Microeconomics: Competition, Conflict, and Coordination

Bowles and Halliday's book captures the intellectual excitement,analytical precision,and policy relevance of the new microeconomics that has emerged over the past decades. It uses 21st-century analytical methods to address enduring challenges in economics,such as competition,conflict,and coordination. The new benchmark model is based on an empirical approach to economic actors and problems,and explains how human motivations include ethical as well as other-regarding preferences. It also considers the intrinsic limits of mechanism design and governmental interventions in the economy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 1072 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Bowles and Halliday's work captures the intellectual excitement, analytical precision, and policy relevance of the new microeconomics that has emerged over the past decades. Drawing on themes from classical economists such as Smith, Marx, and 20th-century writers like Hayek, Coase, and Arrow, the authors employ twenty-first-century analytical methods to address enduring challenges in economics. The subtitle of the work, "Competition, Conflict, and Coordination," signals their focus on how the institutions of a modern capitalist economy function, introducing students to recent developments in the microeconomics of credit and labor markets with asymmetric information, a dynamic analysis of how firms compete beyond price taking, and bargaining over the gains from exchange, social norms, and the exercise of power.

The new benchmark model proposed by Bowles and Halliday is based on an empirical approach to economic actors and problems. They begin by recognizing that contracts are incomplete, leading to market failures rather than being a special case illustrated by environmental spillovers. They explain how experiments demonstrate that human motivations include ethical as well as other-regarding preferences (rather than entirely self-interested) and why the technologies of knowledge-based economies are a source of winner-take-all rather than stable competition.

The authors also consider the intrinsic limits of mechanism design and governmental interventions in the economy. Teaching recent developments in microeconomic theory equips students with the tools to analyze and engage in informed debate on the issues that concern them most, such as climate change. By integrating insights from various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and political science, the authors provide a comprehensive framework for understanding economic behavior and policy.

In conclusion, Bowles and Halliday's work is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in microeconomics. It offers a fresh perspective on the field, combining classical economic principles with modern analytical methods to address complex economic challenges. Through its focus on competition, conflict, and coordination, the book provides a comprehensive understanding of the institutions and mechanisms that shape modern economies. By integrating insights from other disciplines, it offers a holistic approach to analyzing and addressing economic issues, enabling students to make informed decisions and contribute to the betterment of society.

Weight: 1778g
Dimension: 246 x 190 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198843207