Synopses & Reviews
Microeconomics for Public Decisions is a revision of the Apgar/Brown Microeconomics for Public Policy text. It was revised after conducting interviews with students and former students (now practitioners), and asking them what economic concepts and methods they use most frequently in their jobs. Microeconomics for Public Decisions is designed to focus on essential principles and analytical techniques for making decision that affect the public interest. It blends theory with applications and discussions so students will understand how and why microeconomics is important, how to perform economic analyses, and how to evaluate economic analyses performed by others.
Synopsis
MICROECONOMICS FOR PUBLIC DECISIONS was developed after conducting interviews with former students (now practitioners), and asking them what economic concepts and methods they use most frequently. The textbook focuses on essential principles and analytical techniques for making decisions that affect the public interest. Using this practical book, you'll learn how to perform economic analyses and evaluate economic analyses performed by others. Relevant and easy-to-read, this textbook will help you succeed in the course.
About the Author
Anne C. Steinemann is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, WA. Prior to UW she was a faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a visiting scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and affiliated with the U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Institute of Technology, and Linkoping University in Sweden. She received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in addition to university and national teaching awards. Dr. Steinemann advises governments and industries on water and environmental issues and directs research funded by NSF, NOAA, USGS, NASA, EPA, and other agencies. She recently published two textbooks: Microeconomics for Public Decisions (South-Western, 2005) and Exposure Analysis (CRC Press, 2007). Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving, integrating expertise in engineering, economics, public health, law, and policy. Dr. Steinemann received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University (1993). H. James Brown is the President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, an educational institution dedicated to the study and teaching of land policy, land economics and taxation. From 1970 to 1996, he was a Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. During this time he also served as Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Chairman of the City and Regional Planning Program, Director of the State, Local and Intergovernmental Center at Harvard University and Director of the MIT/Harvard University Joint Center for Urban Studies.
A specialist in land use, housing, and regional economics, Brown received a bachelor's degree in economics from Ohio Wesleyan University (1962), attended the London School of Economics (1963), and was awarded an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1967) in economics from Indiana University. Brown served as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (1968-1970) prior to his appointment as an Assistant Professor at Harvard in 1970. He was appointed Full Professor in 1975 and Director of the Joint Center in 1982. William C. Apgar is Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, returning after leave as Assistant Secretary of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His research interests are in housing and community development, as well as urban and regional economic development. Professor Apgar received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Active in local housing and community development efforts, Professor Apgar was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Committee for Boston Public Housing, a non-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of public housing.
Table of Contents
PART I. MICROECONOMICS AND THE MARKET ECONOMY 1. Overview of Economics 2. Demand and Supply 3. Market Dynamics and Interventions 4. Choice and Demand Appendix: Utility Maximization 5. Costs and Supply Appendix: Production Functions PART II. PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS AND MARKET FAILURES 6. Efficiency and Equity 7. Welfare Economics 8. Monopoly 9. Externalities 10. Public Goods 11. Imperfect Information PART III. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND APPLICATIONS 12. Intertemporal Costs And Benefits 13. Cost Benefit Analysis 14. Cost Benefit Applications