ECON 100-01, Introduction to Economics, Spring 2011

Abstract

Microeconomics studies the behavior of individual participants in the economy: consumers and producers, workers and employers. These buyers and sellers come together in the market to allocate scarce resources, collectively determining what goods will be consumed and produced, where and how many hours to work, and how to best organize production. We will study market structures, when markets fail, and how government policies (taxation, emission controls, minimum wage laws, etc.) impact the functioning of the market. Macroeconomics studies the aggregates in the economy: the interaction of output, employment, and inflation with one another and with government monetary and fiscal policies. Specifically, the models and relationships that we study in this course are the same as those used by policy-makers in making decisions that affect us as individuals.