Introduction to MicroEconomics - 1st year
Concentrated introductory course providing a general understanding of basic microeconomic concepts. Specifically, it acquaints the students with the study of individual consumers, groups of consumers, and firms. The course will focus on how individuals make decisions that affect their income and wealth, how firms make decisions that affect profits and production, and how government regulation affects individuals and firms.
Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic mechanism by which the economic system works, including various approaches to the organization of production and the allocation of resources;
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between Utility Theory and the Model and Supply and Demand;
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the Production Function and its applicability to short-run output and the Theory of Cost;
4. Demonstrate knowledge of Returns to Scale and their application to long-run production and cost;
5. Demonstrate knowledge of the outcome and pricing decisions a real-world firm faces under differing market conditions;
6. Identify the tools of microeconomic analysis and analyze and formulate possible solutions to contemporary economic and social issues such as agricultural production, world food problems, poverty and the distribution of income, the energy crisis and environmental pollution.
Topics:
Course topics will include the following:
1. The Basics of Economic Analysis
2. Introduction to Microeconomics
3. The Microeconomics of Product Markets
4. The Microeconomics of Factor Markets
Method of Instruction:
1. Lecture
2. Class discussion
3. Individual, paired, and small-group exercises
4. Use of library for research projects
5. Use of audio-visual media resources (videos, films, transparencies)
6. Use of the internet for research projects
Types of Assignments:
1. Students will read a chapter each week before discussion in class.
2. Students must be able to take notes from reading and lecture materials.
3. Students must complete assignments from the text and other sources.
Sample Text:
1. Principles of Microeconomics (Edition Two) (Fred M. Gottheil; South-Western College Publishing, 1999)
2. Study Guide: Tools for Success in Economics (David Wishart; South-Western College Publishing, 1999)
