This course introduces economic ways of thinking that can help students better understand the economy and make rational decisions. It is designed to offer insights into economic principles guiding people’s behavior and apply them to explain a wide range of real world phenomena. Topics include society and institutions, production and exchange, international trade, consumer and producer decision theory, market equilibrium and government policies, and an overview introduction to macroeconomics and finance.  

Objectives 

The main goal is to develop economic intuition for better decision making. Students will also acquire basic analytical skills to solve economic problems intuitively, graphically, and mathematically if necessary. Upon completing this course and assignments, students should be able to 

• Explain the nature and scope of economics, and the scientific methods in economics

• Understand various criteria and rules of the game in social competition; 

• Appreciate the driving forces behind and the benefits of international trade; 

• Model consumer behavior, producer behavior, and how they make decisions in the market; 

• Apply the demand-supply model to analyze market fluctuations and government policy effects;

• Overview macroeconomics and finance in a simple framework. 

It is important for students to provide feedback in time throughout the course to ensure positive learning and teaching experience. If students have trouble keeping up with the class material or the workload, please feel free to contact the instructor. It is the instructor's responsibility to support students to make progress and succeed in the course. Students are strongly encouraged to 1) raise questions and participate in the lecture; 2) provide feedback and suggestions regarding teaching and course organization; 3) solve   problem sets and conduct research together; 4) improve the learning and teaching outcomes.