Microeconomic Theory

There are many aspects of microeconomic theory that come into play when examining economics in the corporate world, society itself and within our currency system. The writers at Paper Masters will custom write research for you on any microeconomic theory that you need explicated. Below you will see some topic examples that work well when attempting to piece together a research paper on microeconomic theory.

Microeconomics Topics

1. Explain the meaning and nature of a representative households so-called indifference map. For a given level of consumption expenditure (equals income if there are no savings), and given prices for consumption goods, explain how this household maximizes its Autility; i.e. its real income in terms of its subjectively-determined well-being.
2. Explain the difference between the "substitution effect" and the "income effect" whenever the price of a consumption good changes, and use this distinction to explain:

   a. The (rare) phenomenon of a "Giffen good" in which consumers buy more of something when its price rises;

   b. The possibility of backward-bending (negatively-sloped) abor supply; and

   c. The possibility of backward-bending savings (capital supply) curves.

3. Discuss the concepts and measurement of:

   a. Acompensating variation (of income);

   b. Aequivalent variation (of income) and

   c. Consumer surplus, including how they can be used by either firms or government trying to:

   i. Recoup the benefits to their customers of an actual price cut;

   ii. Benefit their customers as if they had cut prices; or

   iii. Evaluate the benefits of a service that will have a zero price.

   d. Economists often assume that the long-(and short-) run average cost curves are "U"-shaped. Explain the assumptions about long-run production - including the rationale of cost minimization in terms of isoquants and cost constraints - that underlie these cost curves.

   e. Explain:

   i. Why firms in a competitive industry will normally operate at the bottom (minimum point) of their long-run average cost curves; and

   ii. Ways in which governments might subsidize firms in a Afavored industry, including an analysis of the direct, Adollar costs of such schemes as well as their economic costs (otherwise known as Adeadweight loss).

   f. Illustrate the concept of "general equilibrium" using a 2-sector production-possibilities frontier and a "community" indifference map. Explain the significance of the point of tangency at which the marginal rate of transformation in production (between "a" and "b") equals the marginal rate of substitution in consumption (for every household). What happens to real income if there are taxes or subsidies?

   g. Explain the concept of a A Social Welfare Function (SWF); i.e. a map of social Aindifference curves, particularly the extremes of so-called AParetian and ARawlsian SWFs. How could the degree of curvature (Aelasticity of substitution) of a SWF be measured? Could we be sure that this measurement is truly a reflection of societal values, given the nature of majority voting systems?

Michael Parkin's Microeconomics
A Valuable Tool for Understanding a Changing Economy

Michael Parkin's Microeconomics offers an insightful and comprehensive guide to understanding the economic process. The book includes sections that cover the core issues and policies of economics, including an introduction, how markets work, household choices, firms and markets, resource markets, market failures and government, and the global economy. In addition, Parkin offers four distinct alternative approaches to the book using "Micro Sequences" that emphasize particular aspects of microeconomics. These sequences include a traditional theory and policy mix, challenging theory, public choice and policy emphasis. In this respect, Parkin offers students an opportunity to select the particular emphasis that is most beneficial to their career goals. This report will examine the major points presented in the book as well as compare opinions expressed by other economic sources. In addition, these issues will be considered in light of their practical application to personal career goals and functions within an organization. Finally, this report will offer a personal reaction to the book, including those areas that may provide the greatest career benefits. This examination will demonstrate that Parkin offers a beneficial introduction to microeconomics that enhances the practical understanding of economics and presents ideas for improving the economic process. At the same time, Parkin's characterizations of economic activity sometimes unsuccessfully attempt to simplify complex economic relationships.

In his discussion of what economists do, Parkin distinguishes microeconomics, which is the study of national and global economies, from macroeconomics, which examines individual and business interactions within markets. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy expands this definition to include the economic analysis of specific aspects of the economy, such as the expansion of a single industry or demand for an individual product. The major task of economists, according to Parkin, is to discover how the economy works and how it could be optimized to work in a more beneficial manner. As scientists, economists use observation and measurement, model building and testing to understand economic processes.

Chapter two discusses the importance and pitfalls of making and using graphs to understand economic activity. Graphs are valuable in describing relationships between economic variables, and Parkin explains time series graphs that show trends, cycles and changes in economic activity, scatter diagrams that show the relationships between variables, and cross-section graphs that describe changes in variables across a population. The discussion of graphs provides students with an important tool for analyzing economic conditions. One could apply these graphs to one's business to understand economic variables in a certain situation and improve economic processes.

Chapter three poses the fundamental economic problem, which Parkin poses as a world of limited resources populated by people with unlimited desires. While resources are limited to labor, land, capital and entrepreneurship, people's wants are virtually unlimited, creating a necessity of choice in which people must select resources and how to use them. Parkin provides several ways to view the problem of scarcity, including a resource perspective, production possibilities, and opportunity cost. He discusses the "production possibility frontier," which charts the boundary of resource availability and can be used to determine production efficiency. In addition, the production possibility frontier can be used to identify the opportunity costs of goods, which increases as production increases. Again, Parkin offers tools that may be applied in one's career to apply economic theory to making economic choices in the workplace.

The conclusion of part one features discussions on "Understanding the Scope of Economics," an examination of Adam Smith's economic ideas from a past and present perspective, and an interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Douglass North. This discussion not only summarizes the key points of Parkin's introduction in a clear, easy-to-read style, but it also provides important background information that frames the issue of scarcity and the scope of economics in historical and contemporary terms. This perspective makes it possible to translate the principles presented in Microeconomics into positive actions that can benefit one's career.

Parkin examines the ways in which markets interact and work in an economy in part two. This includes a discussion of demand and supply, elasticity, efficiency and equity, and markets in action. Chapter four begins with a discussion of opportunity cost, which is a relative price determined by supply and demand. In this chapter, Parkin describes the relationship between demand, which is he generally defines as the relationship between the quantity demanded of a good and its price, and supply, which he defines as the relationship between the quantity supplied of a good and its price. Both supply and demand depend upon the price of several variables, which makes them difficult to predict, yet essential for the maintenance of a strong and viable economy. Following a brief discussion of market equilibrium, which is a determining factor in prices of goods and services, Parkin offers methods for predicting changes in price and quantity of goods and services. For example, he notes that an increase in demand leads to higher prices, increases in supply leads to lower prices, whereas a decrease in demand and supply has the opposite affects. On the other hand, a simultaneous increase in supply and demand leads to an ambiguous change in prices. These may be basic economic principles, but Parkin makes it clear that they remain at the heart of contemporary economic activity.