ECON 301 - Microeconomic Theory

Upper Division

Prerequisites
ECON 101, ECON 102 or ECON 201, DATA 105 or MATH 103 or MATH 104 or MATH 136 or MATH 137 or MATH 313

This course builds upon the concepts developed in the principles course. Its main objective is to bring forward the tools that students need in order to explain and analyze the behavior of consumers, producers, and its impact on markets. In addition, a solid knowledge of such tools facilitates the evaluation of various policies along with their intended and unintended effects on markets. The same tools pave the way for becoming thoroughly familiar with how various shocks impact markets. Lastly, the market models brought forward in this course allow you to understand why some life saving drugs are pricey, the Airbus-Boeing competition in the global market for civilian aircraft carriers, and why Apple is able to charge more for an iPhone without the fear of losing its customers.

The theories, ideas, and tools acquired throughout this course are applied by managers in the field of business, policy makers in the government sector, and economic researchers in the academic arena. Students successfully completing this course identify and associate basic and intermediate microeconomic concepts and models and apply these to analyze both the consumer as well as producer behavior and, ultimately, the inner workings of markets. Students will also identify and critique the assumptions on which microeconomic concepts and models are built and, in addition, identify the costs and benefits of these assumptions. Lastly, students will apply microeconomic concepts and models, identify and evaluate the effects (intended and unintended) of policies on markets and communicate the results/findings to specialized and general audiences.

Term Offered
Each fall

Repeatable
No

Additional Notes
Previous course number: ECON 105

Course credits: 4