This course is designed to introduce students to the economic way of thinking. Microeconomics – or price theory – models the behavior and decision making of individuals, business firms, and government. We will be studying how rational, self-interested economic agents choose among alternatives in a world where wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, and how the interactions of buyers and sellers in markets determine prices, profits and the distribution of income.
By investigating the behavior of individual economic agents (firms and households), different types of market structures, and the relations between the private and public sectors of the economy, the course will (1) familiarize students with basic economic theories, (2) enable them to apply the theories in the analysis of important policy, and (3) equip them with a powerful set of tools for understanding the world around them.