Introduction to Microeconomics

Description

A basic introduction to microeconomic theory. This course explores those theories that explain in detail how an economy works. It introduces supply and demand, the firm, price theory, production and cost, with an application of these and other relevant theories to problems in the market economy. In this course, we will study different types of market structure, different kinds of firms’ reaction to customers’ demand and competitors’ strategy and government interventions. Special attention will be devoted to game theory and strategic interactions. All the concepts will be applied to real life examples.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
– Have a clear understanding of the necessary terminology as consumer, producer, market, prices, regulations, taxes, externalities etc.;
– Comprehend the basic concepts of economic thinking such as benefits, costs, market interactions, consumption, production, competition, demand, supply;
– Understand and analyze simple models describing the market environment and the behavior of its agents, for example: demand and supply diagram (in all basic market models as perfect competition, monopoly etc.), production possibility frontier and strategic interactions (games);
– Place the studied concepts in the context of real-life situations, analyze social interactions and phenomena by application of above-mentioned tools;
– Understand effects of microeconomic policies on the market outcomes, including welfare considerations.