Managerial Economics Study Aids and Quick References
By Antoine Marchand · Last reviewed
These are study aids, not substitutes for the books. For the books themselves, see the managerial economics reading list.
The quick references
Microeconomics (QuickStudy guide)
Laminated quick reference · $
Beats the book when: You need supply and demand, elasticity or market structures on one sheet the night before the exam.
Pairs with: Naked Economics, Managerial Economics and Business Strategy
Schaum's Outline of Microeconomics
Solved-problem outline · $$
Beats the book when: You can read the cost-curve graphs but cannot yet draw and solve them under time pressure.
Pairs with: Managerial Economics and Business Strategy
Statistics Equations & Answers (QuickStudy guide)
Laminated quick reference · $
Beats the book when: Your course estimates demand with regression and you need the statistics refresher without opening a second textbook.
Pairs with: Naked Statistics, How to Measure Anything
When a quick reference beats the book
Managerial economics looks easy in lectures and turns hard in exams. Pricing, cost curves and market structure all make sense when the professor draws them. Drawing them yourself, labeled correctly, against the clock, is a different skill.
A laminated economics guide helps when you need the definition or the shape of a graph quickly: what elasticity means for a price change, where marginal cost crosses average cost, how a monopolist's pricing differs from a competitive firm's. It is a reminder, not a teacher.
A solved-problem outline helps when the issue is execution. Worked problems with graphs give you the repetitions that a textbook like Managerial Economics and Business Strategy does not have room for. Check the outline's coverage against your syllabus; general microeconomics outlines will include topics your course skips.
I have included the statistics card because demand estimation often appears in this course. For the reading that makes the ideas stick, start with Naked Economics and see the managerial economics hub.
How to use these in the last week before an exam
Draw first, read second. On a blank page, sketch the main graphs from memory: supply and demand shifts, cost curves, monopoly pricing. Then check them against the quick reference. Every mislabeled axis is a revision item.
In the middle of the week, work problems on pricing and cost, because that is where managerial economics connects to the decisions you make at work, and where exam questions tend to focus. Use the outline for extra practice on the graph types you got wrong.
Two days out, do one past paper under exam conditions. The day before, stop calculating and read through your own notes on what each concept means for a pricing decision. Exam questions in this course often end with "what should the manager do", and a correct graph with no recommendation loses marks.
Questions people ask
What is the best managerial economics study guide?
For practice, a solved-problem microeconomics outline, because managerial economics exams are mostly applied microeconomics. For a fast reminder of definitions and graphs, a laminated economics guide.
Do I need a study aid if I already read Naked Economics?
Probably. Naked Economics gives you the intuition, which is the hard part. It does not give you practice with the graphs and calculations that most exams ask for.
Why is a statistics guide on an economics page?
Many managerial economics courses include demand estimation with regression. If yours does, the statistics card saves you a trip back to your data course notes. If it does not, skip it.