Principles of Microeconomics - ECO 202 at Wytheville Community College
https://courses.vccs.edu/colleges/wcc/courses/ECO202-PrinciplesofMicroeconomics
Effective: 2022-03-31
Course Description
Presents the fundamental microeconomic concepts, theories, and issues including the study of scarcity and opportunity cost, supply and demand, elasticities, marginal revenues and costs, profits, production and distribution. Develops an appreciation of how these economic concepts apply to consumer and business decisions, and their effect on the individual. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
Principles of Microeconomics is a course in economics for students whose college and career paths require knowledge of the fundamentals of concepts, theories, and issues affecting consumers, businesses, and the government. Emphasis is placed upon the development of an appreciation of how these apply to consumer and business decisions, and their effect at the individual level. To that end, students will utilize economic data collection methods and models to support reasonable conclusions.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Effectively communicate economic theory and concepts.
- Problem Solving
- Identify and solve problems using microeconomic theory and methodology.
- Introduction to Economics
- Topics: Scarcity; Choice; Opportunity Costs; Comparative and Absolute Advantage
- Illustrate the impact of scarcity and choice with economic models.
- Analyze the differences between comparative and absolute advantage and demonstrate how trade can be beneficial with both.
- Demand and Supply
- Topics: Demand; Supply; Market Equilibrium and Disequilibrium; Coase Theorem; Government Intervention
- Apply the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impacts of the determinants on the demand and supply models.
- Illustrate market equilibrium on the demand and supply model.
- Analyze the impact of market failure on demand and supply.
- Apply the Coase Theorem to solve market disequilibrium caused by externalities.
- Analyze the impact of government intervention on demand and supply.
- Elasticity
- Topics: Elasticity of Demand; Elasticity of Supply; Income Elasticity; Cross-Elasticity
- Assess the impact of elasticity on consumers and producers.
- Compute statistical data to measure elasticity to quantify demand and production decisions.
- Production and Costs
- Topics: Costs; Short-Run Production Costs and Decision-Making Process; Long-Run Costs and Decision-Making Process; Trade Barriers
- Analyze the impact of costs of production on the short-run and long-run.
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Analyze the impact of trade on production decisions.
- Market Structures
- Topics: Perfect Competition; Pure Monopoly; Monopolistic Competition; Oligopoly
- Compare and contrast the impact of the costs of production on the market structures (pure competition; pure monopoly; monopolistic competition; and oligopoly).
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Labor Markets and Income
- Topics: Perfect Competition; Monopsony; Unions; Income
- Assess the costs of labor on production decisions.
- Illustrate the changes on the cost curves.
- Analyze the impact of trade labor markets.
Major Topics to be Included
- Introduction to Economics
- Demand and Supply
- Elasticity
- Production and Cost
- Market Structures
- Labor Markets and Income