Principles of Microeconomics

This course introduces the basic concept of microeconomics – making choice decisions that give maximum “happiness” or “satisfaction” and still be within the given constraints on income and wealth. Students study how individuals make purchases and consumption decisions based on their income and prices of goods and services and how firms make production decisions based on wages, prices of raw materials and inputs, competitive factors, and their desire to achieve “maximum possible” profit. The course focuses on the role of demand and supply interactions in the context of different market structures (e.g., perfect competition, monopoly, etc.) and how this leads to the determination of prices or wages. In addition, students gain an understanding of the government’s role in influencing consumption and production choices by using taxes and other regulatory tools and the role of microeconomics in solving real-world social and political challenges (e.g., international trade, climate change, poverty, etc.).