Advanced Textbooks in Economics Series

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 1: Variational Methods in Economics focuses on the application of variational methods in economics, including autonomous system, dynamic programming, and phase spaces and diagrams. The manuscript first elaborates on growth models in economics and calculus of variations. Discussions focus on connection with dynamic programming, variable end points-free boundaries, transversality at infinity, sensitivity analysis-end point changes, Weierstrass and Legendre necessary conditions, and phase diagrams and phase spaces. The text then ponders on the constraints of classical theory, including unbounded intervals of integration, free boundary conditions, comparison functions, normality, and the problem of Bolza. The publication explains two-sector models of optimal economic growth, optimal control theory, and connections with the classical theory. Topics include capital good immobile between industries, constrained state variables, linear control problems, conversion of a control problem into a problem of Lagrange, and the conversion of a nonautonomous system into an autonomous system. The book is a valuable source of information for economists and researchers interested in the variational methods in economics.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 6: Introduction to Equilibrium Analysis: Variations on Themes by Edgeworth and Walras focuses on the approaches developed and instituted by Edgeworth and Walras in the study of equilibrium analysis. The book first underscores exchange economies, core of a game, and large economies. Discussions focus on economies with a continuum of agents, Walras equilibrium, prices and demand, balancedness, and commodity space. The manuscript then ponders on limit theorems for the core and existence of competitive equilibria. Topics include equilibria without convexity of preferences, existence of equilibria for economies with convex preferences, individual demand, emergence of prices, asymptotic equal treatment for most, uniform boundedness of core allocations, and limit theorems for type and replica economies. The publication examines continuous, upper, and lower hemi-continuous correspondences, fixed point theorems, and separation of convex sets. The book is a vital source of data for economists and researchers interested in equilibrium analysis.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 4: Capital Theory and the Distribution of Income focuses on the interconnection of capital theory and the distribution of income, including marginal products, capital, interest rates, and price systems. The book first takes a look at production without capital, equilibrium, prices, and time, and semi-stationary growth, as well as the existence of constant-rate-of-interest price systems. The manuscript then discusses marginal products and capital and the Cambridge model. The text examines the aggregation of miscellaneous objects, production function, linear production model, and efficiency, production prices, and rates of return, as well as prices and efficiency for infinite developments. The manuscript also ponders on investment, structure of interest rates, and disputations. Discussions focus on sets and convex sets, concave functions, and linear and non-linear programming. The publication is a dependable source of data for economists and researchers interested in capital theory and the distribution of income.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 7: Foundations of Econometrics focuses on the principles, processes, methodologies, and approaches involved in the study of econometrics. The publication examines matrix theory and multivariate statistical analysis. Discussions focus on the maximum likelihood estimation of multivariate normal distribution parameters, point estimation theory, multivariate normal distribution, multivariate probability distributions, Euclidean spaces and linear transformations, orthogonal transformations and symmetric matrices, and determinants. The manuscript then ponders on linear expected value models and simultaneous equation estimation. Topics include random exogenous variables, maximum likelihood estimation of a single equation, identification of a single equation, linear stochastic difference equations, and errors-in-variables models. The book takes a look at a prolegomenon to econometric model building, tests of hypotheses in econometric models, multivariate statistical analysis, and simultaneous equation estimation. Concerns include maximum likelihood estimation of a single equation, tests of linear hypotheses, testing for independence, and causality in economic models. The publication is a valuable source of data for economists and researchers interested in the foundations of econometrics.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics: Investment: The Study of an Economic Aggregate focuses on the principles, methodologies, and approaches involved in the determination of investments. The book first offers information on the theories of aggregate investment and statistical and questionnaire studies. Discussions focus on statistical studies, tax incentives and disincentives to investment, capital stock adjustment models, acceleration principle, replacement investment, level of aggregation, sources of funds, neoclassical theory of capital accumulation, and tax incentives and disincentives to investment. The text then examines the estimation of lag distributions, including geometrically declining lag distributions, Pascal and rational distributions, variable lag distributions, and the first-in first-out method. The publication ponders on econometric studies, as well as United Kingdom and United States studies, two-stage studies of investment, and guidelines for future research. The text is a dependable source of information for economists and researchers interested in economic aggregates.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 18: The Strategy of Social Choice focuses on the social, economics, and political implications of social choice. The publication first surveys introduction, social choice functions and correspondences, and monotonicity and the arrow theorem. Discussions focus on efficiency, anonymity and neutrality, classifying voting methods, normative versus positive approach to voting, voting and the non-strategic theory of social choice, and development of the strategic theory of voting. The text then ponders on strategy-proofness and monotonicity and sophisticated voting. Topics include sophisticated implementation, voting by binary choices, strategy-proof social choice functions and game forms, Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem, and restricted domains. The manuscript examines cooperative voting and voting by veto, including the minority principle, proportional veto core, voting by integer veto, effectivity functions, maximal and stable effectivity functions, and implementation by Nash equilibrium. The text is a dependable source of data for researchers interested in the process of social choice.

