Principles of Microeconomics
Course Description
This course provides students with the basic theories, concepts, terminology, and uses of microeconomics. Students learn practical applications for microeconomics in their personal and professional lives through assimilation of fundamental concepts and analysis of actual economic events.
Topics and Objectives
Fundamentals of Microeconomics
- Define the terms of economics and microeconomics.
- Explain how supply and demand is used to determine market equilibrium.
- Determine how price elasticity of demand affects an individual's purchasing decision and a firm's pricing decision.
Production and Cost Analysis
- Analyze the relationship between productivity and the cost of production elements.
- Utilize a real-world example to explain the law of diminishing marginal productivity.
- Analyze the differences among variable, fixed, average, marginal, and total costs of production.
- Explain how supply and demand is used to determined wages in a market economy.
Market Structure
- Compare and contrast various market structures and their characteristics.
- Analyze conditions under which organizations maximize profits.
- Analyze how the profit maximizing decision varies among market structure.
Public Policy in Economics
- Evaluate how an externality affects the market outcome.
- Differentiate among horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers.
- Analyze the effects of government policy on economic behavior.
Global Competition
- Determine how global competition affects a firm's strategies for maximizing profits.
- Analyze how social diversity and business ethics changes corporate business practices.