Business Economics I | 3 Credits

In this course, students will analyze the market that they work in or worked in at some point in their life. Questions that student address will include the following: What is the product/service? What are the product characteristics? Who are the consumers? Who are the competitors? They will also identify any changes in prices and the reasons/factors behind the changes. They will then use the supply and demand model to explain a recent price and/or output change in the marketplace. Finally, they will come up with a hypothetical economic change that can impact the future price and output/production in the market and explain their reasoning using the supply and demand model. The goal of this course is to make students aware of the importance of analyzing both consumption and production sides of any market. A related goal is to help students identify the factors behind changes in consumption or production sides of the market that ultimately would lead to changes in the equilibrium prices and production levels.

Required text: McEachern, W. A. Microeconomics: A contemporary introduction. 9th Edition (2012). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN: 978-0538453714

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of economic terms and concepts.
• Apply microeconomics models of supply and demand to analyze the impact of economic factors on product markets

Students will identify a microeconomic issue or a problem that challenges them to do an in-depth analysis of a market/industry. Focus Project #2 has five parts: proposal, survey design, first draft, final draft, and presentation video. Students will identify industry and market characteristics as well as key economic actors (firms, government regulations, and competition). The economic arguments of the stakeholders (firms, consumers, and the government) will be provided. Survey design will teach students how to design an online survey to gather public input about the topic. This is an important step as the survey results provide them with real-life data and an empirical foundation while literature review and other theoretical economic models provide them with a theoretical foundation. In an ideal project report, both theoretical and empirical foundations are needed to ground the ideas. In their policy recommendations, students will be expected to provide a comprehensive list of supporting arguments and a possible list of unintended consequences.

Required text: McEachern, W. A. Microeconomics: A contemporary introduction. 9th Edition (2012). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN: 978-0538453714.

• Analyze how demand and supply function in resource markets.
• Analyze the impact of government regulations on business and consumers.
• Analyze the consumer behavior and how it determines demand.
• Analyze producer behavior and how it determines supply.
• Analyze the effect of competition on market price, output, and consumer welfare

Prerequisites

• BAEF 100x Microeconomic Market Analysis I