ECON 3070 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

Instructor Contact

Dr. Karen Gebhardt
Karen.gebhart@colorado.edu

About the Course

This course builds on microeconomics’ basic principles and provides an overview of consumer choice models, firm decision making, and general equilibrium.  It covers intertemporal decision-making, uncertainty, externalities, and strategic interaction.

The microeconomic theory explains how individuals decide how and how much to buy and how firms decide what and how much to sell under various economic environments such as different market structures, taxation schemes, and regulation.  In this course, we analyze market failures, mainly externalities and public goods.  We also cover international trade, taxes, uncertainty, and strategic interaction using basic game theory.

Course Prerequisites: Requires prerequisite courses of ECON 2010 (Principles of Microeconomics) AND ECON 1088 or MATH 1081 or MATH 1300 or MATH 1310 or APPM 1350 (all min grade C-) (Math/Calculus courses) AND Restricted to students with 22-180 units completed

Proctoring: This course requires proctored examinations. Exams are proctored which will require planning on your part. Proctors are individuals who administer the exam process following the guidelines provided by University of Colorado Boulder to ensure academic integrity. Some proctoring options require the student to pay a fee.

Objectives

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Identify the fundamentals of microeconomic theory
• Explain how consumers and firms make decisions in the face of scarcity and how these decisions vary in response to changes in the economic environment.
• Explain how firms make decisions in the face of scarcity and how these decisions vary in response to changes in the economic environment.
• Apply algebraic, graphical and calculus tools to microeconomic theory.
• Apply microeconomic principles, theories and models to critically analyze and explain economic situations encountered in the real world that involve microeconomics.
• Communicate the results of economic analysis in a clear and professional way.

Required Texts

Microeconomics with MyLab, 9th Edition, by Pindyck and Rubinfeld, Pearson Publishing, ISBN 9780134153988. Students are required to have access to MyLab (which includes an eBook) at a minimum and can optionally choose to purchase a paper text. MyLab is where you will read your textbook and complete some graded assignments. You will access MyLab through our course website, Canvas.

Grading (out of 1000 points)