Table Of ContentFirm Behavior and the organization oF industry
13 The Costs of Production
The theory of the firm sheds light on the decisions that lie
behind supply in competitive markets.
14 Firms in Competitive Markets
15 Monopoly
Firms with market power can cause market outcomes to
16 Monopolistic Competition
be inefficient.
17 Oligopoly
the economics oF LaBor markets
18 The Markets for the Factors of Production
These chapters examine the special features of labor markets,
19 Earnings and Discrimination
in which most people earn most of their income.
20 Income Inequality and Poverty
topics For Further study
21 The Theory of Consumer Choice Additional topics in microeconomics include household decision
making, asymmetric information, political economy, and
22 Frontiers of Microeconomics behavioral economics.
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PPrriinncciipplleess ooff
Microeconomics
Sixth Edition
N. Gregory Mankiw
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
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Principles of Microeconomics, 6E © 2012, 2009 South-Western, Cengage Learning
N. Gregory Mankiw
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To Catherine, Nicholas, and Peter,
my other contributions to the next generation
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about the
author
N. Gregory Mankiw is professor of economics at
Harvard University. As a student, he studied eco-
nomics at Princeton University and MIT. As a teach-
er, he has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics,
statistics, and principles of economics. He even
spent one summer long ago as a sailing instructor
on Long Beach Island.
Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regu-
lar participant in academic and policy debates. His
work has been published in scholarly journals, such
as the American Economic Review, Journal of Political
Economy, and Quarterly Journal of Economics, and in
more popular forums, such as The New York Times
and The Wall Street Journal. He is also author of
the best-selling intermediate-level textbook Macroeconomics (Worth Publishers).
In addition to his teaching, research, and writing, Professor Mankiw has been a
research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the
Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and New
York, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the Advanced
Placement exam in economics. From 2003 to 2005, he served as chairman of the
President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Professor Mankiw lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife, Deborah,
three children, Catherine, Nicholas, and Peter, and their border terrier, Tobin.
vi
Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
brief
ccoonntteennttss
I V
Part Introduction 1 Part Firm Behavior and the Organization of Industry 257
1 Ten Principles of Economics 3 13 The Costs of Production 259
2 Thinking Like an Economist 21 14 Firms in Competitive Markets 279
3 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade 49 15 Monopoly 299
16 Monopolistic Competition 329
17 Oligopoly 349
II
Part How Markets Work 63
4 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand 65 VI
5 Elasticity and Its Application 89 Part The Economics of Labor Markets 373
6 Supply, Demand, and Government Policies 111 18 The Markets for the Factors of Production 375
19 Earnings and Discrimination 397
20 Income Inequality and Poverty 415
III
Part Markets and Welfare 133
7 Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets 135 VII
8 Application: The Costs of Taxation 155 Part Topics for Further Study 437
9 Application: International Trade 171 21 The Theory of Consumer Choice 439
22 Frontiers of Microeconomics 467
IV
Part The Economics of the Public Sector 193
10 Externalities 195
11 Public Goods and Common Resources 217
12 The Design of the Tax System 233
vii
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
