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"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 those 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 are 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"--
List of contents
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.
About the author
Michihiro Kandori is Professor of Economics at University of Tokyo. He was former Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, and Taussig Visiting Professor at Harvard University. He is the president of the Game Theory Society (2022–2024) and was a former associate editor of Econometrica, and fellow of the Econometric Society. He has published numerous articles in high-impact journals. He received his PhD from Stanford University under the supervision of Nobel laureate, Paul Milgrom. He has consistently received high ratings for his 'Welcome to Game Theory' course on Coursera (more than 85,000 learners since 2015).
Summary
Based on a best-selling Japanese text that sold more than 65,000 copies, the book is written in a chatty, colloquial style without compromising the rigor of explaining microeconomic theories. Interspersed with illuminating real-life examples, the book encourages readers to think like an economist with insights on social justice and philosophy.
Foreword
A highly accessible text for learning microeconomics with a unique approach of simplifying technicalities for students and general readers.
