Over the past 40 years, the growing influence of microeconomics and industrial organization economics in every field of business analysis has transformed the role of managerial economics in business school curricula. Economists have understood for some time that every modern course in business strategy and organizational architecture must draw from key areas of advancement in microeconomics and industrial organization. While many business schools have been quick to adopt strategy as a fundamental theme in their curricula, this new emphasis on strategy too often falls on the shoulders of a single, one-semester course in business strategy. In a single course, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to teach business students managerial economics and cover all of the valuable topics in business strategy and organization. In any case, a thorough foundation in managerial economics is required in order to understand how to use the many new and important developments in microeconomics and industrial organization. The objective of Managerial Economics, then, is to teach and apply the foundation topics in microeconomics and industrial organization essential for making both the day-to-day business decisions that maximize profit as well as the strategic decisions designed to create and protect profit in the long run. In so doing, we believe Managerial Economics helps business students become architects of business tactics and strategy instead of middle managers who plod along the beaten path of others.

在过去的40年里，微观经济学和产业组织经济学在商业分析的各个领域的影响力不断增强，这改变了管理经济学在商学院课程中的角色。一段时间以来，经济学家们一直明白，企业战略和组织架构的每一门现代课程都必须借鉴微观经济学和产业组织的关键领域。虽然许多商学院很快就将战略作为课程的基本主题，但这种对战略的新强调往往落在了一门为期一学期的商业战略课程的肩上。在一门课程中，要教商科学生管理经济学并涵盖商业策略和组织中所有有价值的主题，即使不是不可能，也是极其困难的。无论如何，为了理解如何运用微观经济学和产业组织中的许多新的和重要的发展，需要一个彻底的管理经济学基础。然后，管理经济学的目标是教授和应用微观经济学和工业组织中的基础课题，以使既能使利润最大化的日常业务决策，又能从长远上创造和保护利润的战略决策。通过这样做，我们相信管理经济学可以帮助商科学生成为商业策略和战略的设计师，而不是走在别人老路上的中层管理者。