The analysis of markets and institutions as well as the evaluation of economic performance is based on the understanding of individual decision making and the strategic interaction in collective actions. Microeconomic Theory adresses these issues, particularly with regard to the dependence of the decisions on the general framework, in all areas of society e.g. the economy, politics as well as private life.

Individual decisions cannot always be considered isolated but now and then should explicitly take the interdependence of decisions into account. Thus Game Theory, the theory of interdependent strategic decisions, employs as a branch of Microeconomics. Game Theory is dedicated to the specifics which are caused by the interaction of individual decisions and tries to develop frameworks that help to solve the resulting discrepancy between individual rationality and collective goals.

The Chair of Microeconomics deals with these questions, among others, in the fields of Auction Theory, Energy Economics, Mechanism Design and Evolutionary Game Theory.