ECON 103

Principles of Microeconomics ECON 103 (4)

The principal elements of theory concerning utility and value, price and costs, factor analysis, productivity, labor organization, competition and monopoly, and the theory of the firm. Students with credit for ECON 200 cannot take ECON 103 for further credit. Quantitative/Breadth-Soc.

*Note: I = skill to be introduced in the course, D = skill to be further developed

For 100 level courses, all skills are I (Introductory).

Analyze and interpret economic models

Solve and interpret standard models of consumer behavior

Explain the role of preferences in consumer choices
Identify factors that affect consumer demand and the elasticity of demand
State and explain the Law of Demand
Define, calculate and interpret elasticities
Explain the demand curve of an individual consumer
Explain the role of constraints and opportunity cost in consumer choices

Solve and interpret standard models of producer behavior

Compute and/or graph the cost function of a firm
Distinguish between decreasing marginal product and returns to scale
Explain the role of constraints and opportunity cost in firm choices
Identify factors that affect firm supply and the elasticity of supply
Link diminishing marginal product to the Law of Supply
State and explain the Law of Supply
Explain and interpret the supply curve of a competitive firm
Identify sunk costs, and explain why sunk costs are not included in opportunity cost

Solve and interpret standard models of market interaction

Explain the role of prices in the economy
Compute and interpret consumer surplus
Define oligopoly
Aggregate firm supply to market supply, in the short run and the long run
Aggregate individual demands to market demand
Explain the role of price taking behavior in competitive equilibrium
Graph and compute the equilibrium of a perfectly competitive market
Calculate and interpret the effect of a price floor or ceiling in a competitive market
Calculate and interpret the effect of an excise tax in a competitive market
Calculate and interpret the incidence of a tax
Calculate opportunity cost from a production possibilities frontier
Define monopoly and state the different sources of monopoly.
Explain the gains from trade in a simple model
Use opportunity cost to determine comparative advantage

Identify and analyze market failures, externalities and public goods

Identify consumption and production externalities
State the properties of public and private goods

Critically assess economic arguments, assumptions, and evidence

Discuss the role of theory, evidence, and measurement in economic analysis

Describe the scientific method and its role in economics

Critically evaluate assumptions in economic/econometric models

State the essential features of a perfectly competitive market
Explain the role of assumptions in economic models
Understand limited role of GDP as a measure of production (versus wealth, versus welfare)

Compare and critically evaluate economic arguments

Classify statements about the economy as normative or positive
Define the "natural rate of employment" and assess its relevance to the macroeconomy
Distinguish between different explanations for unemployment
Identify the key assumptions and empirical claims in an economic argument

Use oral, written, and graphical methods to communicate economic insights

Formulate written economic arguments evaluating or supporting a position

Write a brief paragraph (e.g., on an exam) that explains or applies economic concepts

Present economic arguments by means of graphs, charts and tables

Graph and explain the effect of changes to market conditions on equilibrium price and quantity
Graph and interpret a production possibilities frontier

Use economic concepts to understand real-world human activity and public policy

Apply economics to everyday situations

Interpret a real-world situation using the concepts of scarcity, substitution, opportunity cost, and equilibrium
Describe the incentives facing participants in a real-world situation
Interpret simple real-world events using the supply and demand model
Predict the economy's response to changes in market conditions

Evaluate current events using tools of economics

Evaluate current events as they relate to the general course content

ECON 103 Educational Goals.pdf
ECON 103 Educational Goals

Economics