Economics II

Jeremiah MOCK (Graduate School of Human Sciences)

Cource Objective
   We will learn how to understand life in the modern world through an economics perspective. This is a practical course about real life. We will study individual economic choices, markets and local economies. We will also examine critically the strengths and limitations of microeconomics. The learning objectives for this course are: 1) to describe the main principles of microeconomics and define core concepts, 2) to understand how microeconomics relates to other disciplines and fields of study.

Requirement / Prerequisite
   None

Course Content
   After studying this course you should be able to:

1. use acquired knowledge about microeconomic principles to understand the how individual choices and local economies interact with the global economy
2. apply knowledge to understand economics in everyday life
3. see how one can apply microeconomics to understand social issues and address social problems

Class Plan

1. Personal introductions and course introduction
2. What is an economy?
3. What is microeconomics and how is it applied?
4. What are the economic effects of everyday decisions?
5. What are some big economic decisions in life?
6. What are the dynamics of markets, firms and actors?
7. Where do prices come from?
8. Why do prices change?
9. How are jobs produced?
10. How do people make and lose money through investments?
11. What determines minimum wage?
12. What influences trade and labor?
13. What creates extreme wealth, poverty and economic inequality?
14. What is the economics of environmental protection?
15. What is the economics of health?

Textbooks
   The textbook for this course is Microeconomics: Theory Through Applications, v. 1.0 by Russell Cooper and A. Andrew John

Grading Policy
   Students will be awarded grades for performance in accordance with the following scheme:

   Grade Mark Description
   S 90-100 Pass
   A 80-89
   B 70-79
   C 60-69
   F 0-59 Fail