In this book, the organization providing goods and services will often be called a “business” or a “firmA for-profit or nonprofit organization that creates and provides goods and services for individuals or other organizations.,” terms that connote a for-profit organization. And in some portions of the book, we discuss principles that presume the underlying goal of the organization is to create profit. However, managerial economics is relevant to nonprofit organizations and government agencies as well as conventional, for-profit businesses. Although the underlying objective may change based on the type of organization, all these organizational types exist for the purpose of creating goods or services for persons or other organizations.
Managerial economics also addresses another class of manager: the regulator. As we will discuss in Chapter 8 "Market Regulation", the economic exchanges that result from organizations and persons trying to achieve their individual objectives may not result in the best overall pattern of exchange unless there is some regulatory guidanceInformation designed to ensure that the behaviors of organizations and people trying to achieve their objectives result in the best overall pattern of economic exchange.. Economics provides a framework for analyzing regulation, both the effect on decision making by the regulated entities and the policy decisions of the regulator.
