Microeconomics I
Fiches de réveisions
Fiches de réveisions
Trade and Pareto Efficiency: The Core
Economic Problem
Given initial endowments, what is the allocation that ensures that
consumers maximise their utility
demand equals supply in all markets
Edgeworth Box: Disequilibrium
Edgeworth Box: adjustment to equilibrium
A competitive equilibrium is
an allocation E* and a set of prices, p1* and p2*, such that, given these prices (and given the initial endowments), each consumer is maximising his/her utility at that allocation
Competitive Equilibrium: we must have
Equilibrium is a set of prices (p1*;p2*) such that
total demand for each good equals total supply
The Algebra of Equilibrium
Net/Excess demand of consumer A for good 1
Aggregate excess demand for good 1
In equilibrium the aggregate excess demand for each good
Walras’ law states that
the value of aggregate excess demands is always 0 (at any prices), i.e
Using Walras’ Law we can show that
if demand equals supply in one market, the same must be true in the other market.
FTWE
any competitive equilibrium is Pareto efficient
Implicit assumptions of the FTWE: Each consumer knows only
his own tastes, endowment and the market prices
The FTWE tells us that
the resulting equilibrium from these independent, self-interested and decentralised actions is efficient
This is the nature of the “Invisible Hand” of Adam Smith
FTWE focuses on efficiency, not fairness
Allocation where one person owns everything is Pareto efficient
FTWE does not hold in
the presence of externalities
STWE: Can a Pareto efficient allocation be achieved as a competitive equilibrium?
Yes, if preferences are convex
Questions about how appartments rents are determined
- Who will rent close appartments?
- At what price?
- Will the allocation of appartments be desirables at any sense?
Two basic postulates
Rational choice and equilibrium
Rational choice
Each person tries to choose de best alternative available to him or her
Equilibrium
Market price adjust untill quantity demanded equals quantity supplied
Market demande curve
The quantity demanded vs price graph
Supply for appartments
Quantity fixed
Low rental price
quantity demanded of close apartments exceeds quantity available ) price will rise
High rental price
quantity demanded less than quantity available ) price will fall
Competitive equilibrium
Quantity demanded = quantity available ) price will neither rise nor fall
Competitive market allocation
by willingness to pay
Endogenous in the model of appartments
I price of close apartments
I exchanged quantity of close apartments
Exogenous in the model of appartments
I price of distant apartments
I quantity of close apartments
I incomes of potential renters
Suppose de price of distant appartments rises
Demand for close apartments increases (rightward shift), causing
a higher price for close apartments
Comparative statics: price of distant appartment rises graph
Comparative statics: more close appartments
Supply is greater, so the price for close apartments falls
More close appartments graph
Imperfectly competitive market
a monopolistic landlord
a perfectly discriminatory monopolistic landlord
a competitive market subject to rent control
Monopolistic market equilibrium
If renters buy some houses
Supply (<-) because less appartments to rent
Demand (<-) because they don't ask for appartment anymore
Price doesn't change
Q diminishes
If government ask for a tax (appartments)
landlords suport burden of tax
zéro passthrough: rare because supply is fixed
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Flashcards
Budget constraint for present and future consumption
Future value
Comparative statics of intertemporal choice
Equivalent and compensating variations' definitions
Compensating variation graph
Equivalent variation graph
Equivalence of CV and EV in quasi-linear preferences
The extensive and intensive margin
Elasticity's formula
Elasticity of a linear demand curve
Elasticity and total revenue
Elasticity and total revenue graph
Constant elasticity demand
Elasticity and marginal revenue
Income elasticity
Cross price elasticity
Maximise profit subject to output constraint/technology
Examples of technology
Marginal product of factor
Diminishing marginal product
Check if diminishing marginal product
Derive twice the production function
Difference between marginal product and return to scale
Marginal products describe the change in output level as a single input level changes
Returns-to-scale describes how the output level changes as all input levels change in direct proportion (e.g. all input levels doubled, or halved)
Examples of return to scale: fixed proportions and perfect substitutes
Examples of return to scale: Cobb-Douglas
(marginal) Technical Rate of Substitution (TRS)
Diminishing Technical Rate of Substitution
A well-behaved technology is
I convex: if the input bundles x' and x'' both provide y units of output then the mixture tx' + (1-t)x'' provides at least y units of output, for any 0 < t < 1
I monotonic: more of any input generates more output
Long run VS short run
Short run: At least one factor of production is fixed
Long run: All factors of production are variable
Economic profit
Present value's formula
Example of a quasi-fixed factor
electricity only if producing
Fixed factor
Paying even if no production
Short-run profit maximization
Isoprofit line
Construct from profit maximization
