About this course: In this course, you will learn all of the major principles of microeconomics normally taught in a quarter or semester course to college undergraduates or MBA students. Perhaps more importantly, you will also learn how to apply these principles to a wide variety of real world situations in both your personal and professional lives. In this way, the Power of Microeconomics will help you prosper in an increasingly competitive environment. Note that this course is a companion to the Power of Macroeconomics. If you take both courses, you will learn all of the major principles normally taught in a year-long introductory economics college course.
Created by: University of California, Irvine
Taught by: Dr. Peter Navarro, Professor
Paul Merage School of Business
| Commitment | 11 hours of videos and quizzes |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Ukrainian, Chinese (Simplified) |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Welcome
1 video, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz
- Reading: Syllabus
- Practice Quiz: Check Your Economics Knowledge (Ungraded)
- Video: An Introduction to Microeconomics
WEEK 2
An Introduction to Microeconomics
5 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Microeconomics Defined and Three Questions Every Economy Must Answer
- Video: The Production Possibility Frontier and Opportunity Costs
- Video: The Fundamental Concepts of Microeconomics and Course Overview
- Video: Other Reasons for Government Regulation
- Video: An Overview of Land, Labor, and Capital Markets; Externalities and Public Goods
Graded: An Introduction to Microeconomics
WEEK 3
Supply, Demand and Equilibrium
4 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: The Law of Demand, Income/Substitution Effects, and Shift Factors
- Video: Change in Demand vs. Change in Quantity Demanded; The Market Demand and Supply Curves; Supply Curve Shift Factors
- Video: Equilibrium; Price Effects of Supply and Demand Curve Shifts; Price Controls and Floors
- Video: The Market Allocates Goods & Resources- What, For Whom, and How; Some Cool Examples
Graded: Supply, Demand and Equilibrium
WEEK 4
Demand and Consumer Behavior
4 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Consumer Choice and Utility Theory
- Video: Consumer Optimization and the Equimarginal Principle; Income and Substitution Effects
- Video: Demand Price Elasticity and its Determinants
- Video: Price Elasticity and Total Revenue
Graded: Demand and Consumer Behavior
WEEK 5
Supply and Production Theory
6 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Overview of Production Theory and the Production Function
- Video: Average, Marginal, Variable, and Total Costs; The Marginal Product and Law of Diminishing Return
- Video: Marginal Cost and Marginal Cost Pricing; The AFC, ATC, and AVC Curves
- Video: Long Run Cost Analysis and Economies of Scale
- Video: Diseconomies of Scale, Minimum Efficient Scale, and Natural Monopoly; The Structure-Conduct-Performance Paradigm
- Video: Accounting Versus Economic Profits; The Price Elasticity of Supply
Graded: Supply and Production Theory
WEEK 6
Perfect Competition
6 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Overview of Industry Structure, Conduct, and Performance
- Video: Assumptions of Perfect Competition; the P=MR Condition
- Video: Market Failures that Lead to Imperfect Competition; Externalities and the Public Goods Problem
- Video: Pricing and Production Rules; P=MR=MC; The Shutdown Rule
- Video: Long Run Equilibrium; Normal or Zero Economic Profits
- Video: Allocative vs. Productive Efficiency; Pareto Optimality; Consumer and Producer Surplus and Deadweight Loss
Graded: Perfect Competition
WEEK 7
Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition
4 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Why Study Imperfect Competition; Monopoly’s Pricing Rule
- Video: Regulating Monopolies and the P=AC Rule; X-efficiency Under Cost-Plus Pricing; Schumpeter Argument for Monopoly
- Video: Monopolistic Competition; Concentration Ratios; Mutual Dependence Recognized and Collusion
- Video: Comparing Monopolistic and Perfect Competition; Non-Price Competition and Product Differentiation
Graded: Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition
WEEK 8
Oligopoly and Strategic Behavior
6 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Oligopoly Defined and Sources of Oligopoly
- Video: Market Power and Strategic Interaction; Cooperative Versus Non-Cooperative Behavior; Explicit Collusion
- Video: Tacit Versus Explicit Collusion; Forms of Tacit Collusion; Models of Oligopoly Conduct
- Video: Joint Profit Maximization Model; Why Cartels Can Fail
- Video: The Price Leadership Model; The Kinked Demand Curve Model
- Video: Game Theory and the Prisoner’s Dilemma; The Nash Equilibrium
Graded: Oligopoly and Strategic Behavior
WEEK 9
Land and Rent
5 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Introduction to Land and Rent; Factor Prices
- Video: How Land is Priced; Rent Versus Economic Rent
- Video: The “Corn Wars” and Theory of Ricardian Rents; Property Rights
- Video: Henry George’s Single Tax Movement; Efficiency of a Land Tax
- Video: Determinants of the Price of Land and Rents; Rent Seeking
Graded: Land and Rent
WEEK 10
The Labor Market and Wage Determination
6 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: What Determines the Wage Rate? Unions and “Company Towns”
- Video: The Derived Demand For Labor; The Marginal Productivity Theory of Resource Demand; The Profit Maximizing Rule; MRC=W
- Video: Productivity, Wages and Product Prices
- Video: Issues in Labor Force Participation; Substitution and Income Effects and the Backward Bending Curve; Immigration
- Video: Wages Under Differing Market Structures; Monopoly, Monopsony, and Labor Unions; Labor Immobility; Role of Unions
- Video: Factors Affecting Wage Differentials; Compensating Differentials; Quasi-Rents; Human Capital; Immobilities;, Non-Competing Groups
Graded: The Labor Market and Wage Determination
WEEK 11
The Capital Market, Interest, and Profits
6 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Capital Analysis in the Real World; Three Categories of Capital Goods; Interest Rate Defined; Rate of Return
- Video: Depreciation; Theory of Loanable Funds; Two Interest Rate Functions
- Video: How Shifts in Demand and Supply Affect Interest Rates; Investment Analysis Over Time; Net Present Value; Perpetuities
- Video: NPV In the Real World; NPV Equation
- Video: Real World Applications of NPV
- Video: Interest Rates In The Real World; Factors Determining Interest Rates
Graded: The Capital Market, Interest, and Profits
WEEK 12
Public Goods and Externalities
7 videos, 1 reading
- Reading: Module Overview
- Video: Why Markets Fail and Government’s Role
- Video: Public Vs. Private Goods; Non-rival Consumption; Non-excludability; Free Rider Problem
- Video: Economic Efficiency and Public Goods; Market Demand for Public Goods
- Video: Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Decision Rule
- Video: Negative and Positive Externalities
- Video: Graphical Analysis of Externalities; Coase Theorem and Property Rights; Tort System
- Video: Direct Government Intervention; Pigouvian Taxes and Subsidies; Internalizing Externalities
Graded: Public Goods and Externalities
WEEK 13
Final Exam
1 reading
- Reading: Learning Resources
Graded: Final Exam
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
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Creators
University of California, Irvine
Since 1965, the University of California, Irvine has combined the strengths of a major research university with the bounty of an incomparable Southern California location. UCI’s unyielding commitment to rigorous academics, cutting-edge research, and leadership and character development makes the campus a driving force for innovation and discovery that serves our local, national and global communities in many ways.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
This is an excellent course. It helped me understand many complex principles in an easy manner.
Good! I have got so much theoretical thought from the course!
The course was amazing journey through the basics of economics.
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CL
Good intro -- would have liked projects to help apply and remember the concepts (writing an article about the economy using theories learnt in microeconomy, collect data and learn how to use that data, etc.).