Mikroökonomik

Mikroökonomik, also known as microeconomics, is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individual economic agents, such as households and firms, and their decision-making in the allocation of scarce resources. It focuses on how these agents interact in markets and how prices are determined.

Key concepts within microeconomics include supply and demand, which describe the relationship between the availability of a good or service and the desire for it, and how this relationship influences its price. It also examines concepts like elasticity, which measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded or supplied to changes in price or income. Consumer theory explores how individuals make choices to maximize their utility given their budget constraints. Producer theory, on the other hand, analyzes how firms make decisions regarding production levels and pricing to maximize profits.

Market structures are another central theme, differentiating between perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly, each characterized by varying degrees of competition and market power. Microeconomics also delves into externalities, which are costs or benefits that affect a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit, and information asymmetry, where one party in a transaction has more or better information than the other. The ultimate goal of microeconomic analysis is to understand individual decision-making and market outcomes, often providing a foundation for broader macroeconomic analysis.