Economic Theory & the Construction
Industry, 3rd Edition
Managing Crisis Communications

By Patricia M. Hillebrant
June 2000
Macmillan UK
ISBN: 0333774787
240 pages
$99.50 hardcover

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This revised edition of an established classic textbook brings the subject right up to date. It applies economic theory to the formation of demand on the construction industry and to the way the industry responds. This edition provides a topical assessment of the implication for competition of new methods of procurement, includes a new chapter on rehabilitation, repair and maintenance, and extends the use of theory to issues such as the problems of appropriate technology for developing countries, and contractors' diversification.

Contents:
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
Abbreviations and Acronyms
PART I: INTRODUCTION
The Nature of Construction Economics
Some Basic Concepts in Economics
The Construction Industry and the Economy
PART II: THE DEMANDS ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Introduction
Demand for Housing
Demand for Industrial and Commercial Building
Demand for Social Type Construction
Demand for Refurbishment, Repair and Maintenance
How Demand is Put to the Industry
PART III: THE SUPPLY OF CONSTRUCTION
Introduction
Objectives of the Firm
Costs of the Construction Firm
Market Supply Curves
Equilibrium in Various Market Situations
Demand Curves Facing the Individual Firm
Price Determination for a Single Project
Conclusions on Costs, Revenue and the Equilibrium of the Contracting Firm
PART IV: BROADER ISSUES
Introduction
Choice of Inputs and Capacity: The Project, the Firm and the Industry
Markets and Strategy
Appendix A: Indifference Curve Analysis Applied to the Demand for Housing
Appendix B: Degree of Potential Surprise Analysis of Tendering
References
Index

Author Biography:
PATRICIA HILLEBRANDT is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading and, since 1967, an economic and management consultant on the construction industry. She has previously been employed as an economist to the contracting company Richard Costain Ltd, at the National Economic Development Office, and as Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London. She has been a consultant to many international and governmental organizations, including the UK Ministry of Overseas Development, the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and DANIDA, the Danish aid organization. She is the author of several books on the contruction industry, including Analysis of the British Construction Industry, and the author or editor (with others) of several books on the way contractors take their management decisions.

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