This book shows, from start to finish, how microeconomics can
and should be used in the analysis of public policy problems. It
is an exciting new way to learn microeconomics, motivated by its
application to important, real-world issues. Lee Friedman's
modern replacement for his influential 1984 work not only brings
the issues addressed into the present but develops all
intermediate microeconomic theory to make this book accessible
to a much wider audience. Friedman offers the microeconomic
tools necessary to understand policy analysis of a wide range of
matters of public concern--including the recent California
electricity crisis, welfare reform, public school finance,
global warming, health insurance, day care, tax policies,
college loans, and mass transit pricing. These issues are
scrutinized through microeconomic models that identify policy
strengths, weaknesses, and ideas for improvements. Each chapter
begins with explanations of several fundamental microeconomic
principles and then develops models that u