A Review of Microeconomic Theory
Chapter 2 A REVIEW OF MICROECONOMIC THEORY “Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. It is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil.” John Maynard Keynes, THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT, INTEREST, AND MONEY (1936) “In this state of imbecility, I had, for amusement, turned my attention to political economy.” Thomas DeQuincey, CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER (18– –) “Economics is the science which studies human behavior as a relationship be- tween ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.” Lionel Charles Robbins, Lord Robbins, AN ESSAY ON THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE (1932) HE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS of law draws upon the principles of microeco- Tnomic theory, which we review in this chapter. For those who have not studied this branch of economics, reading this chapter will prove challenging but useful for understanding the remainder of the book. For those who have already mastered microeconomic theory, reading this chapter is unnecessary. For those readers who are somewhere in between these extremes, we suggest that you begin reading this chapter, skimming what is familiar and studying carefully what is un- familiar. If you’re not sure where you lie on this spectrum of knowledge, turn to the questions at the end of the chapter. If you have difficulty answering them, you will benefit from studying this chapter carefully. 13 14 CHAPTER 2 A Review of Microeconomic Theory I. OVERVIEW: THE STRUCTURE OF MICROECONOMIC THEORY Microeconomics concerns decision-making by individuals and small groups, such as families, clubs, firms, and governmental agencies.
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