Is Anything Worth Keeping in Microeconomics.pdfVIP

Is Anything Worth Keeping in Microeconomics? EMMANUELLE BENICOURT Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis, Paris, France; e-mail: ebenicourt@free.fr. BERNARD GUERRIEN Université Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne), Paris, France; e-mail: bguerrien@sfr.fr Abstract Microeconomics’ notions of “market supply” and “market demand” do not exist in real-world markets. Its models give a central place to equilibria, implying that they are predictions. It distracts from more essential aspects of economic behavior and exchange and encourages inventing absurd tales, especially concerning production. We should consider society as it is organized, with different social groups, norms, and customs, and then concentrate on decision making and choice. JEL classification: A11, A22, B41, D4 Keywords: equilibrium; marginal productivity; market; prediction; substitutability We both teach microeconomics. Teaching has two objectives: to transmit knowledge, facts, and results, and, more important, to teach students how to think and reason. Thus, the first thing that we ask ourselves is: what do we believe that students should absolutely know and how can their way of thinking and reasoning be improved by a course in micro- economics? We have concluded that microeconomics does not provide knowledge that could not be obtained otherwise and that, as it is usually taught (or presented in textbooks), it encourages an erroneous way of thinking. When we speak of microeconomics, we mean the neoclassical approach, which starts with consumer and producer choice, continues with “market equilibrium,” and ends with efficiency. Our aim