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Principles of Microeconomics: An Economist Way of Thinking

Explore the fundamentals of microeconomics including economic efficiency, scarcity and opportunity costs. This course will set you up to think like an economist and to identify how economics relates to the everyday choices we make.

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Principles of Microeconomics: An Economist Way of Thinking

Choose your session:

7,282 already enrolled!
Starts Nov 21
Ends Dec 6
Starts Nov 21

Principles of Microeconomics: An Economist Way of Thinking

Explore the fundamentals of microeconomics including economic efficiency, scarcity and opportunity costs. This course will set you up to think like an economist and to identify how economics relates to the everyday choices we make.

Principles of Microeconomics: An Economist Way of Thinking
6 weeks
1–2 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

Choose your session:

7,282 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Nov 21
Ends Dec 6
Starts Nov 21

About this course

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Recent global economic and non-economic events have highlighted the importance of informed and well reasoned decision making of resource allocation and efficiency. This course focuses on how decision making units within the economy (e.g. consumers, firms, government departments) make choices and how choices can be made in a way that makes best possible use of limited available resources. Since life is in large part about making choices, this course will help you to understand why the world is the way it is, and in so doing, shed light on how it might be changed for the better.

Firstly the course equips you to think and see the world like an economist. Topic areas include advancing your knowledge in comparative advantage and opportunity cost. The next area, supply and demand, focuses on how choices are made in a market system and how an economic system coordinates many rational choices of self-interested decision-makers. You will explore the application of economic theory and economic efficiency of competitive markets, as well as consumer and producer surplus and deadweight loss.

This MOOC is part of the Professional Certificate in Microeconomics. We recommend that you explore the other two courses of the program, Competitive and Imperfectly Competitive Markets and Social Microeconomics. The program is based on a core microeconomics course taught on campus at The University of Queensland. Don't wait to enroll and begin learning from industry experts now!

If you are interested in pursuing economics further, UQx provides an accompanying Professional Certificate in Macroeconomics program running in parallel to this course. Building on your knowledge of microeconomics with this additional program will provide you with a strong foundation of economics.

Overall, this course is for everyone, whether you are studying at university, a career professional interested in expanding your economic knowledge, or simply curious about global economic behaviour and what influences it.

At a glance

  • Institution: UQx
  • Subject: Economics & Finance
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:

    You are not required to have any experience or knowledge on particular academic disciplines; however a background in Economics and Statistics will be helpful.

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:

What you'll learn

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The topics that are covered within this course include:

  • real world examples of comparative advantage and opportunity cost

  • economic methodologies and rules that help individuals make rational choices

  • supply and demand theory and practical application is thoroughly explored

  • how rational choices are made and the role of economic cost benefit analysis

About the instructors

Frequently Asked Questions

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If you successfully complete the Professional Certificate in Macroeconomics and the Professional Certificate in Microeconomics and wish to progress your studies further, consider the Graduate Certificate in Economic Studies (GCEconSt) offered at The University of Queensland. This is the next step for you to obtain valuable analytical and decision making skills (including a postgraduate degree from a world-class university) that can potentially give you the edge in your career.

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