Principles of Economics: Introduction – Getting to Know You

Economics and economic theory is fundamental to decision making in business, policy, and everyday life.

If you're interested in a career in business, law, accounting, or investment then studying economics is a great foundation of knowledge.

In this first course of a three course Specialization adapted from my ECON 100 course taught at Rice University, we'll cover the introduction to the basic concepts of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics component includes analysis of supply and demand, consumer and producer behavior, and competitive and noncompetitive market equilibria, with applications to current policy issues. Macroeconomics component provides an overview of the determination of national output, employment, interest rates, and inflation, and analyzes monetary fiscal policies and international trade. More specifically here's some things you should be able to do by the end of the course: 1. Identify how Opportunity Costs affect economic decisions. 2. Identify how economic decision makers compare marginal benefits to marginal costs to make optimal choices. 3. Graph and identify the gains from trade. 4. Describe the relationship between prices, market demand and market supply. 5. Calculate and interpret the meaning of an elasticity coefficient. 6. Evaluate the effects of government policy on supply and demand. 7. Calculate and interpret the meaning of market efficiency. 8. Evaluate the effects of externalities and the policies associated with them, and identify how they are related to different types of goods. 9. Identify the costs of production and interpret their shapes. 10. Communicate how different degrees of competition in a market affect pricing and output. 11. Identify the prisoner's dilemma in the context of an application. 12. Explain the interaction between budget constraints and indifference curves. Lastly there is a book that I've written that coincides with this and the other two courses in the Specialization. You can purchase it here: https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/story-economics-principles-tale