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This Specialization introduces core microeconomics concepts, including supply and demand, market structures, consumer choice, and the role of government in shaping economic outcomes. Learners will analyze how markets allocate resources, evaluate efficiency and externalities, and examine firm and consumer decision-making across different economic environments. By the end of the Specialization, learners will be equipped to interpret market behavior, assess economic policies, and understand income distribution and labor market dynamics.
Syllabus
- Course 1: Introduction to Economic Concepts
- Course 2: Supply and Demand
- Course 3: Economic Efficiency and Its Obstacles
- Course 4: International Trade, Public Goods, and Externalities
- Course 5: Consumer Choice
- Course 6: Perfect Competition & Monopoly
- Course 7: Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly
- Course 8: The Labor Market & Inequality
Courses
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This course provides the essential tools to analyze consumer behavior and a firm's production strategy. You will learn to apply marginal utility theory to explain consumer choices and derive demand curves, while also calculating the explicit and implicit costs that drive a firm's output decisions. Mastering these core microeconomic concepts will empower you to understand how prices are determined and how businesses model profitability.
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This course will equip you to analyze how market interventions like price controls and taxes affect economic efficiency. You will learn to calculate consumer and producer surplus, identify the sources of deadweight loss, and evaluate the fairness and impact of different tax systems on wages and prices. Mastering these skills will enable you to assess the real-world consequences of government policies and understand the critical trade-off between efficiency and equity in resource allocation.
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This course empowers you to analyze the complexities of global markets, from the gains and losses of international trade to the impact of trade restrictions. You will learn to differentiate between public, private, and common resources, and explain how externalities cause market failures like the tragedy of the commons. This provides a critical framework for evaluating government policies and understanding some of today’s most pressing economic and environmental challenges.
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This course equips you to apply the economic way of thinking to analyze how resources are allocated in a world of scarcity. You will learn to determine opportunity cost, explain the factors of production, and describe how specialization and trade lead to economic growth. By mastering these foundational concepts, you will gain a practical framework for understanding global production and making more effective decisions in both your personal and professional life.
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This course empowers you to analyze firm behavior in the common yet complex market structures of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. You will apply game theory, including the concept of Nash Equilibrium, to understand strategic interdependence, competitive pricing decisions, and the crucial role of advertising. These skills provide a powerful framework for interpreting real-world business strategies in industries from tech and automotive to everyday retail.
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This course empowers you to analyze how firms behave in two key market structures: perfect competition and monopoly. You will learn to determine how competitive firms make profit-maximizing decisions and contrast this with how monopolies leverage market power and barriers to entry to set prices. This knowledge provides a crucial framework for evaluating business strategies, price discrimination, and the real-world impact of government regulation.
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This course empowers you to analyze the core dynamics of market economies by mastering the principles of supply and demand. You will learn how to measure price and income elasticity to predict how consumers and producers respond to changing conditions and affect market equilibrium. These essential skills will equip you to interpret pricing strategies, anticipate market shifts, and understand the economic forces shaping the goods and services you use every day.
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This course provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing labor markets and the drivers of economic inequality. You will investigate how the demand for and supply of labor determine wages, and explore the root causes of income disparities in the United States. By examining government policies designed to redistribute income and address poverty, you will gain a critical lens to evaluate solutions for some of today’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges.
Taught by
Pearson