Oligopoly theory is one of the most intensively studied areas of mathematical economics. On the basis of the pioneering works of Cournot (1838), many res- rchers have developed and extensively examined the different variants of oligopoly models. Initially, the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium of the different types of oligopolies was the main concern, and later the dynamic extensions of these models became the focus. The classical result of Theocharis (1960) asserts that under discrete time scales and static expectations, the equilibrium of a sing- product oligopoly without product differentiation and with linear price and cost functions is asymptotically stable if and only if it is a duopoly. In the continuous time case, asymptotic stability is guaranteed for any number of ?rms. In these cases the resulting dynamical systems are also linear, where local and global asymptotic stability are equivalent to each other. The classical book of Okuguchi (1976) gives a comprehensive summary of the earlier results and developments. The multipr- uct extensionshave been discussed in Okuguchiand Szidarovszky(1999);however, nonlinear features were barely touched upon in these contributions. WiththedevelopmentofthecriticalcurvemethodbyGumowskiandMira(1980) (see also Mira et al. (1996))fordiscrete time systemsand the introductionof cont- uously distributed information lags by Invernizzi and Medio (1991) in continuous time systems, increasing attention has been given to the global dynamics of n- linear oligopolies. The authors of this book have devoted a great deal of research effort to this area.

Microeconomic Theories of Imperfect Competition: Old Problems and New Perspectives is an authoritative collection of readings which, together with a new, original introductory essay by the editors, provides a broad overview of the major theoretical concepts in the field.This collection includes published papers on industry size: quantity and price competition, entry barriers, product differentiation, incomplete information, general equilibrium with imperfect competition. This book will be essential reading both for those seeking an introduction to the subject and those seeking a new perspective.

This book attempts to reformulate existing orthodox economic theory in order to improve its conversation with disciplines that have traditionally been seen as the domain of political scientists, sociologists, psychologists and even biologists, and to fit economics into the broader scheme of social science theory. Drawing on general systems theory, Robert Scott Gassler applies economic analysis to a wide range of social phenomena that incorporate motives other than profit or self-interest, such as altruism and non-profit organisations. He debates in depth the means, problems and advantages of adapting economic theory to new sets of assumptions, and of communicating this theory intelligibly to those in related fields. This book should not only be read by political and social economists, but is also accessible to those in the fields of education, health and non-profit administration, public affairs, and urban planning to name but a few.

Foundations of Organisational Economics: Histories and Theories of the Firm and Production delves into a range of key topics to do with the history of the mainstream approach to the theory of production and the theory of the firm. This includes the frameworks used to analyse production, the division of labour and its application to the firm and the development of the neoclassical model of production. The first topic explored is the change from a normative approach to a largely positive approach to the analysis of the theory of production, which occurred around the seventeenth century. The next topic is an examination of the relationship (or the lack of a relationship) between the division of labour and the theory of the firm. In the fourth chapter, the focus is on the development of the proto-neoclassical approach to production. Here, the development of the theories of monopoly, oligopoly and perfect competition are discussed, as well as the theory of input utilisation. Chapter 5 looks at Marshall's idea of the representative firm, which was the main early neoclassical approach to the theory of industry-level production. The penultimate chapter considers the criticisms made of the neoclassical model between 1940 and 1970. This work is an illuminating reference for students and researchers of the history of economic thought, industrial organisation, microeconomic theory and organisational studies.

The idea of giving cash, no-strings-attached, to the poor has become popular in the 21st century. While hardly a radical form of global redistribution, these cash grants, often known as unconditional cash transfers, claim to offer a new type of care that is less paternalistic than other forms of assistance. Caring Cash explores the caring practices that these grant experiments produced in the Nairobi ghetto of Korogocho. After receiving the grants, people there did not only look after themselves and their family, friends, lovers, clients and patrons, but also maintained the bonds that held them all together. Putting his interlocutors' lives in conversation with ideas around care, ethics and economies, Tom Neumark argues that for those in the ghetto, caring for relationships is as important as the care that takes place within relationships. Seeing care in this way reveals the importance of managing one's proximity, distance and detachment to others, and raises questions about the disquieting decisions that allow people to live together amidst violence and poverty.

This volume contains a collection of the most important articles on independent central banks and economic performance. The collection is comprehensive and divided into four parts: theoretical foundation of central banks independence, central bank independence, empirical evidence on central bank independence and determinants of central bank independence. The editor has prepared a new introduction discussing the main developments in this field. The volume will be a basic reference source for professors, lecturers, researchers, central bankers and other policymakers interested in studying the fundamental articles on central bank autonomy.

