《管理经济学》

Contents1

1The essence of business economics：an overview1

The essence of business economics1

Basic concepts in business economics3

The competitive environment12

Concluding remarks17

2 The analysis of consumer demand18

The essence of consumer demand18

The market demand curve20

Consumer surplus22

The determinants of demand23

The classification of products25

Concepts of elasticity28

The relationship between price elasticity and sales revenue36

Concluding remarks40

3 The analysis of production costs42

The essence of production costs42

The production function43

Variable costs versus fixed costs45

Production decisions in the short run and long run46

Diminishing returns in production47

Maximizing profit and the production decision50

Economies and diseconomies of scale53

The experience curve60

Optimal scale and x-inefficiency61

The firm’s supply curve63

Elasticity of supply66

Concluding remarks67

4 The competitive environment69

The essence of the competitive environment69

Competitive strategy70

Perfect competition73

Monopoly76

Monopolistic competition83

Oligopoly86

Competitive advantage92

Concluding remarks98

5 Managerial objectives and the firm99

The essence of managerial objectives99

Agency theory104

Managerial theories106

Behavioural theories112

Concluding remarks114

The essence of pricing strategies116

6 Understanding pricing strategies116

Price determination and managerial objectives117

Generic pricing strategies121

Pricing and the competitive environment126

The marketing mix and the product life cycle129

The economics of price discrimination133

Pricing in multi－plant and multi－product firms136

Peak-load pricing139

Pricing policy and role role of government140

Concluding remarks143

The essence of investment appraisal144

7 Investment appraisal144

The investment selection process145

Estimating cash flows147

Evaluating and ranking investment Projects149

Undertaking a cost－benefit analysis154

Concluding remarks156

8 Understanding the labour market158

The essence of the labour market158

The demand for labour159

The supply of labour163

Collective bargaining167

Concluding remarks169

9 Government and business170

Introduction170

The priciples of state intervention172

Macroeconomic policy174

Industrial policy178

Competition law182

Regional policy185

Concluding remarks188

10 Business and economic forecasting190

The essence of business and economic forecasting190

Collecting information on consumer behaviour192

Statistical estimation of demand relationships196

Forecasting demand203

Concluding remarks211

11Business economics-a check list for managers213

Check list for business success214

Appendix：sources of business econmics data for managers219

UK sources220

International sources223

References for further reading223

Index225