第12章 垄断微观经济学课件.ppt

* * * * * Price discrimination may not be fair, but it is efficient Be sure that the students understand that aside from equity considerations, resources will be allocated more efficiently in a monopoly market under any price discrimination scenario than under a single-price scenario. * * * * * * * * * * * A quick introduction The treatment of monopoly policy here is brief and designed for the instructor who wants to cover the topic briefly and at this point in the course. Chapter 14 provides a more extensive treatment of regulation and antitrust law. You can cover that chapter, in whole or part, right now if you want to do more on the topic. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The classic monopoly diagram The classic monopoly diagram, Figure 12.4(b) provides a good opportunity to tell your students about the contribution of one of the most brilliant economists of the 20th century, Joan Robinson. This diagram first appeared in her book, The Economics of Imperfect Competition, published in 1933 when she was just 30 years old. You can learn more about Joan Robinson at /het/profiles/robinson.htm (or use the link on the Economics Place Web site). Women are still not attracted to economics on the scale that they’re attracted to most other disciplines. So the opportunity to talk about an outstanding female economist shouldn’t be lost. Joan Robinson was a formidable debater and reveled in verbal battles, a notable one of which was with Paul Samuelson on one of her visits to MIT. Anxious to make and illustrate a point, Samuelson asked Robinson for the chalk. Monopolizing the chalk and the blackboard, the unyielding Robinson snapped, “Say it in words young man.” Samuelson meekly obeyed. This story illustrates Joan Robinson’s approach to economics: work out the answers to economic problems using the appropriate techniques of math and logic, but then “say it in words.” Don’t be satisfied with formal argument if you don’t understand it. Your students wil