State and Local Public Finance provides a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of state and local government public finance practices and issues, using the basic tools of economics. This fifth edition maintains its focus on key local services such as education, health care, and transportation and brings in new coverage of land use and housing, applications from behavioral economics, and more international comparisons. This textbook provides an examination and analysis of public finance practices and problems in a federal fiscal system, focusing on the fiscal behavior and policies of state and local governments. Modern economic theory is applied to examine the way key institutions are used to produce and finance services and to provide evaluation of alternative policies. This stalwart text will continue to be invaluable reading for those who study public finance, local government finance, urban economics, public policy, and public administration.

State and Local Public Finance provides a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of state and local government public finance practices and issues, using the basic tools of economics. This fifth edition maintains its focus on key local services such as education, health care, and transportation and brings in new coverage of land use and housing, applications from behavioral economics, and more international comparisons. This textbook provides an examination and analysis of public finance practices and problems in a federal fiscal system, focusing on the fiscal behavior and policies of state and local governments. Modern economic theory is applied to examine the way key institutions are used to produce and finance services and to provide evaluation of alternative policies. This stalwart text will continue to be invaluable reading for those who study public finance, local government finance, urban economics, public policy, and public administration.

Bank failures, near failures, and crises are common throughout the world, and particularly in the major G-10 trading countries, including the United States, Germany, and Japan. But equally common are the bailouts by national governments, when they perceive that bank failure will result in severe economic distress. Gup examines these events, focusing on happenings in the particularly volatile years since 1980, and finds that nonperforming real estate loans, even more than fraud, are the primary cause. His wide-ranging investigation casts doubt on the effectiveness of bank regulation and makes clear that with globalization and emerging technologies, change in regulatory methods is needed. This book is essential for scholars, students as well as professionals in international banking, finance, investment, and world trade.

This volume brings together the most significant articles which have appeared over the past three decades analyzing the application and effects of price discrimination. Discrimination is a pervasive marketing practice that survives despite the attempts of regulators to limit or eliminate its use; it is widespread also in oligopolistic and imperfectly competitive markets. It is a practice used by firms in pricing their products over product dimensions such as space, time and quality, and it affects the ability of firms to compete in other firms' markets or to protect their own. This collection of articles by leading authors in the field highlights what we know of the motivations for and the welfare implications of price discrimination. It also presents a blueprint for further work in this important area.

This collection of articles examines cartels and looks at issues such as formation, stability and detection in the study of industrial organisation and the design and enforcement of regulatory policy.

Thoroughly examine how microeconomic principles apply to health care delivery and its policies with Henderson's insightful HEALTH ECONOMICS AND POLICY, 8E. Updates and expanded content help you explore the changing nature of health care, the social and political sides of issues and the future of health care delivery and finance as the U.S. transitions beyond the Affordable Care Act. You learn how to analyze public policy from an economic perspective as new content addresses today's policy environment and changes as well as reform alternatives. Special features address issues in healthcare today, profile health care leaders and offer global comparisons. A convenient new eBook format provides imbedded links to extra content. New appendices show you how to interpret empirical results and perform economic evaluations. This edition clearly introduces an engaging economic side of health care that's interesting no matter what your major or future plans.

This book analyses the household demand for consumer goods using a diverse database, consisting of 45 developed and developing countries. Household consumption patterns have undergone dramatic changes due to rapid economic growth, increasing household income and changing demographics. Using the most recent data available and the latest econometric techniques, the authors model demand for 12 different commodities such as food, alcohol and tobacco, housing, health, transport, health communication, and recreation and provide insightful comparisons of consumption patterns in developed and developing countries. The analysis presented in this book highlights valuable policy insights for planning government budgetary allocations and implementing policies towards an enhanced standard of living for people. The book also provides some important guidance for researchers interested in the theory and empirical application of the analysis of consumer demand.

This book is an authoritative collection of the most important published articles on key issues in securities markets including market design, the sources of the bid ask spread, and the short term movement of prices. The articles trace the development of this relatively new field of market microstructure while at the same time reflecting the latest ideas. At a time when securities markets are undergoing dramatic change, this two volume set provides important guidance to students, users and regulators of securities markets.

