ECON201 MICROECONOMIC THEORY I
| Course Code: | 3110201 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 4 (3.00 - 2.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 7.0 |
| Department: | Economics |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Prof.Dr. SERKAN KÜÇÜKŞENEL |
| Offered Semester: | Fall and Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
Microeconomic analysis relies on a small set of enormously powerful analytical tools: constrained optimization analysis, equilibrium analysis, and comparative statics analysis. This course attempts to help students master these tools by presenting their graphical, algebraic and logical mechanics as well as by illustrating their use in many different contexts throughout the course.
Course Content
Scope and method, demand, supply and market prices; theory of consumer behaviour; applications; demand elasticity; theory of production and cost; pricing in competitive markets; general equilibrium and welfare economics.
Course Learning Outcomes
Students will learn the equilibrium behavior of competitive markets.
Then they will learn how to model consumer preferences and consumer choice, which can be used to derive a market demand function.
Then they will learn the theory of production and firm behavior to derive a market supply function. The concept of market equilibrium will be reinforced with more detailed understanding of demand and supply.
After "partial equilibrium" analysis (characterization of firms' behavior in a single market) the equilibrium analysis will be extended to an environment in which many markets exist and interact ("general equilibrium"). Students will learn welfare properties of competitive markets for both partial and general equilibrium. Then they will learn other market structures such as monopoly and oligopoly. They will observe how industry equilibrium differs from the competitive case for each of these structures. Finally they will learn about factor markets, externalities and public goods.