Course ePortfolio

Prerequisite(s):
Elementary Algebra

Corequisite(s):
(none)

Advisories/Recommendations:
Intermediate Algebra

Pedagogical Approach

None

Learning Outcomes

Course Content:
Fundamentals of Economic Thinking
Scarcity
Opportunity Costs
Production Possibilities
Marginal Analysis
Rational Behavior
Positive v. Normative Distinction
How Markets Operate
Definition of a market
Factors of production
Supply and demand
Price mechanism
Producer and consumer surplus
Price controls
Elasticity
Consumer demand
Production and cost in the firm
Introduction to the production function
Marginal and average product
Law of diminishing returns
Explicit and implicit cost
Accounting profit v. economic profit
Total cost, average cost and marginal cost in short-run
Short-run production decisions
Long run average cost curve
Economies and diseconomies of scale
Market structures
Perfect competition
Monopoly
Monopolistic competition
Oligopoly
Introduction to factor markets
Market failure and public policy
Specialization and gains from trade

Laboratory Activities (if applicable):

Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

Utilize the concept of scarcity to explain economic trade-offs, opportunity costs, and rational behavior.
Calculate and interpret measures of elasticity.
Demonstrate how markets function and what happens in the presence of market failures.
Analyze production and costs of the firm.
Demonstrate how firms attempt to optimize their objectives in response to price signals under a variety of market structures in the short and long-run.

Assessment

Methods of Evaluation:
Assessed written work is recommended for this course and may include any of the following (colleges are encouraged to work with local CSU and UC departments to determine writing requirements):

           Current event analysis

           Term papers

           Essay questions on exams       

           Exams and Quizzes containing one or more:

          Multiple Choice questions

          Short answers

          Problem Solving

          True/False

          Essays

          Homework Problem Sets

          Presentations

          Debates and class discussion

          Group projects

          Experiments

Other Information

None