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Tables of Contents for Business Economics
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
List of figures
xi
4
List of tables
xv
2
Introduction: routes through this book
xvii
8
How to tackle case studies: what is a case study?
xxv
5
Acknowledgements
xxx
1
Abbreviations
xxxi
 
1 What do economists do?
1
27
Telling the story
2
5
Interpreting the story
7
4
Understanding the story
11
8
Using the tools of economics
19
1
Summary
20
1
Case study 1: the small firm sector
20
8
2 The basic problem: scarcity, choice and allocation
28
9
Scarcity and choice
28
1
Basic tool-kit
29
1
Allocative mechanisms
30
1
The production possibility model
31
1
The production possibility frontier
32
3
Summary
35
2
3 Modelling the market
37
22
Introduction
37
2
The law of demand
39
3
The law of supply
42
1
The market mechanism
43
4
Markets and consumer welfare
47
1
Summary
47
1
Technical appendix: elasticities
48
3
Case study 2: the Oasis concert
51
8
4 Market failure
59
20
Competition and Pareto optimality
59
1
Competition may not work
59
1
Consumers versus producers
60
2
Direct intervention in markets
62
1
Externalities and equity
62
3
Case study 3: intervening in markets
65
2
Case study 4: rent controls
67
12
5 Modelling the behaviour of firms
79
19
Introduction
79
1
Profit maximization
79
2
Marginal cost and marginal revenue analysis
81
6
Profit maximizing output
87
1
Summary
88
1
Case study 5: costs exercises
88
3
Theory of the firm: summary so far
91
7
6 The spectrum of market structures
98
26
Models of market structure
99
5
Market structure in practice
104
1
Summary
105
1
Summary of conclusions: Chapters 1-6
106
1
Technical appendix: the profit maximizing firm in monopolistic competition
106
2
Case study 6: the Lazaroti restaurants - an example of perfect competition
108
3
Case study 7: price discrimination in the railway industry - an example of monopolistic behaviour
111
10
Price discrimination: an explanatory note
121
3
7 Oligopoly
124
10
The competition option
125
1
The collusion option
125
2
Non-collusion oligopoly: the kinked demand curve
127
1
Oligopoly and the public interest
127
1
Case study 8: the supermarket business
128
6
8 Market structure, conduct and performance
134
51
Market structure
135
7
Market conduct
142
5
Market performance
147
10
Conclusion
157
1
Case study 9: the coffee industry
157
16
Case study 10: the plasterboard industry
173
12
9 Beyond the theory of the firm model
185
14
What do firms do?
186
1
What sort of firm?
187
1
Constraints on the firm's make or buy decisions
188
1
The internal managerial costs of the firm
189
7
Case study 11: Green End Farm
196
3
10 The economics of the growth of the firm
199
11
The growth of firms
199
4
Routes to growth by acquisition
203
2
Conclusions
205
1
Case study 12: the package tour industry
206
4
11 Oligopoly and game theory
210
20
Games and game theory
211
2
Non-co-operative versus co-operative behaviour
213
7
Conclusion
220
1
Case study 13: the newspaper price war
221
9
12 The economics of total quality management
230
21
Introduction
230
4
The economics of the mass production/scientific management firm
234
3
The economics of the continuous improvement firm
237
2
Productivity and cost in the continuous improvement firm
239
1
The economics of flexibility
240
4
A customer value approach to demand
244
2
Net customer value and customer choice
246
2
Conclusion
248
1
Case study 14: Nicholas Smith's (Garages) Ltd
249
2
13 The regulation of market power
251
21
Introduction
251
2
Theoretical justification for intervention
253
2
General conclusions
255
1
UK legislation and general welfare loss
255
1
Aspects of market conduct in oligopoly
256
6
The role of government
262
1
Competition policy in the UK and the European Union
263
1
UK monopoly and merger legislation
264
1
Technical appendix: the development of competition policy in the UK
265
3
Case study 15: the supply of recorded music
268
4
14 The presentation case study
272
52
Introduction
272
3
Presentation case 1: ice cream monopoly
275
24
Presentation case 2: Reckitt & Colman Sara Lee proposed merger
299
25
Glossary
324
2
Bibliography
326
2
Index
328