Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications

Russell Cooper and Andrew John have written an economics text aimed directly at students from its very inception. You’re thinking, ”Yeah, sure. I’ve heard that before.“

This textbook, Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications, centers around student needs and expectations through two premises: … Students are motivated to study economics if they see that it relates to their own lives. … Students learn best from an inductive approach, in which they are first confronted with a problem, and then led through the process of solving that problem.

Many books claim to present economics in a way that is digestible for students; Russell and Andrew have truly created one from scratch. This textbook will assist you in increasing students’ economic literacy both by developing their aptitude for economic thinking and by presenting key insights about economics that every educated individual should know.

How? Russell and Andrew have done three things in this text to accomplish that goal:

1. Applications Ahead of Theory: They present all the theory that is standard in Principles books. But by beginning with applications, students get to learn why this theory is needed.

The authors take the kind of material that other authors put in ”applications boxes“ and place it at the heart of their book. Each chapter is built around a particular business or policy application, such as minimum wages, the stock exchange, and auctions.

Why take this approach? Traditional courses focus too much on abstract theory relative to the interests and capabilities of the average undergraduate. Students are rarely engaged and the formal theory is never integrated into the way students think about economic issues. And traditional books are organized around theoretical constructs that mean nothing to students. The authors’ applications-first approach ensures that students will not see chapters with titles like ”Cost Functions“ or ”Short-Run Fluctuations“. They introduce tools and ideas as and when they are needed. Each chapter is designed with two goals. First, the application upon which the chapter is built provides a ”hook“ that gets students’ attention. Second, the application is a suitable vehicle a vehicle for teaching the principles of economics.

2. Learning through Repetition: Important tools appear over and over again, allowing students to learn from repetition and to see how one framework can be useful in many different contexts.

Each piece of economic theory in this text is first introduced and explained in the context of a specific application. Most are re-used in other chapters, so students see them in action on multiple occasions. As students progress through the book, they accumulate a set of techniques and ideas. These are collected separately in a ”toolkit“ that provides students with an easy reference and also gives them a condensed summary of economic principles for examination preparation.

3. A Student’s Table of Contents vs. An Instructor’s Table of Contents: There is no further proof that Russell and Andrew have created a book aimed specifically at educating students about economics than their two tables of contents.

The Student’s Table of Contents speaks to students, piquing their interest to involve them in the economics, and a Instructor’s Table of Contents with the economics to better help you organize your teaching—and frankly, you don’t need to get excited by economics, you already are.

Check out the Instructor’s Table of Contents here to get a sense of how you would teach with this Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications, then click on the Table of Contents tab below to see how your students will learn from it.

Instructor Table of Contents: Chpt. 1 Introduction Chpt. 2 Microeconomics in Action Chpt. 3 Macroeconomics in Action Chpt. 4 Household Choice: Static Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Cost, Household Demand, Household Labor Supply, Marginal Analysis, Labor Market, Incentives, Efficiency Chpt. 5 Household Choice: The Problems of Time and Uncertainty Key Tools: Household (Intertemporal) Budget Constraint, Discounted Present Value, Incentives, Uncertainty, Expected Value Chpt. 6 Gains from Trade: Auctions and Markets Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Cost, Supply and Demand, Incentives, Uncertainty, Market Equilibrium, Production Possibilities Frontier, Consumer/Producer Surplus, Efficiency, Comparative Advantage, Games/Strategic Interactions Chpt. 7 Price Setting and Competitive Supply Key Tools: Supply and Demand, Marginal Analysis, Elasticity, Consumer/Producer Surplus, Market Power, Costs of Production, Taxes and Subsidies, Comparative Statics Chpt 8 Supply and Demand Key Tools: Supply and Demand, Market Equilibrium, Efficiency, Comparative Statics, Production Possibilities Frontier, Marginal Analysis, Costs of Production, Taxes and Subsidies Chpt. 9 Labor Market Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Costs, Supply and Demand, Marginal Analysis, Comparative Advantage, Elasticity, Household Labor Supply, Labor Demand, Labor Market Equilibrium, Taxes and Subsidies, Costs of Production, Discounted Present Value, Expected Value Chpt.10 Commodity and Financial Markets Key Tools: Supply and Demand, Uncertainty, Market Equilibrium, Credit Market, Foreign Exchange Market, Moral Hazard/Adverse Selection, Discounted Present Value, Expected Value Chpt 11 Trade Restrictions: Minimum Wages Key Tools: Supply and Demand, Market Equilibrium, Market Failure, Comparative Advantage, Incentives, Elasticity, Income Distribution, Taxes and Subsidies, Deadweight Loss, Costs of Production, Consumer and Producer Surplus Chpt 12 Trade Restrictions: Taxes, Subsidies and Quotas Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Costs, Supply and Demand, Market Failure, Deadweight Loss, Comparative Advantage, Incentives, Elasticity, Efficiency, Production Possibility Frontier, Taxes and Subsidies Chpt. 13 Distribution of Income Key Tools: Market Failure, Marginal Analysis, Incentives, Market Equilibrium, Household Labor Supply, Externalities, Market Power, Moral Hazard/Adverse Selection, Taxes and Subsidies Chpt. 14 Environmental Economics Key Tools: Market Failure, Marginal Analysis, Externalities, Taxes and Subsidies, Tax Incidence, Discounted Present Value, Games/Strategic Interactions, Natural Resources, Public Goods Chpt. 15 Imperfect Competition Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Cost, Market Failure, Incentives, Elasticity, Goods Market Demand, Consumer/producer surplus, Externalities, Efficiency, Income Distribution, Taxes and Subsidies, Costs of Production, Deadweight Loss, Discounted Present Value, Games/Strategic Interactions, Public Goods Chpt. 16 Health Economics Key Tools: Scarcity/Opportunity Costs, Market Failure, Incentives, Uncertainty, Market Equilibrium, Household Demand, Labor Supply, Externalities, Income Distribution, Moral Hazard/Adverse Selection, Taxes and Subsidies, Discounted Present Value, Costs of Production, Public Goods Chpt. 17 Dynamic Industry Equilibrium Key Tools: Supply and Demand, Market Failure, Marginal Analysis, Comparative Advantage, Uncertainty, Elasticity, Production Possibilities Frontier, Market Power, Foreign Exchange Market, Costs of Production, Discounted Present Value, Comparative Statics, Games/Strategic Interactions, Expected Value, Natural Resources, Public Good

• Chapter 1: What Is Economics?
• Chapter 2: Microeconomics in Action
• Chapter 3: Everyday Decisions
• Chapter 4: Life Decisions
• Chapter 5: eBay and craigslist
• Chapter 6: Where Do Prices Come From?
• Chapter 7: Why Do Prices Change?
• Chapter 8: Growing Jobs
• Chapter 9: Making and Losing Money on Wall Street
• Chapter 10: Raising the Wage Floor
• Chapter 11: Barriers to Trade and the Underground Economy
• Chapter 12: Superstars
• Chapter 13: Cleaning Up the Air and Using Up the Oil
• Chapter 14: Busting Up Monopolies
• Chapter 15: A Healthy Economy
• Chapter 16: Cars
• Chapter 17: Microeconomics Toolkit