Course Description
Introduction to microeconomic principles and analysis. Topics include: the market economy, supply and demand, shortages and surpluses, competition and monopoly, international trade, and public policy issues.
Syllabus
Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:
Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
- Demonstrate how scarcity forces trade-offs, how every choice has an opportunity cost, and how different opportunity costs give rise to comparative advantages.
- Apply knowledge of supply and demand, market equilibrium and elasticity to demonstrate how price allocates scarce resources.
- Explain how markets reach efficient outcomes, why markets sometimes fail, and how government intervention can impact markets.
- Describe a firm’s production process and resulting cost structure and show how output decisions are made.
- Distinguish between perfectly competitive and monopolistic markets and understand the implications of each on market efficiency.
- Critically analyze claims, arguments, artifacts, or information. (MAC Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Social and Behavioral Sciences SLO 1)
- Construct coherent, evidence-based arguments. (MAC Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Social and Behavioral Sciences SLO 2)
Course Grading Information:
| Activity/Performance Measure | Percentage/Points |
|---|---|
| Interactive Textbook Homework | 40% |
| Exams | 45% total (15% each) |
| Discussion Questions and Responses | 10% |
| Generative AI Assignments | 5% total |
Final course letter grades will be assigned based on the following scale:
Grading Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 93% and above | A |
| At least 90% but less than 93% | A- |
| At least 87% but less than 90% | B+ |
| At least 83% but less than 87% | B |
| At least 80% but less than 83% | B- |
| At least 77% but less than 80% | C+ |
| At least 73% but less than 77% | C |
| At least 70% but less than 73% | C- |
| At least 67% but less than 70% | D+ |
| At least 63% but less than 67% | D |
| At least 60% but less than 63% | D- |
| Less than 60% | F |
Attendance/Participation:
Attendance/participation is not a graded component included in the student's final grade for this course.
Course Materials Purchased by the Students:
Microeconomic Interactive, 1st edition, by Parkin, Bade, and Sarbaum with access to Revel for Microeconomics Interactive. ISBN-13: 9780134826844.
Scholarly Perspectives
This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.