This EMEA adaptation of Thomas Nechyba's popular text presents a European, Middle East and African perspective, whilst also being fully updated. This exciting new edition follows Professor Nechyba's five primary goals for any microeconomics course by presenting the subject as a way of looking at the world, showing students how and why the world works, how to think more clearly and develop conceptual thinking skills, and by providing a flexible learning style and a roadmap for further study. Each chapter follows the A and B structure developed by Professor Nechyba, allowing students to explore an intuitive approach in Part A and then focus on how the intuitive approach can be represented mathematically in Part B. This edition is also available as a MindTap with additional assessments, a Graph Builder and video graph presentations. It is also available with Aplia, a comprehensive online learning assessment tool with autograded randomised questions to test students' understanding.

This book discusses China's tax system, presenting a comprehensive and systematic research based on a multidisciplinary approach involving economics, finance, political science, sociology, law, public administration, history, and econometrics.With China moving toward the rule of law, this book proposes reforms to the tax laws and the stratified governance with a view to achieving tax neutrality, law-based taxation, tax equality and tax burden stability. It focuses on clarifying the implications, extension, nature, and features of a law-based tax system as well as the logical relationships between the optimization of the tax system structure, modern governance, law-based tax administration, as well as the tax-sharing system of tax collection and the rule of tax law. It suggests that optimizing the tax structure, reforming the tax-sharing system, improving local taxes, and restructuring the tax collection and management system will push China's tax system toward sound design and rule of law.This book is intended for scholars specializing in China's tax system and general readers interested in China's economy.

This textbook on network economics provides essential microeconomic instruments for the analysis of network sectors like telecommunications, transport or energy. Network-specific characteristics emerge both on the cost side and benefit side, requiring network providers to develop innovative entrepreneurial competition strategies for costing, pricing, and investment. From a competition policy perspective, a number of interesting questions arise: In which parts of networks is competition functional? In contrast, where is an abuse of market power to be expected? What is the division of labor between cartel authorities and regulatory agencies? The book develops an analytical framework for all network industries which allows readers to study entrepreneurial strategies as well as regulation and competition policies for network industries.

The growing indebtedness of households reported over the last 30 years and in most developed countries has serious economic and social implications. This book provides insight into the concepts, measures, and determinants of household indebtedness, over-indebtedness, and well-being by integrating theoretical perspectives, adopting recent analytical methods, and using a sample of Polish households. The authors identified the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of indebted and over-indebted households, as well as the basic characteristics of indebtedness and the differences in its subjective perception among over-indebted households and those that are not over-indebted. They determined the spatial differentiation of over-indebtedness, examining the relationship between economic, social and behavioural factors and over-indebtedness and the role of over-indebtedness in shaping the economic well-being of households. The results of a questionnaire conducted on a sample of Polish households and econometric modelling served as the basis for assessing the economic well-being of indebted households. This assessment was conducted with the use of a composite well-being indicator developed by the authors. Given the multidimensional nature of the issues being analysed, the authors offer an approach that accounts for two separate but overlapping dimensions of economic well-being, namely material and financial, and two ways of assessing each of them: objective and subjective. The book holds appeal for researchers, scholars, and students of economics, finance, consumer economics, and economic psychology and offers practical guidance for policymakers and advisors who deal with consumer affairs.

In recent years, the idea of "nudges" - small changes in individual choice architecture that do not involve incentives or coercion - has entered policy discourse and practice to address various problems ranging from energy usage to retirement savings. However, how nudges can be incorporated into regulatory practice, and whether the experimental methodologies used to design nudges are still appropriate when they are being used as a regulatory instrument is still an unexplored issue. As this book shows, the translation of ideas into the world of regulation is not so simple and straightforward. By analysing the different experimental alternatives that regulators can use when designing nudges and through a close analysis of a real-world example - the case of the European Union tobacco warnings - this book proposes an alternative design process more in tune with the reality of regulation. The book explores the implications of iterative experimental methodologies and processes for regulators, concluding with a call for an alternative nudging's design process tailored to the regulatory space. This book is crucial for researchers and policy-makers interested in the incorporation of nudging into regulation and anyone interested in the implications of behavioural economics - and evidence more generally - for regulatory design.