In a unique approach to microeconomic theory, this book constructs (and proposes solutions to) major problems in mathematical programming, the theory of consumer demand, the theory of production, and welfare economics. Readers can thereby derive for themselves many of the major results achieved in microeconomics. Introductory notes set the scene for each chapter, and the subsequent sets of problems and annotated reading lists guarantee the reader a thorough grounding in microeconomic theory.

"General-equilibrium" refers to an analytical approach which looks at the economy as a complete system of inter-dependent components (industries, households, investors, governments, importers and exporters). "Applied" means that the primary interest is in systems that can be used to provide quantitative analysis of economic policy problems in particular countries. Reflecting the authors' belief in the models as vehicles for practical policy analysis, a considerable amount of material on data and solution techniques as well as on theoretical structures has been included. The sequence of chapters follows what is seen as the historical development of the subject. The book is directed at graduate students and professional economists who may have an interest in constructing or applying general equilibrium models. The exercises and readings in the book provide a comprehensive introduction to applied general equilibrium modeling. To enable the reader to acquire hands-on experience with computer implementations of the models which are described in the book, a companion set of diskettes is available.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 21: The Economics of Organization focuses on the processes, methodologies, and approaches involved in the study of various topics in economics, mathematical economics, and econometrics. The publication first ponders on the general resource allocation problem, particularly noting that a theory of resource allocation is formed by studying the deliberate and purposeful choices of individuals to provide a model for human behavior in the economic realm. The theory of exchange emphasizes that coordination and equilibrium must be formed to explain social linkages. The text then explains market allocation, and a number of propositions are discussed to show the dynamics of this field. The manuscript elaborates on transaction costs, markets and uncertainty, and behavior in the face of uncertainty. The publication also takes a look at the terms of authority, measuring of information, value of communication in teams, cost of communication, and budget planning. The formal organization of decision-making, hierarchical supervision and loss of control, alternative requirements of formal organization, and expedience and incentives are also underscored. The text is a valuable reference for researchers interested in the economics of organization.

Advanced Textbooks in Economics, Volume 23: Public Enterprise Economics: Theory and Application focuses on economics, mathematical economics, and econometrics, including microeconomics, marginal-cost pricing, taxes, and income effects. The manuscript takes a look at the essential parts of public sector pricing models, normative optimum theory, and normative piecemeal theory. Discussions focus on welfare improvements with non-tight constraints, welfare -improving increases of public inefficiency, conditions for optimal prices and quantities, compensating for income effects, and conditions for optimal quality. The book then ponders on marginal-cost pricing, Ramsey pricing, rate of return regulation, and pricing with distributional aims. Topics include comparing distributional and allocative pricing, prices versus taxes, optimum Ramsey policy, influence of Ramsey prices on allocation, distribution, and stabilization, and consequences for allocation, distribution, and stabilization. The publication examines bus and underground services in London, economic theory and empirical analysis, and different approaches towards optimal quality, including empirical studies on bus and underground demand, organizational and political history, and microeconomics of the representative consumer. The book is a valuable source of data for researchers interested in public enterprise economics.

This volume aims to interest students of modern economic theory in the history of economics. For this purpose, past economic theories are considered from the point of view of current economic theories and translated, if possible and necessary, into mathematical models. It is emphasized that the currently dominating mainstream theory is not the only possible theory, and that there are many past theories which have important significance to the advancement of economic theory in the present situation, or will have it in the near future. After a brief discussion on the history of economics from the point of view of contemporary economic theory, a bird's-eye view of the historical development of economics is given so that readers can see the significance of topics to be discussed in subsequent chapters in a proper historical perspective. These topics are carefully chosen to show not only what great economists in the past contributed to the development of economics, but also what suggestions for solving our own current problems we can obtain by reworking problems they had to face. The book can be used in advanced undergraduate as well as graduate classes on the history of economics. Mathematical techniques used can easily be understood by advanced undergraduates of economics major, since some models constructed originally by contemporary mathematical economists are carefully reformulated without losing the essence, basic calculus and the rudiments of linear algebra being sufficient for understanding.

This clear, precisely written text presents an important branch of the modern, micro-economically based theory of industrial organization and of public finance, utilizing calculus only. Answers are provided to some pertinent economic questions, such as the pricing policies of vote-seeking politicians, of empire-building bureaucrats and of out-put-maximizing and energy-saving public utilities. These policies are compared with the welfare economic benchmark rules e.g. on marginal cost pricing and Ramsey pricing. Great significance is attached to price regulation. The book elucidates the recent replacement of rate of return regulation by price-cap regulation. It also explains why many simple rules like yardstick regulation fail to achieve optimal prices, which shows how complicated it is to induce managers to truthfully reveal their private information. How this can be achieved properly is shown in various principal-agent models on regulation with uncertain costs, uncertain demand and with soft budget constraints.