The Microeconomics of Complex Economies

The Microeconomics of Complex Economies, Second Edition relies on useful and accessible approaches to illustrate and analyze economic issues in modern economies. It teaches standard equilibrium models and their limitations, direct interdependencies and interactions among agents, game theory and evolutionary game theory, behavioral economics, institutional emergence and change, network analysis, economic dynamics, computational economics, different perspectives within the history of economic thought, contemporary core models, and political economy frameworks to interpret theoretical and empirical results. It also contains chapters on applied economics, including introductions to meso-level concepts, innovation economics, and policy frameworks, as well as methodological chapters that introduce students to the explanation of socio-economic phenomena using economic concepts in general. Written so that chapters can be used independently, the book allows users at different levels of their economics education to take advantage of its content. Instructors can use parts of the book to support teaching in introductory and intermediate, but also in advanced courses. The formal and accessible presentation of the material allows both instructors and students to move beyond simple frameworks for the assessment and interpretation of contemporary economic issues. This way, it delivers an in-depth but self-reflective introduction to state-of-the art theories and methods that the highly interdependent and complex economy of the 21st century requires.