Course Description - APEC 6100

This course covers the same areas in microeconomics as in your introductory principles and intermediate theory courses, but at a more rigorous graduate level. We begin by examining the technological constraints facing dual profit-maximizing/cost-minimizing producers and the supply and demand behaviors that are governed by the various properties of these constraints. We then turn our attention to understanding the behaviors of budget-constrained, utility-maximizing consumers, in particular the relationships between utility maximization, revealed preference, and demand. We also look closely at the various measures of consumer welfare (e.g. consumers’ surplus). We will conclude the course by examining the standard structures and implications of perfect competition in the marketplace. Time permitting, we will also explore the market structure of monopoly.