This is a two-semester course. This course will explore the decision making of consumers and firms and examine how different market mechanisms operate to allocate resources. We will begin by studying the theories of the consumer and the producer. Next we will combine both in the study of individual markets, including perfect competition, monopoly, and oligopoly. We will emphasize the efficiency properties of the competitive system and also discuss some circumstances in which competitive markets may fail to produce efficient outcomes.

Topics will be covered in the first semester: Preferences and Utility; Budget Constraint and Consumer Choice; Demand; Uncertainty, and Market Equilibrium.