Coursera is offering a free online certificate course from the University of Iillinois on Microeconomic Principles, the course provides an introduction to the functions of individual decision-makers, both consumers and producers, within the larger economic system.
The course will also focus on the nature and functions of product markets, the theory of the firms under varying conditions of competition and monopoly, and the role of government in promoting efficiency in the economy.
The course on Microeconomics begins from August 26th, 2013 and interested students can enroll at the link below:
https://www.coursera.org/course/microecon
Microeconomic Principles : About the Course
Most people make the incorrect assumption that economics is ONLY the study of money. My primary goal in this course is to shatter this belief. In fact, in the last 50 years economists have tackled some of the most interesting and important questions for humanity. For instance, the following are just a few examples:
- About Love and Marriage
- Why is the divorce rate so high and what should we do in order to reduce it?
- About the Environment
- Why do we have so much pollution?
- How much is an endangered species worth?
- About Crime
- Would legalizing marijuana lead to a reduction in crime?
- About Labor Markets
- Does increasing the Federal Minimum Wage put people out of work?
- Why did so many women enter the labor force during the last 40 years?
- About things you should be worrying about
- Why is a college education a smart investment? Or isn’t?
- Why are the presidential candidates missing the point on college costs?
- And about many other things:
- Would school vouchers lead to improvements in public education?
- Why a draft would only damage the army?
- How to level the playing field in baseball?
- AND, why is COURSERA offering this course free of charge?
Additional questions we will consider:
- What economists do and the strange way they think? (Basic Concepts, Modeling and Trade)
- What determines prices and quantity in a market economy? (Supply and Demand)
- What is the relationship between free market economies and social welfare? (Market Efficiency and Government Intervention)
- What are the distributional effects of taxes? (Elasticity and Taxes)
- What is the relationship between production and costs in a firm? (Production and Costs)
- How competitive firms choose their efficient level of output? (Competitive Output)
- What are the pricing policies of firms with some degree of market power? (Firms With Market Power)
- How much pollution is too much pollution? (Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities)
We will be addressing many of these (and many more) questions during this course. Again, my main goal will to show you the way economists think and how to use this analytical system to answer questions related not only to these and other important human issues but pretty much to anything you end up doing with your life after this class. After all, as you will quickly find out, I believe everything is economics!
Course Syllabus
| Week | Dates | 4-week Format | 8-week Format | 16-week Format |
| 1 | August 26-September 1 | Basic Concepts, Modeling and Trade Supply and Demand | Basic Concepts, Modeling and Trade | Basic Concepts, Modeling and Trade |
| 2 | September 2-8 | Market Efficiency and Government Intervention Elasticity | Supply and Demand | Basic Concepts, Modeling and Trade, continued |
| 3 | September 9-15 | Production and Costs Competitive Output | Market Efficiency and Government Intervention | Supply and Demand |
| 4 | September 16-22 | Firms With Market Power Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities | Elasticity and Taxes | Supply and Demand, continued |
| 5 | September 23-29 | Production and Costs | Market Efficiency and Government Intervention | |
| 6 | September 30-October 6 | Competitive Output | Market Efficiency and Government Intervention | |
| 7 | October 7-13 | Firms With Market Power | Elasticity and Taxes | |
| 8 | October 14-20 | Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities | Elasticity and Taxes | |
| 9 | October 21-27 | Production and Costs | ||
| 10 | October 28-November 3 | Production and Costs | ||
| 11 | November 4-10 | Competitive Output | ||
| 12 | November 11-17 | Competitive Output | ||
| 13 | November 18-24 | Firms With Market Power | ||
| 14 | November 25-December 1 | Firms With Market Power | ||
| 15 | December 2-8 | Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities | ||
| 16 | December 9-15 | Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities, continued |
