This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class. Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

MindTap is an online platform used for homework in this course. Access to the MindTap courseware is required, which includes an electronic version of the textbook for the course:

Arnold, Roger A. Microeconomics. 13th edition. Cengage, 2018. MindTap Access ISBN: 9781337621403

There is a free two week access to MindTap for immediate access to the course materials. However, after two weeks students must purchase the product.

NOTE: A physical copy of the textbook is NOT required for this class. If students want a print copy of the textbook, they can buy the bookstore bundle or buy/rent a used copy.

The instructor will post instructions for accessing the class MindTap in Resources and Materials when the course opens.

Following an initial introduction to important general economic concepts, including demand and supply, the course examines the U.S. economy from a microeconomic perspective.  It includes an analysis of (1) the theory of consumer behavior, (2) elasticity, (3) costs and supply, (4) market structure, (5) anti-trust law and regulation, and (6) factor markets. Prerequisite: MA103 (or ACT Math subscore ≥ 22)

As a result of taking this course, the student will:

1. develop an understanding of the economic approach to looking at the world, including the notions of scarcity, specialization, opportunity cost and cost/benefit analysis in economic decision-making;
2. identify the determinants of supply and demand; demonstrate the impact of shifts in both market supply and demand curves on equilibrium price and output;
3. understand the economic approach to consumer behavior, including utility theory, behavioral economics, and budget constraint/indifference curve analysis;       
4. be able to calculate supply and demand elasticities, identify the determinants of price elasticity of demand and supply, demonstrate the relationship between elasticity and total revenue, and explain how elasticity is related to the incidence of taxes;
5. appreciate how a free-market economic system functions, as well as the benefits and problems that may arise under such a system, including monopoly power, externalities, public goods, information asymmetries, and issues regarding the distribution of income;
6. be able to describe the production function and the law of diminishing marginal productivity; calculate and graph short-run and long-run costs of production, and understand the economic approach to cost analysis, including costs in the short-run and in the long-run;
7. be able to identify the four market structures by characteristics; calculate and graph the profit maximizing price and quantity in the output markets by use of marginal analysis;
8. be able to determine the profit maximizing price and quantity of resources in factor markets under perfect and imperfect competition by use of marginal analysis;
9. understand the difference between poverty and income inequality and the programs designed to alleviate them;
10. be able to apply the tools of economic analysis to a variety of real-world problems and discover the insights they can offer;
11. be familiar with public choice theory and its implications for the ability of government to solve economic problems;
12. learn to think like economists.

This course addresses the following competencies required for beginning business teachers:

5.1: Identify the basic features of economic systems

5.2: Describe the role of competitive markets

5.3: Describe the role of government in the economy

5.5: Explain the function of domestic economic institutions and economic incentives