Microeconomic Foundations I - by David M Kreps (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A guide to mastering microeconomic theory

Microeconomic Foundations I develops the choice, price, and general equilibrium theory topics typically found in first-year theory sequences, but in deeper and more complete mathematical form than most standard texts provide. The objective is to take the reader from acquaintance with these foundational topics to something closer to mastery of the models and results connected to them.

• Provides a rigorous treatment of some of the basic tools of economic modeling and reasoning, along with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these tools
• Complements standard texts
• Covers choice, preference, and utility; structural properties of preferences and utility functions; basics of consumer demand; revealed preference and Afriat's Theorem; choice under uncertainty; dynamic choice; social choice and efficiency; competitive and profit-maximizing firms; expenditure minimization; demand theory (duality methods); producer and consumer surplus; aggregation; general equilibrium; efficiency and the core; GET, time, and uncertainty; and other topics
• Features a free web-based student's guide, which gives solutions to approximately half the problems, and a limited-access instructor's manual, which provides solutions to the rest of the problems
• Contains appendixes that review most of the specific mathematics employed in the book, including a from-first-principles treatment of dynamic programming

From the Back Cover

"Kreps sets out the theories of individual choice and competitive markets precisely yet readably, even entertainingly, while anticipating and carefully answering many of the questions of interpretation and motivation that even the best texts seldom fully answer. It is difficult to imagine a student, or scholar, who would not gain from this masterful treatment."--Vincent P. Crawford, University of Oxford

"This book is a gold mine for students--or teachers--who wish to learn the foundations of modern economics. David Kreps's creative contributions to finance, game theory, and decision theory have transformed those fields, and this book reveals part of his technology: a deep understanding of the foundations of modern microeconomics. If you want to improve or revolutionize economics, you must first master the foundations. This book--and a lot of hard work--will help you get there."--Thomas J. Sargent, Nobel Laureate in Economics

"Kreps's new textbook fills an important gap by presenting microeconomics for graduate students in a way that is insightful, clear, and rigorous. Most importantly, it presents the material not as a complete theory to be learned, but as a work in progress, waiting to be improved upon by the generation that has just arrived."--Muhamet Yildiz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Review Quotes

"Kreps sets out the theories of individual choice and competitive markets precisely yet readably, even entertainingly, while anticipating and carefully answering many of the questions of interpretation and motivation that even the best texts seldom fully answer. It is difficult to imagine a student, or scholar, who would not gain from this masterful treatment."--Vincent P. Crawford, University of Oxford

"Kreps's new textbook fills an important gap by presenting microeconomics for graduate students in a way that is insightful, clear, and rigorous. Most importantly, it presents the material not as a complete theory to be learned, but as a work in progress, waiting to be improved upon by the generation that has just arrived."--Muhamet Yildiz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"This book is a gold mine for students--or teachers--who wish to learn the foundations of modern economics. David Kreps's creative contributions to finance, game theory, and decision theory have transformed those fields, and this book reveals part of his technology: a deep understanding of the foundations of modern microeconomics. If you want to improve or revolutionize economics, you must first master the foundations. This book--and a lot of hard work--will help you get there."--Thomas J. Sargent, Nobel Laureate in Economics

About the Author

David M. Kreps is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. His books include A Course in Microeconomic Theory (Princeton), Game Theory and Economic Modelling, Notes on the Theory of Choice, and Microeconomics for Managers.