The article discusses the origins of the U-shaped average cost curve, which is one of the most widely used tools in microeconomic analysis. Its widespread use leads many to consider it as a basic tool, obscuring the fact that the graph of the U-shaped average cost curve is part of a complex...

This doctoral thesis analyzes children welfare in Western African where societies are characterized by a large economic instability and an unequal access to resources among members of a same household. Exposure to high downside risk to income and livelihoods generates inter-generational poverty...

We analyze under which conditions a given vector field can be disaggregated as a linear combination of gradients. This problem is typical of aggregation theory, as illustrated by the literature on the characterization of aggregate market demand and excess demand. We argue that exterior...

The article shows how Jean-Francois Mertens contributed to the development of game theory and microeconomics as we know them today. Along with about 80 articles, Mertens's topics go from the formulation of Bayesian decision making in games with incomplete information to the foundations of cost...