representing more extended discussions of selected topics including rationing in wartime (Chapter 5), import quotas (Chapter 7), alleged monopolistic suppression of inventions (Chapter 9), minimum wage laws (Chapter 11), the effects of Social Security upon saving (Chapter 15), fair division of disrupted property (Chapter 16) and whether individuals should pay ransom to a kidnapper (Chapter 17).

1. The nature and scope of economics
2. Working tools
3. Utility and preference
4. Consumption and demand
5. Applications and extensions of demand theory
6. The business firm
7. Equilibrium in the product market - competitive industry
8. Monopolies, cartels and networks
9. Product quality and product variety
10. Competition among the few: oligopoly and strategic behavior
11. Dealing with uncertainty - the economics of risk and information
12. The demand for factor services
13. Resource supply and factor-market equilibrium
14. Exchange, transaction costs and money
15. The economics of time
16. Welfare economics: the market and the state
17. Government, politics and conflict.

Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ], Economics [KC]