Master the economics of individual choice and market dynamics — from supply and demand through consumer theory, producer theory, market structures, market failures, and labor markets. 7 modules with 35 lessons and Python exercises.
Build a solid foundation in economic thinking — scarcity, opportunity cost, the production possibilities frontier, comparative advantage, and economic systems. Resources: Mankiw Principles of Economics, Samuelson & Nordhaus Economics, The Economist.
Master the laws of supply and demand, market equilibrium, the distinction between shifts and movements, and price elasticity — the workhorses of economic analysis. Resources: Mankiw Principles of Economics, Varian Intermediate Microeconomics.
Explore how consumers make optimal choices — utility maximization, indifference curves, consumer surplus, income and substitution effects, and the behavioral economics revolution. Resources: Varian Intermediate Microeconomics, Kahneman Thinking Fast and Slow.
Understand how firms make production decisions — production functions, cost structures, economies of scale, profit maximization, and producer surplus. Resources: Varian Intermediate Microeconomics, Pindyck & Rubinfeld Microeconomics.
Compare the four market structures — perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly — and understand how each determines prices, output, and efficiency. Resources: Tirole Industrial Organization, Mankiw Principles of Economics.
Explore why markets sometimes fail to produce efficient outcomes — externalities, public goods, information asymmetry, the tragedy of the commons, and government intervention. Resources: Mankiw Principles of Economics, Stiglitz Economics of the Public Sector.
Analyze how wages are determined — labor supply and demand, human capital theory, wage discrimination, and the minimum wage debate. Resources: Borjas Labor Economics, Mankiw Principles of Economics, Journal of Labor Economics.