ECON*1050 - Introductory Microeconomics

Course Description

This course gives students an introduction to the economy including the topics of price determination, market structure and resource allocation, the behaviour of consumers and firms, and market intervention by government. Some of the economic issues addressed may include agricultural price supports, rent control, trade policy, environmental regulation, price discrimination, and taxation.

Note: This course can be taken individually or as a part of a certificate program.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:

• Describe basic principles of microeconomics including demand and supply, utility and consumer choice, production and costs, market structure, market failures and government intervention, and factor markets
• Demonstrate and discuss how basic economic models work
• Analyze specific markets, including goods and services, housing and labour markets
• Recognize the successes and failures of government intervention in the market
• Explain the role of public policies, such as competition policy, environmental policy, and trade policy
• Apply mathematical concepts and tools, such as computing the slope of a line or graphing the relationship between variables, to explain basic economic models and the interaction between economic variables
• Apply the microeconomic principles to critically examine every day economic events
• Apply basic problem solving techniques used in microeconomics, including techniques to calculate elasticity, determine the market equilibrium, and compute total, marginal, and average cost and product
• Use graphical analysis to demonstrate and interpret various economic models, including the demand and supply model, market equilibrium determination, and the impact of government regulation on the economy

Course Topics

• Introduction: Thinking Like an Economist
• Supply and Demand: How Markets Work
• Markets in Action: Government and Trade
• Consumer Choice: Utility and Demand
• The Firm: Production and Cost
• Markets
• Market Failures and Government Intervention
• Markets for Factors of Production

Assessment

Grading scheme with the Purchase of MyEconLab:

Grading scheme without the Purchase of MyEconLab:
 

Note:

Additional Technical Requirements

This course will use the following:

• MyLab, a web-based tool created by Pearson Education. Visit their website to complete a check that ensures your computer meets the MyLab system requirements.
• Respondus tool to invigilate one or more exams. 
• Zoom as a video communication tool.  A Webcam, a microphone to record video, and headphones/speakers to play back the recording are also needed. 

Please view the Technical Considerations for each.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Certificate in Business : Electives
• Certificate in Environmental Citizenship : Electives