ECON*1050 - Introductory Microeconomics
Course Description
An introduction to the Canadian economy: price determination, market structure and resource allocation; the behaviour of consumers and firms; market intervention by government. Some of the economic issues addressed may include agricultural price supports, rent control, the NAFTA, environmental regulation, price discrimination, pay equity, 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
- 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
Additional Requirements
Equate(s): ECON*1200
Assessment
Grading scheme with the Purchase of MyEconLab:
| Assessment Item | Weight |
|---|---|
| PEAR Assignment | 8% |
| MyEconLab Quizzes | 10% |
| Tests | 27% |
| On Campus Final Exam | 55% |
| Total | 100% |
Grading scheme without the Purchase of MyEconLab:
| Assessment Item | Weight |
|---|---|
| PEAR Assignment | 10% |
| Tests | 30% |
| On Campus Final Exam | 60% |
| Total | 100% |
Note that you must receive at least a 50% on the final exam to pass this course. Your term work will only be included in calculating your final grade if you pass the final exam. If you receive less than a 50% on the final exam your final mark in the course will be your final exam mark.
Note as well that if you pass the final exam with a 50% or higher that you will pass the course, even if your cumulative average using Grading Scheme 1 or 2 is below 50%. If your cumulative average is less than a 50% given either grading scheme, and you pass the final with a 50% or higher, your final mark will be 50%.
Applies Towards the Following Certificates
- Certificate in Business : Electives
- Certificate in Environmental Citizenship : Electives
*Course details are subject to change.