Microeconomics, 3rd Edition

Reach every student with MyLab Economics with Pearson eText
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About the book

Three unified principles lay the groundwork for understanding the economic way of thinking about the world

1. Optimization. Economists believe that optimization explains most choices people make. When people fail to choose the best available option, economic reasoning can be used to analyze the mistake and to suggest a better course of action.
2. Equilibrium. Economic systems tend toward equilibrium, wherein each economic actor feels that he or she cannot do any better by picking another course of action. This principle highlights the connections among economic actors and their choices.
3. Empiricism. Economists use data to test economic theories, learn about the world, and speak to policymakers. The emphasis on matching theories with real-world data to answer specific questions helps to show students the evidence behind the theory, making economics concrete, interesting, and fun.

Applications provide meaningful practice in analyzing and interpreting real-world economic data and questions

• NEW - End-of-chapter Evidence-Based Economic problems show how economists use data to answer the question posed in the opening paragraph of each chapter. These features let students get a real look at economics as it plays out in the world around them, and gives them the skills to question systematically and evaluate what they read. New problems focus on the effectiveness of financial incentives to get people to quit smoking (Chapter 5); employment discrimination and the Democratic presidential nomination (Chapter 11); and the role of discrimination in wage differences across gender and ethnicity (Chapter 11). Autograded versions of these questions are also in the MyLab.
• NEW - Letting the Data Speak boxes are short, targeted explorations that analyze an economic question by using real data as the foundation of the discussion. Recent additions profile the impact of tax and service charges on price elasticity (Chapter 5), the costs and benefits of government regulation and safety (Chapter 7), and how companies can optimize apologies to their customer (Chapter 18).
• NEW - Choice and Consequence exercises emphasize optimization by focusing on making the best decision. These features ask students to make an economic decision, or evaluate the consequences of past real decisions. The authors then explain how an economist might analyze the same decision. New questions discuss the Coronavirus vaccination.

Comprehensive microeconomic coverage shows the importance of concepts in everyday life

• NEW - Practical coverage of microeconomics helps students see how they can apply course content in their own decision-making. New and relevant discussions include COVID-19s impact on positive and normative economics related to unemployment and the stock market (Chapter 1), the trade-offs between health and economic output during the COVID-19 crisis (Chapter 1), how stay-at-home orders in 2020 impacted the demand for gasoline in developed countries (Chapter 4), and more.
• UPDATED - An integrated approach to consumption and production. Chapters 5 and 6 show students that consumption and production are really two sides of the same coin, glued together by the idea of incentives. Upon grasping the commonalities and linkages between the processes of consumer and producer decisions, students can see and get a better understanding of the whole picture and how these concepts tie together.
• UPDATED - In-depth coverage of game theory that yields powerful insights. Chapter 13 is devoted entirely to game theory, which is a source of some very powerful economic insights. This chapter emphasizes that it helps us better understand the world when we place ourselves in the shoes of someone else. In so doing, each student may develop a deeper understanding of how to choose a strategy that is a best response to the strategies of others.
• UPDATED - An innovative suite that extends the microeconomic toolbox. Chapters 15 to 17 help students see the relevance of the study of microeconomics, which is applicable to real-life topics such as how compound interest causes an investments value to grow over time. And the book comes to a close in an innovative fashion with Chapter 18 on social economics. Exploring the economics of charity, fairness, and revenge, this final chapter drives home the fact that economic principles can be extended to every corner of our world.

Reach every student with MyLab

Teach your course your way

• Current News Exercises. Every week, microeconomic and macroeconomic news stories and accompanying exercises are posted toMyLab. Assignable and auto-graded, these multi-part exercises ask students to recognize and apply economic concepts to current events.
• Performance Analytics enable instructors to see and analyze student performance across multiple courses. Based on their current course progress, individuals performance is identified above, at, or below expectations through a variety of graphs and visualizations. Now included with Performance Analytics, Early Alerts use predictive analytics to identify struggling students even if their assignment scores are not a cause for concern. In both Performance Analytics and Early Alerts, instructors can email students individually or by group to provide feedback.

Deliver trusted content

• NEW - With Podcast Exercises, students listen to a podcast and then answer questions about the economic principles covered within.
• Animated Graphs in MyLab accompany many of the key graphs and figures in the text, and have been updated with real-time data from the Federal Reserves Economic Data (FRED) a comprehensive, up-to-date data set maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. These animated graphs help students understand shifts in curves, movements along curves, and changes in equilibrium values.
• Easy to assign and automatically graded, Real-Time Data Analysis Exercises use up-to-the-minute, real-time macroeconomic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louiss FRED site, to test students knowledge.

Empower learners

• Learning aids, such as Help Me Solve This, provide extra help for students at the point-of-use.
• Digital Interactives are dynamic and engaging assessment activities that promote critical thinking and the application of key economic principles. Many Digital Interactives also include real-time data from the Federal Reserves Economic Data (FRED), allowing professors and students to display up-to-the-minute data in key areas. Digital Interactives can be assigned and graded within MyLab or used as a lecture tool to encourage engagement and classroom conversation.