Microeconomics (Advanced Tutorial) Third Edition

Author: Varian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-10-01
Features: This book is a must-have on the bookshelf of every microeconomist; many renowned universities use it as a textbook or reference material. The fifth edition of Microeconomics (Advanced Theory) was published in 1977. Fifteen years later, the author believed a major revision was necessary. In the third edition, the author made two types of revisions—structural and content-based changes. Structural changes include significant adjustments to the material in the "Combinatorial Units" chapter. Most of these chapters have the same titles as their counterparts in my undergraduate textbook, Intermediate Microeconomics, making it easier for students to return to their undergraduate materials for review at the appropriate time. It also serves another purpose: if an upper-level student wants to delve deeper into a particular topic, it is straightforward to transition to the relevant chapter in Microeconomics (Advanced Theory). The combinatorial units structure offers two additional advantages: it allows for reading the book in various orders and makes it more convenient to use as a reference.
In addition to the reorganization, there are several content-based modifications. First, many chapters in the book have been rewritten by the author, making them more comprehensive. Second, the author has incorporated a wealth of new material. Particularly, the content on monopoly and oligopoly is entirely new, reflecting the major advancements in industrial organization theory from the 1980s. Third, I have added several new chapters. Now, the book includes chapters on game theory, asset markets, and information. These chapters can serve as an appropriate introduction to these topics for first-year graduate students in economics. The author has not attempted to delve deeply into these subjects; it would be better for students to study them more thoroughly after they have mastered the standard tools of economic analysis in their second or third year of graduate school. Fourth, the author has supplemented the book with additional exercises and provided complete solutions to all odd-numbered problems.