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One might expect that after their identification in the 19th century, all aspects of Giffen goods would have been studied by now. This appears not to be the case. This book contains the latest insights into the theory of Giffen goods. In the past, surprisingly few goods could be categorized as "Giffen." This may be because of a lack of understanding of the character of these goods. Therefore, the theories explained in this book may also produce a solid basis for further empirical research in the field. Experts throughout the world have contributed to this book, which predominantly pursues a mathematically rigorous approach. It may be used by researchers in the field of fundamental economics and in graduate-level courses in advanced microeconomics.
List of contents
Introduction.- Notes on Some Theories of Giffen Behaviour.- Exact and Useful Optimization Methods for Microeconomics.- On the Definitions of Giffen and Inferior Goods.- Giffen Behaviour and Strong Assymetric Gross Substituability.- A Child Garden of Concrete Giffen Utility Functions: a Theoretical Review.- On Giffen's Paradox.- Giffen Demand for Several Goods.- Giffen Behaviour Independent of the Wealth Level.- A Class of Indirect Utility Functions Predicting Giffen Behaviour.- Close Substitutes and Upward-Sloping Demand Curves.- Lotteries and the Law of Demand.
About the author
Wim Heijman (1953) received MSc degrees respectively in Economics and Human Geography from Tilburg University and the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. He received his PhD degree from Wageningen University. In 2000 he was appointed Professor of Regional Economics at the latter university. He is also teaching micro- and macro subjects in undergraduate and graduate courses. Pierre von Mouche (1959) studied theoretical physics and mathematics at the University of Nijmegen. He received his PhD from the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Hans Duistermaat. Since 1989 he helds a position in economics at Wageningen University. His scientific interest concerns in particular mathematical economics.
Summary
One might expect that after their identification in the 19th century, all aspects of Giffen goods would have been studied by now. This appears not to be the case. This book contains the latest insights into the theory of Giffen goods. In the past, surprisingly few goods could be categorized as “Giffen.” This may be because of a lack of understanding of the character of these goods. Therefore, the theories explained in this book may also produce a solid basis for further empirical research in the field. Experts throughout the world have contributed to this book, which predominantly pursues a mathematically rigorous approach. It may be used by researchers in the field of fundamental economics and in graduate-level courses in advanced microeconomics.
