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Rakesh V. Vohra offers a unique approach to studying and understanding intermediate microeconomics by reversing the conventional order of treatment, starting with topics that are mathematically simpler and progressing to the more complex. The book begins with monopoly, which requires single variable rather than multivariable calculus and allows students to focus clearly on the fundamental trade-off at the heart of economics: margin versus volume. Imperfect competition and the contrast with monopoly follows, introducing the notion of Nash equilibrium. Perfect competition is addressed toward the end of the book, and framed as a model of non-strategic behavior by firms and agents. The last chapter is devoted to externalities, with an emphasis on how one might design competitive markets to price externalities and linking the difficulties to the problem of efficient provision of public goods. Real-life examples engage the reader while encouraging them to think critically about the interplay between model and reality.
List of contents
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Margin vs volume; 3. Price discrimination; 4. Competition; 5. Preferences and utility; 6. Perfect competition; 7. Externalities and public goods; Appendix A. Optimization; Index.
About the author
Rakesh V. Vohra is the George A. Weiss and Lydia Bravo Weiss University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Principles of Pricing: An Analytical Approach (with Lakshman Krishnamurthi, 2012) and Mechanism Design: A Linear Programming Approach (2011).
Summary
Rakesh V. Vohra offers a unique approach to intermediate microeconomics that reverses the conventional order of topics and provides substantive examples and novel practice problems with solutions. The book is suitable for students taking intermediate microeconomics worldwide in economics programs or in M.B.A. programs.
Additional text
'This beautifully written textbook gives a masterfully innovative development of modern intermediate microeconomics, elegantly and concisely building core principles by moving from monopoly to imperfect competition and basic game theory, then to consumer theory and general equilibrium. Woven throughout are compelling and engaging examples drawn from classics, history, literature, and current events, making it as enjoyable to read as it is instructive, and ideally suited for learning modern economics.' Chris Shannon, University of California, Berkeley
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'A leader in the field provides a readable but rigorous introduction to microeconomics with clear, mathematical arguments that students will depend on to fill conceptual gaps in their understanding of economic markets.' Paul Klemperer, Edgeworth Professor of Economics, University of Oxford
