Description
Book SynopsisPresents an introduction to modern microeconomic theory. This book develops a theory of how economic institutions shape individual behavior, and how institutions evolve due to individual actions, technological change, and chance events. It addresses institutional innovation, social preferences, nonmarket social interactions, and social capital.
Trade Review"There must be dozens of introductory books with the word 'microeconomics' in the title, but for ambition alone Samuel Bowles's volume stands out. Not only does Bowles convey the elements of the conventional theory of capitalist economics--he offers a wealth of cutting-edge material as well ... [His] theory is neat, thought-provoking, and highly original--as is much else in this most unusual take on microeconomics."--Eric Maskin, Science "This important and highly impressive volume is intended as an overview of cutting-edge developments in microeconomics for graduate students... The work is well written and carefully structured... [T]his is a very fertile and inspiring book, of much broader use than its intended audience... Its analytical accounts of institutional structures and its masterly fusion of institutional and evolutionary themes might eventually warrant its status as a modern classic."--Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Economics and Philosophy
Table of ContentsPreface ix Prologue: Economics and the Wealth of Nations and People 1 Part I: Coordination and Conflict: Generic Social Interactions 21 Chapter One: Social Interactions and Institutional Design 23 Chapter Two: Spontaneous Order: The Self-organization of Economic Life 56 Chapter Three: Preferences and Behavior 93 Chapter Four: Coordination Failures and Institutional Responses 127 Chapter Five: Dividing the Gains to Cooperation: Bargaining and Rent Seeking 167 Part II : Competition and Cooperation: The Institutions of Capitalism 203 Chapter Six: Utopian Capitalism: Decentralized Coordination 205 Chapter Seven: Exchange: Contracts, Norms, and Power 233 Chapter Eight: Employment, Unemployment, and Wages 267 Chapter Nine: Credit Markets, Wealth Constraints, and Allocative Inefficiency 299 Chapter Ten: The Institutions of a Capitalist Economy 331 Part III: Change: The Coevolution of Institutions and Preferences 363 Chapter Eleven: Institutional and Individual Evolution 365 Chapter Twelve: Chance, Collective Action, and Institutional Innovation 402 Chapter Thirteen: The Coevolution of Institutions and Preferences 437 Part IV: Conclusion 471 Chapter Fourteen: Economic Governance: Markets, States, and Communities 473 Problem Sets 502 Additional Readings 529 Works Cited 537 Index 571
