Microeconomics - individuals' choices of wh ere to live a nd wo r k, how much to save, what to buy, a nd firms' decisions about location, hiring, firing, a nd investment - involves issues that concern us on a daily basis. But when people think about economics, they tend to place impo r tance on the bigger picture - macroeconomics - including issues such as unemployment, inflation, a nd the competitiveness of nations.

In this Very Sho r t Introduction, Avinash Dixit argues that the microeconomy has a large impact on the economic wo r ld, arguably as much as the issues of macroeconomics.

Dixit steers a clear path through the huge number of issues related to microeconomics, explaining what happens when things go well, as well as showing how they fail, why that happens, a nd what can be done about it. Using real-life examples fr om around the wo r ld, using a minimum of mathematics a nd including simple graphs, he provides insights into economics fr om psychology a nd sociology to explain economic behavio r a nd rational choice.