Microeconomics: An Introduction

Overview
This course introduces you to the core concepts of microeconomics, including supply and demand, market structures, consumer behavior, and the role of government in regulating markets. You will learn how individual agents and firms make decisions and how these decisions create market outcomes. The course provides tools to analyze business strategy, consumer choices, and the effectiveness of government interventions.
Through practical applications and real-world examples, you will develop the ability to understand and predict economic behavior at the individual and firm level.
What You Will Learn
- Explain fundamental microeconomic principles including scarcity, opportunity cost, and the concept of supply and demand equilibrium
- Analyze price elasticity of demand and supply and apply elasticity concepts to market analysis
- Understand consumer and producer behavior including utility theory, production functions, and profit maximization
- Examine different market structures including perfect competition, monopolies, and oligopolies
- Evaluate government interventions including price controls, taxes, subsidies, and regulations to correct market failures
- Apply game theory and behavioral economics to understand strategic decision-making and psychological factors in economic choices
Course Curriculum
| Module | What you cover |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Microeconomics | Defining microeconomics as the study of individual agents and markets. Basic economic concepts including scarcity, opportunity cost, and trade-offs. Supply and demand and understanding market equilibrium. |
| Elasticity and Market Efficiency | Price elasticity of demand and supply. The concept of elasticity and its application in market analysis. Market efficiency and the role of competition. |
| Consumer and Producer Behavior | Consumer theory including utility, preferences, and budget constraints. Producer theory including costs of production, profit maximization, and production functions. Market structures: perfect competition, monopolies, and oligopolies. |
| Government Intervention and Market Failures | The role of government in correcting market failures. Externalities, public goods, and the tragedy of the commons. Government intervention tools including price controls, taxes, and subsidies. |
| Advanced Topics in Microeconomics | Game theory and strategic decision-making. Behavioral economics and psychological factors affecting economic decisions. The economics of information and market signaling. |