Microeconomics Study + Internship in Barcelona Program Spring 2018 Semester

This course begins with a general introduction to the concepts, phenomena, theories, and models encountered in the study of microeconomics. Students will explore the most recurrent microeconomic manifestations with the expectation that by the end of the course, they will be able to identify, explain, and discuss many of the features of markets, business decisions, and the forces that drive consumption and production.

We will begin by analyzing scarcity and choice dilemmas, placing particular emphasis on the market system as the optimal way to allocate scarce resources. From here, we will study market structure, including monopolies and oligopolies. With this foundation in place, students will then be challenged to consider the factors that contribute to market failure, including: market power, public goods, externalities, and informational asymmetries. In the final section of this course, we will turn our gaze to government intervention as a way of combatting market failure. Using current, real-world examples, students will discuss the different methods of government intervention in terms of their effectiveness and impact on social welfare.

Students should understand that this is a technical course. As such, computer-based economic experiments will be used to elucidate real-world economic behavior. While this course does not require any prerequisites in mathematics, a basic familiarity with math is strongly advised.