Intermediate microeconomics
by Hal R. Varian · first published 1987
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A standard undergraduate intermediate microeconomics text that is fairly easy to follow. It suits studying the subject thoroughly, cover to cover, and building a foundation before graduate work.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Offering material on game theory and strategic behaviour, this microeconomics textbook has added chapters on game applications, systems competition, information technology and auctions.
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I'd recommend textbooks or corsera rather than pop econ books. Mostly Harmless Econometrics - Angrist and Krueger Principles of microeconomics - Mankiw (beginner) Intermediate microeconomics - Varian (intermediate) You also want to cover finance and time series - I don't know what would be good there.
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…first-year undergraduate economics, why the current economy is arranged the way it is, or what policy tradeoffs would be involved in their hopeful ideas. May I recommend to you the standard introductory text Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal Varian, which I recently gave to a friend of mine?
on “A New Digital Currency Whose Value Is Based on Your Reputation” ↗…first-year undergraduate economics, why the current economy is arranged the way it is, or what policy tradeoffs would be involved in their hopeful ideas. May I recommend to you the standard introductory text Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal Varian, which I recently gave to a friend of mine?"
on “Sacred Economics (2012) [pdf]” ↗…Order" by David D. Friedman. It's based on his Price Theory textbook but rewritten for interest and readability. If you want something a bit more mathematically sophisticated, (basic calculus) look at Intermediate Microeconomics, Hal Varian.
on “Professors Make More Than a Thousand Dollars an Hour Peddling Mega-Mergers” ↗…is making more progress and is on much sounder footing, hardly surprising given how many more empirical observations there are. If you’re only going to read one microeconomics textbook read Varian’s Intermediate Microeconomics if you can do calculus. If you can’t Cowen and Tabarrok’s Principles is pretty good and has a load of wonderful accompanying videos. Comparative Advantage https://www.mruniversity.com/courses/development-economics/c...
on “No Paper Is That Good” ↗Mechanism design is a big topic in microeconomics which covers auction design: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanism_design There are a lot ways to generate higher prices. You could look into Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal Varian (chef economist at Google). It is pretty easy to understand
on “Ask HN: Auctions” ↗Just get a microeconomics textbook and a price theory textbook. Hal Varian's Intermediate Microeconomics is probably best if you know calculus. Undergraduate macro bears very little relation to what economists believe and macro is a mess besides. Olivier Blanchard, former director of the IMF wrote an article…
on “Beware “mathiness”: Algebra and data to reinforce ideological preconceptions” ↗…that the answer depends on your reasons for learning. If you want to study microeconomics for the sake of 'knowing'/studying microeconomics in the academic sense, take one the standard textbooks (i.e. Intermediate Microeconomics by Hal Varian) and work it from cover to cover. Afterwards, dive into the topics that you found most interesting. Also, a fairly strong background in calculus helps with the more advanced concepts. If…
on “Ask HN: What's a practical way to learn microeconomis?” ↗Since you are already in a quantitative field I think it would be good to quickly get to the heart of what economists actually do. I would suggest Varian, 'Intermediate Microeconomics' Luenberger, 'Investment Science' Wooldridge, 'Introductory Econometrics' for the undergraduate background and then at the graduate level Jehle and Renyi for microeconomics, Duffie for asset pricing…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…the true / false determination probably just amounts to looking up the relevant passage in the appropriate holy text. If your math is adequate to the task (basic calculus) I suggest you check out an intermediate microeconomics textbook like Varian’s or McCloskey’s[1]. Macroeconomics is less firmly anchored but it too is very far from theology. [1] Full text of The Applied Theory of Price http://deirdremccloskey.org/docs/price.pdf
on “My Favorite Liar (2008)” ↗…older students are stuck with textbooks they no longer need, whilst younger students are worried about buying these same textbooks lest they miss out on some required content. I bought a used copy of 'Intermediate Microeconomics (2nd edition)' from an older student when I arrived at university, for less than half the price of the newer 3rd edition, which had been published that year. The book was much cheaper then, so I saved…
on “Textbooks Prices: Out of Control” ↗