Concordia University - ECON 201: Introduction to Microeconomics

- ECON 201: Introduction to Microeconomics at Concordia University (3-credits) equips students with the fundamentals of economics. The course explores scarcity, supply and demand, pricing, and economic theories using data analysis. It also delves into consumer behavior, production in the short and long run, market structures (perfect competition, monopoly), and government's role in market failures.

✔ (Summary) Main Topics Covered:

• Economic Issues & Concepts: Delving into the foundation of economic understanding, this section introduces essential concepts like scarcity, supply and demand, and the role of prices in resource allocation.
• Economic Theories, Data, & Graphs: Students will explore the theoretical nature of economics and the use of data and graphs to illustrate and analyze economic theories.
• Demand, Supply, & Price: This topic investigates the core concepts of demand, supply, and price determination, as well as their interactions in a market setting.
• Elasticity: Elasticity measures the responsiveness of supply and demand to changes in prices, income, and other factors. It is an important economic measure that helps sellers understand how much of a good or service buyers consume when the price changes.
• Price Controls & Market Efficiency: Price controls are government-mandated minimum or maximum prices that can be charged for specified goods. They can affect market efficiency and lead to potential consequences, such as shortages, rationing, inferior product quality, and illegal markets.
• Consumer Behavior: Consumer behavior focuses on how individuals make choices in the face of scarcity. It emphasizes the concept of utility, which represents satisfaction or happiness derived from consuming a good or service, and how consumers maximize utility subject to budget constraints.
• Producers in the Short Run: The course covers the production process in the short run, where at least some factors of production are fixed.
• Producers in the Long Run: Students will explore the production process in the long run, where all factors of production and costs are variable.
• Competitive Markets: This topic investigates the behavior of firms in competitive markets, including perfect competition and the implications for economic efficiency.
• Price Discrimination: The course examines the behavior of firms in monopolistic and cartel situations, as well as the practice of price discrimination.
• Imperfect Competition & Strategic Behavior: This part of the course covers the behavior of firms in imperfectly competitive markets, such as monopolistic competition and oligopoly.
• Market Failures & Government Intervention: Students will study market failures, such as externalities and public goods, and the role of government intervention in addressing these issues.