Microeconomics, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2014
A Fresh Start
Springer Texts in Business and Economics Series

The world has changed dramatically in recent years and so has the field of economics, but many introductory economics textbooks have remained stuck in the past. This book provides a new beginning for the study of microeconomics, emphasizing current debates and research trends. It is international in outlook and reflects the shift toward empirical methods, as well as the study of institutions and economic behavior. It is also written to fit in with an approach to teaching based on active learning and critical thinking. Mainstream material is still covered, but within a new context, making it more relevant, realistic and responsive to the deeper questions economists are now asking about theory and policy. Economics as a discipline is viewed from a broad perspective that takes into account new developments at the intersections with psychology, political science, the natural sciences and philosophy. Economics as presented in this text is less sure that it has all the answers, but it is more interesting, application-oriented and open to new ideas.

Part I: Foundations.- 1 Economics and the Economy.- 2 Economics Yesterday and Today.- 3 Four Building Blocks of Economic Theory.- 4 Values and Objectives.- 5 Analyzing Markets.- 6 Markets and Human Well-Being. Appendix: Markets and Freedom.-7 Markets.- 8 Firms.- 9 Government.- 10 Civil Society.- Part III: A Closer Look at Markets.- 11 The Theory of Demand. Appendix: Indifference Curves.- 12 Production Costs and the Theory of Supply.- 13 Monopoly Power.- 14 The Economics of Bargaining Power.- 15 Market Failure.- Part IV: Microeconomic Challenges.- 16 Labor and Employment.- 17 Financial Markets.- 18 Inequality. Appendix: Theories of Distributive Justice.- 19 Poverty.- 20 Economics and Ecology.- 21 Markets as Systems.- Glossary.- Index.

Peter Dorman is a professor of economics at Evergreen State College. He has published extensively on a range of economic topics including occupational safety and health, child labor, environmental policy, international trade theory and economic methodology.

Advances a critical thinking perspective on economics, emphasizing the limits of simplifying assumptions International perspective in its treatment of economic institutions and in the choice of policy issues Integrates new developments, e.g. greater influence of game theory, treatment of institutional and behavioral factors Places economics within a larger, interdisciplinary context by calling attention to the subject’s boundaries with other social sciences, natural sciences, history and philosophy Detailed explanation to allow instructors to shift classroom time away from lecturing and toward workshops, research projects and other active learning methods