范里安微观经济学(第九版)Chapter1
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Chapter1 What is Economics?
Methodological Features
Rationality: maximizing the object function of the decision-maker
◦It’s not necessarily selfishness and can be consistent with altruism
◦ A kind of simplification: we care about average behavior of people
◦We test hypothesis, not assumptions
Stable preferences: constant throughout the model
◦Preferences are unobservable
◦Emphasis on man-made constraints and institutional design
The “moral blood” of real estate developers in China
Why are some animals dying out?
Equilibriumanalysis: a tool to aggregate behaviors of individuals and predict the outcome of human interactions
◦ A Puzzle of Happiness: Californian vs. Oregon
◦Peltzman effect and offsetting behavior
◦Reinterpretation of Marriage Law in China: Are Mothers-in-laws hurt by this legal change?
Efficiency criterion: a normative notion of optimality
◦What is efficient outcome?
◦Is there any room for improvement in efficiency?
Positive & Normative Analysis
Positive Analysis–statements that describe the relationship of cause and effect
◦Questions that deal with explanation and prediction
What will be the impact of an import quota on foreign cars?
What will be the impact of an increase in the gasoline excise
tax?
Normative Analysis–analysis examining questions of what ought to be ◦Often supplemented by value judgments
Should the government impose a larger gasoline tax?
Should the government decrease the tariffs on imported cars?