Revised and updated for the 2nd edition, this textbook provides an analysis and investigation of the most essential areas of environmental economic theory and policy, including international environmental problems. The approach is based on standard theoretical tools, in particular equilibrium analysis, and aims to demonstrate how economic principles can help to understand environmental issues and guide policymakers. Current topics including climate change, overfishing and integrated approaches to environmental policies are carefully analyzed in this framework, and a multitude of practical examples from various parts of the world is presented. Addressing undergraduate and graduate students, this book is a must read for everybody interested in a better understanding of environmental economics.

Lack of credit access is severe in low income and poor families that are normally considered to have fewer opportunities to borrow from banks due to insufficient valuable assets for collateral. These low-income households face limited opportunity to acquire new technology and working capital for agricultural production and thus tend to fall behind. As a result, providing access to finance to low-income rural households has been considered an important component of any rural development strategy. Microfinance programmes, in particular, have been gradually embedded in national strategies of many developing countries as they are poverty-focused. They aim to facilitate the access to financial services such as credit for the poor who are usually disadvantaged in terms of access to conventional financial services from formal financial institutions. The objective of this book is to provide an overview of microfinance programmes in Asia focusing in particular on the determinants of the accessibility of rural households to microcredit. The book studies seven Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh with two specific case studies.

The concept of economic democracy is traditionally identified with workplace democracy and participation at the enterprise level. This is a very important dimension, but the concept of new economic democracy also recognizes that, in a world of increasing complexity, the principles of democratic deliberation and social participation have to be applied to other areas as well. This book takes a fresh look at economic democracy from various perspectives. It provides rich historical narratives of episodes of social participation in the economy and society, more broadly, from the 19th to the 21st century. It dissects the various analytical underpinnings informing the theory of economic democracy connecting it with collective choice, social contract theory, Marxian analysis and libertarian critiques. The book identifies new areas of application of the principles of democratic deliberation and oversight such as the adoption of austerity policies, the signing of free trade agreements, the conduct of central bank policies, international investment treaties and natural resource management. It takes a guided tour through the evolution of economic, social and cultural rights and their impact on the design and implementation of social policy and the welfare/ developmental state. The book expands the notion of economic democracy from factory level to the macro-economy and then to global economic governance. It also discusses the critical links between political democracy and economic democracy and the need for a more democratic and socially equitable economy in the 21st century. This volume will find an audience among economists, political scientists, social activists, philosophers and sociologists.

Microeconomics studies the choices made by individuals under conditions of scarcity of resources and time and the interaction between different decision makers. Scarcity forces economic actors to choose one opportunity among many. Microeconomics with Spreadsheets starts with the mathematical preliminaries and covers consumer theory, producer theory, general equilibrium, game theory, market structure and economics of information.The reader will use numerical tools to analyse problems that cannot be analysed analytically. There is a natural synergy between rigorous proofs and numerical methods, since before using a numerical method one should also prove that a solution exists and analyse whether it is unique, and therefore be able to interpret properly the output of a program.

Ever since Marx, the future of capitalism has been fiercely debated. Marx and his followers predicted capitalism will end by violent overthrow, while others prophesied its demise will be the result of collapsing under its own weight. Still others argue that capitalism will not only continue to exist but continue to expand globally. This book takes a distinctively different approach by presenting solid evidence that capitalism has already ended. The author argues that corporate statutory law, securities laws, and generally accepted accounting principles have combined to cause the extinction of capitalists. Without capitalists as owners of capital, there can be no capitalism. The book examines the factors that converged to contribute to and hasten the extinction of capitalists, and thus of capitalism as an economic system, in an ironic case of the law of unintended consequences. The very things that were intended to promote, protect, and sustain capitalism are the things that caused its death. It exposes the fallacy that capitalism as an economic system not only continues to exist but is expanding globally. Capitalism is extinct and the social system constructed on capitalism as an economic system cannot be sustained. This book will appeal to economists, accountants, historians, political scientists, lawyers and sociologists, as well as students of those disciplines.

* 5th edition has more content on inequality, wellbeing, international trade and the changing nature of work * Several chapters include discussion on the impacts of COVID-19 on inequality, labour markets, health and beyond * General updates, including new data, new exercises and discussion questions * Differs from other principles books on the market in its pluralist approach. It covers everything the student needs to know, whilst also placing issues in their historical, institutional, social, political, and ethical context. * Introduces students to different schools of thought in economics. Perspectives include neoclassical economics, Keynesian economics, ecological economics, institutional economics and feminist economics. * Logical building-block structure, providing student with a clear sequential approach to macroeconomic models. * Companion website with student study guide, PPT slides and teaching materials (including test bank)