An argument for the use of the square-root functional form in teaching undergraduate microeconomics

Robert Sproule

International Review of Economics Education, 2015, vol. 20, issue C, 37-45

Abstract: The present paper has two objectives, both of which are purely pedagogical in nature. The first is to propose a competitor to the conceptual “workhorse” of economics, the Cobb–Douglas functional form. Our competitor is a special case of the square-root functional form. The second objective is to employ our special case as the foundation for a much-needed overview or roadmap to a large expanse of producer and consumer theory.

Keywords: Cobb–Douglas functional form; Square-root functional form; Unconditional demand function; Supply function; Profit function; Hotelling’s Lemma; Conditional demand function; Expenditure function; Shephard’s Lemma; Indirect profit function; Roy’s Identity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ireced:v:20:y:2015:i:c:p:37-45

DOI: 10.1016/j.iree.2015.10.002

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