Micro Margin Notes
Up Economic Basics Micro Basics I Micro Basics II Markets Micro Issues Global Finance

 

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LEE 03-19-40

 

Economics is the study of how people allocate their limited resources to satisfy their unlimited wants. The ultimate purpose of economics is to understand the choices we make. Macroeconomics is the part of economic analysis that studies the behavior of the economy as a whole. It deals with economy-wide phenomena such as changes in unemployment, the general price level and national income. Microeconomics is the part of economic analysis that studies decision making undertaken by individuals (or households) and by firms. Our topics this semester are divided into six parts. Those topics are listed below and can be found on the pages linked above.

 

Economics studies how we, as a society, decide...

Economic Term

Ideal Goal

...what is produced and how it's produced.

allocation

efficiency

...who gets what and who does what.

distribution

equity

 

Microeconomics Margin Notes

Part #1    The Basics of Economics

If you've already taken Macro, this section will reinforce the basic concepts you've already learned. If this is your first economics course, it's very important that you take the time needed to learn these concepts well.

Overview

Basic Economic Terminology

Demand

Supply

Demand and Supply Together

The Price System

Government Functions in the Economy

The Circular Flow

Part #2    The Basics of Microeconomics IECONOMICS - THE SCIENCE OF EXPLAINING TOMORROW WHY THE PREDICTIONS YOU MADE YESTERDAY DIDN'T COME TRUE TODAY

Utility Theory

Elasticity

The Business Firm

Part #3    The Basics of Microeconomics II

(This page has several graphics and may be slow loading.)

Profit Maximization

Production

Cost

Part #4    Markets

Market Structures

Competitive Markets

Monopolies

Monopolistic Competition

Oligopolies

Part #5    Microeconomic Issues

Labor

Income, Transfers and Taxes

Antitrust and Regulation

Externalities

Part #6    Global Finance

Global Finance

Exchange Rates

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STACK OF ECONOMICS BOOKS

 

Need Help with Your Course? Try These Resources!

Time Magazine’s The Economy's New Rules: Go Glocal (August 20, 2012)

GO GLOCAL HEADINGGlobalization used to be a one-way street that led away from America. Now high energy prices, political risk and technological shifts are bringing opportunity back home. Welcome to the era of localnomics.

Until quite recently, globalization was seen as a one-way street. American companies, which led the charge four decades or so ago into growing global markets, were its ambassadors, and American workers, whose wages and upward mobility were flattened, were the victims. The core idea was that globalization, technological innovation and unfettered free trade would erase historical and geographic boundaries, making the world ever more economically interconnected and alike. (Foreign-affairs writer Tom Friedman famously encapsulated this notion with the title of his book The World Is Flat.) In this vision, all nations would be on an even playing field, and the US would come under more and more competitive pressure from eager upstart nations. It worked something like that from the mid-1980s to 2008, a period of unprecedented market calm that economists call the Great Moderation. Not so much anymore.

The truth is that the world was never as flat as we thought, and it's getting bumpier. The flaws in the premise are coming into focus. Consider the following: when energy prices and political risk go up, far-flung global supply chains make less economic sense. Low-wage workers in China look attractive -- until robots operated by highly skilled laborers at home are able to do their jobs even more cheaply. Unfettered free trade seems great until the world's fastest-growing economies won't play by the rules of the game. Read the rest…

Retail Prices vs Cost of Personal Services (02:42)

Costs and Benefits of Government Regulations (04:52)

Supply Side Market Price (03:55)

Introduction to Macroeconomics and Microeconomics (MP3 audio download, 35 min)

This is the first lecture from the Modern Scholar course Principles of Economics: Business, Banking, Finance and Your Everyday Life taught by Professor Peter Navarro. In this lecture Professor Navarro talks about the basics of macroeconomics and microeconomics. He provides numerous real life examples about how both macroeconomics and microeconomics affect our personal and professional lives. Professor Navarro is able to articulate a number of economic principles in a clear and concise way that is relevant to everyday life.

Adam Smith: The Invisible Hand (online video, 42 min): mislabeled as video on Mill so ignore label

Introduction to Economics (online course, varying lengths)

The course provides a survey of economic principles and methods. It covers both microeconomics (the study of consumer choice, firm behavior and market interaction) and macroeconomics (the study of economic growth, unemployment and inflation). Special emphasis is placed on the application of economic tools to contemporary economic problems and policies.

The Strategic Importance of Global Trade (transcript)

The Strategic Importance of Global Trade with His Excellency Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, speaking at the Global Strategic Review 2007: The Role of NATO in Meeting Global Challenges. Professor Francois Heisbourg chairs the discussion.

Check out the 6 minute video from You Tube titled Did You Know: Shift Happens – Globalization and The Information Age. It’s a little out-of-date but still fairly accurate. I think you’ll be quite surprised by most of the statistics.

Just for the fun of it, check out Yoram Bauman’s 5-minute You Tube video, Principles of Economics Translated. It’s a hoot! You might also enjoy Every Breath Bernanke Takes, Columbia Business School’s Spring 2006 Follies spoof on The Police's Every Breath You Take featuring Dean Glenn Hubbard and aimed at former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

For a completely different (and conspiracy-theory-oriented) take on the Fed, watch the following.

Part 1 (07:38)

Part 2 (09:26)

Part 3 (09:37)

Part 4 (09:59)

Part 5 (08:11)

CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf held a news conference on the projected economic outlook and budget deficit for fiscal year 2012 at 2012 Economic Outlook (74 min).

DOL Statistics

Internet Economist

Just for fun: Personal Finance Worksheets

 Smart Money

LINK TO PLANET MONEY

 

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Last updated:   04/07/2022   0930

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