Dwight R. Lee

This fully updated fourth edition explores microeconomic concepts, with a distinctive emphasis on 'the economic way of thinking' and its applicability to sharp managerial thinking, productivity, and good decision-making. It stands apart due to its strong focus on practical and applied knowledge from the business context and its unique structure (Part I of each chapter develops key economic principles; Part II draws on those principles to discuss organizational and incentive issues in management, focusing on solving the 'principal-agent' problem to maximize the profitability of the firm). There are plentiful real-life scenarios and provocative examples in each chapter. Accessible to MBA students, other graduate students and undergraduates, it is ideal as a core text for courses in Managerial Economics. Requiring an understanding of only basic algebra, this new edition is more concise with a wealth of online resources, including additional online chapters and an online appendix with more advanced mathematical applications.

This fully updated fourth edition explores microeconomic concepts, with a distinctive emphasis on 'the economic way of thinking' and its applicability to sharp managerial thinking, productivity, and good decision-making. It stands apart due to its strong focus on practical and applied knowledge from the business context and its unique structure (Part I of each chapter develops key economic principles; Part II draws on those principles to discuss organizational and incentive issues in management, focusing on solving the 'principal-agent' problem to maximize the profitability of the firm). There are plentiful real-life scenarios and provocative examples in each chapter. Accessible to MBA students, other graduate students and undergraduates, it is ideal as a core text for courses in Managerial Economics. Requiring an understanding of only basic algebra, this new edition is more concise with a wealth of online resources, including additional online chapters and an online appendix with more advanced mathematical applications.

Now in its third edition, this textbook develops the economic way of thinking through problems that MBA students will find relevant to their career goals. Theory and mathematics are kept as simple as possible and illustrated with real-life scenarios. The textbook package includes online video tutorials on key concepts and complex arguments, and topics likely to be assessed in exams. The distinguished author team has developed this textbook over twenty years of teaching microeconomics to MBA students. Chapters are clearly structured to support learning: Part I of each chapter develops key economic principles, whilst Part II draws on those principles to discuss organizational and incentive issues in management and focuses on solving the 'principal-agent' problem to maximize the profitability of the firm - lessons that can be applied to problems MBA students will face in the future. Economics and management are treated equally; this unique textbook presents economics as part of the everyday thinking of business people.

Now in its third edition, this textbook develops the economic way of thinking through problems that MBA students will find relevant to their career goals. Theory and mathematics are kept as simple as possible and illustrated with real-life scenarios. The textbook package includes online video tutorials on key concepts and complex arguments, and topics likely to be assessed in exams. The distinguished author team has developed this textbook over twenty years of teaching microeconomics to MBA students. Chapters are clearly structured to support learning: Part I of each chapter develops key economic principles, whilst Part II draws on those principles to discuss organizational and incentive issues in management and focuses on solving the 'principal-agent' problem to maximize the profitability of the firm - lessons that can be applied to problems MBA students will face in the future. Economics and management are treated equally; this unique textbook presents economics as part of the everyday thinking of business people.

In Defense of Monopoly offers an unconventional but empirically grounded argument in favor of market monopolies. Authors McKenzie and Lee claim that conventional, static models exaggerate the harm done by real-world monopolies, and they show why some degree of monopoly presence is necessary to maximize the improvement of human welfare over time. Inspired by Joseph Schumpeter's suggestion that market imperfections can drive an economy's long-term progress, In Defense of Monopoly defies conventional assumptions to show readers why an economic system's failure to efficiently allocate its resources is actually a necessary precondition for maximizing the system's long-term performance: the perfectly fluid, competitive economy idealized by most economists is decidedly inferior to one characterized by market entry and exit restrictions or costs. An economy is not a board game in which players compete for a limited number of properties, nor is it much like the kind of blackboard games that economists use to develop their monopoly models. As McKenzie and Lee demonstrate, the creation of goods and services in the real world requires not only competition but the prospect of gains beyond a normal competitive rate of return.

This book explains how firms can improve the performance of the people on whom they depend -- workers, customers, suppliers, stockholders, etc. --- by managing the incentives system better. Incentives are not just a matter of money, but a whole range of factors that provide a set of rewards that encourage people to work toward a common goal of organizational success.