Introduction to Information Economics (Incentives and Contracts)

Author: Innes McAfee
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: An Introduction to Information Economics: Incentives and Contracts is an outstanding choice as a textbook in information economics. The book has the following characteristics: First, it presents the general theories and models of information economics, consistently integrating several fields of economics, which holds certain methodological significance and expands people's perspective on economics. The book systematically summarizes and organizes recent literature in information economics, forming classic theories and models of information economics, which is the theoretical development of the information paradigm in economics. Second, the book has a rigorous structure, smooth exposition, and organic connections between chapters, progressing in a step-by-step manner, making it suitable as a professional textbook for master's and doctoral students in economics, business administration, and high-level undergraduates in China. In the introduction of the first chapter, the book covers the three main paradigms of information economics: moral hazard, adverse selection, and signal transmission. The content is self-contained and does not require any prerequisites beyond introductory microeconomics and calculus. In the second chapter, it discusses the basic models of information economics and outlines the development of intertemporal contracts. The next three chapters start from the basic models of symmetric information and introduce asymmetric information assumptions, following the rational assumptions of economics, progressively analyzing and deriving related models, and connecting them to real economic behavior to draw intuitive knowledge and conclusions. In addition to the introduction, each chapter is accompanied by exercises, where the difficulties in the exercises correspond to the key theoretical elements of each chapter, aiming to reinforce students' mastery of the knowledge points. At the end of the book, there are additional exercises, solutions to exercises, a glossary of terms, and a mathematical appendix.