EconS 101 · Washington State University
Introduction to Microeconomics
A one-semester introduction to microeconomics for undergraduates. Topics: how markets set prices; how consumers and firms make decisions; competition, monopoly, and market power; game theory and strategic behavior; asymmetric information and auctions; and public policy toward externalities and public goods.
Syllabus
Textbook
The course is based on the notes Introduction to Microeconomics by Felix Muñoz-Garcia. The chapter slides, interactive applets, and self-check tutor below are designed to pair with the book.
Slides for each chapter (PDF):
Chapter 1: Thinking Like an Economist
Chapter 3: Elasticity and Its Applications
Chapter 4: Government in the Market: Price Controls, Taxes, and Subsidies
Chapter 5: Consumer Preferences
Chapter 6: Consumer Choice, Demand, and Welfare
Chapter 7: Choice under Risk and Uncertainty
Chapter 9: The Costs of Production
Chapter 10: Perfect Competition
Chapter 11: Monopoly and Market Power
Chapter 12: Pricing Strategies: Price Discrimination and Bundling
Chapter 13: Game Theory I: Simultaneous-Move Games
Chapter 14: Game Theory II: Sequential and Repeated Games
Chapter 15: Oligopoly and Imperfect Competition
Chapter 16: Asymmetric Information
Chapter 17: Auctions and Bidding Strategies
Chapter 18: Externalities, Public Goods, and Common Resources
Online tools:
Interactive applets: 22 applets, at least one for every chapter, from the production possibilities frontier to the corrective tax on an externality.
Self-check tutor: adaptive multiple-choice questions by chapter, with feedback.
Weekly Review Sessions
Practice exercises with detailed answer keys, one per week.
Review session #1 (Chapter 2: Supply and Demand)
Review session #2 (Chapter 3: Elasticity and Its Applications)
Review session #3 (Chapter 4: Government in the Market)
Review session #4 (Chapter 5: Consumer Preferences)
Review session #5 (Chapter 6: Consumer Choice, Demand, and Welfare)
Review session #6 (Chapter 7: Choice under Risk and Uncertainty)
Review session #7 (Chapters 8 and 9: Production and Costs)
Review session #8 (Chapter 10: Perfect Competition)
Review session #9 (Chapter 11: Monopoly and Market Power)
Review session #10 (Chapter 12: Price Discrimination and Bundling)
Review session #11 (Chapter 13: Simultaneous-Move Games)
Review session #12 (Chapter 14: Sequential and Repeated Games)
Review session #13 (Chapter 15: Oligopoly and Imperfect Competition)
Review session #14 (Chapters 16 to 18: Asymmetric Information, Auctions, and Externalities)
