Microeconomics Third Edition

Book Preface

The Story of the Third Edition: What’s Retained and What’s New
We are happy to have heard positive and constructive feedback on the second edition. As such, the overall structure and pedagogical features have been retained, while examples have been thoroughly updated.
A Leaner Text
There’s an old joke about someone not having enough time to write a sho1t letter, so they wrote a long one instead. Well, after three editions, we’ve had enough time to v.•rite a sho1ter book. We figured out where we could slim down the text without losing the essence of the material. All told, this edition is about l 0% sho1ter than the second. We have been able, despite this, to present clearly and fully the core material of a rich microeconomics cow·se. We did not do this by sacrificing any of the real-world, tools­based focus that is the hallmark of the book. Indeed, we hope that by presenting ce1tain things more concisely, we will actually make the material easier to absorb. At the same time, we have also left plenty of flexibility for instrnctors and students to dive deeper into more specific topics as desired.
Real World, Real Life
Microeconomics provides examples that offer unusual perspectives on the seemingly ordina1y. We have been gratified by the overwhelmingly positive response to the many ways in which we integrated real-life, up-to-date, and, above all, interesting examples and Applications into ow· presentation. Instrnctors especially appreciated ow- extensive inclusion of empirical examples. All told, we have over 200 examples (20% of them new in this edition), Applications, and Freakonomics boxes that illustrate how useful the microeconomic toolbox is in illwninating and understanding all aspects of economics and life.