• Fully explain the basic concepts, models, theories and tools used in the principles of microeconomics and use them to analyze economic decisions by individuals and by firms.
• Identify the foundational assumptions used in their own economic analysis and in the economics analysis of others.
• Predict the effects of supply and demand changes on the direction of market price and quantity. Use the tools of consumer and producer surplus to identify the gains form exchange and the gains from the ability to manipulate price or quantity (e.g., the effects of barriers to entry, market power, monopolization, price controls, taxes, subsidies, and quotas.)
• Articulate and explain the systematic nature of economic analysis and address likely secondary effects of particular policies and institutional frameworks.
• Analyze economic outcomes in terms of their contribution to recognition of scarcity and efficiency.
• Communicate, discuss, and present sound logical conclusions from their analysis of economic incentives.

Microeconomic theory is the primary foundation for all other neoclassical economic theory including most of macroeconomics. Microeconomic theory principals provide insights into the behavior of both individual and collective actors (firms) in markets. This course is the introductory course in any economics curriculum. It will provide you with an insight into how economists analyze practical problems which present themselves to policy makers in the real world. The concepts are theoretical, but we will develop a "set of tools for analysis" that you will be expected to apply. The materials in this course are used extensively in economics, financial economics, and business.
 
Economics is ultimately about problem-solving through critical thinking. We are asked to provide logical, well-argued, defensible answers to complex questions. To do this we must strip problems down to their essential assumptions, arguments, and then critically analyze them. We do not expect you to master problem-solving or critical thinking in this one course. We do expect that you will greatly increase your proficiency at these skills.
 
We emphasize applications because economic conditions and "answers" are constantly changing. What is transferable, fundamental, and constant is the method of economic analysis that we will develop. The ability to apply these tools to varying situations and to make the results clear to others is what gives value to economic analysis.
 
The primary focus of this course is on the development of analytical prowess or "critical thinking." The discipline of economics originated within philosophy, rhetoric, logic and mathematics and transitioned through political economy in the 19th century into modern economics. As a result, economics is a very broad social science drawing upon the interconnectedness of human action. We model human behavior within particular institutional arrangements. This course focuses on the behaviors of individuals, firms, and institutional actors. Students should be able to successfully apply time-tested, empirical models of economic behavior. 
 
This course has a Preliminary Assignment and a Mandatory Mid-term Assignment. For the Preliminary Assignment students will read specified pages from the textbook and a provocative article [Radford, R.A. 1945. “The Economic Organisation of a P.O.W. Camp,” Economica, 12(48): 189-201.] in order to answer several questions on each and prepare a short report for Class 3. The Mandatory Mid-term Assignment will be a take-home assignment covering course materials up to that point and will be similar to the final examination. Its format will be multiple choice and short answer. It will be posted on LEARN a week prior to its due date - the beginning of Class Meeting 5. This Mid-term Assignment is best viewed as a learning opportunity for students and they are encouraged to work with a classmate or a small team to provide the opportunity to learn from each other. The questions will be drawn from the test bank that is a supplement to the textbook.

Class Schedule
 

Textbook:
Modern Principles: Microeconomics,2^nd Edition, 2012.
Authors: Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok
Publisher: Worth Publishers
ISBN-13: 978-1-4292-3998-1 
 
Required readings:
Alchian, Armen A., and Harold Demsetz. 1972. “Production, Information Costs,
and Economic Organization.” American Economic Review, 62(5): 777–95
 
Coase, R.A.1937. “The Nature of the Firm.”Economica, 4(16): 386-405.
 
Hayek, F. A.1945. “The Use of Knowledge in Society.” American Economic
Review,35(4): 519–30.
 
 

Radford, R.A. 1945. “The Economic Organisation of a P.O.W. Camp.” Economica, 12(48): 189-201.