Applied Economics for Managers
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Exams; Lecture Notes; Problem Sets
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Summer 2004
- Department: Sloan School of Management
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Learn microeconomics for managers: supply and demand, pricing, oligopoly, externalities, information and trade, through lecture notes and a practice final.
Why do firms price as they do, and when do markets get things wrong? Taught in a summer executive setting, this class gives managers the core of microeconomics, with some macroeconomics and trade added. It links theory, data and judgment, using supply and demand, oligopoly, externalities and information to analyze corporate decisions and public policy.
What You Will Achieve
- Use demand and supply models to analyze market outcomes
- Choose pricing tactics under monopoly and imperfect competition
- Recognize when externalities and uncertainty undermine markets
- Apply economic reasoning to trade and income distribution
Program Overview
Markets and Efficiency
The first lectures set up how markets coordinate choices.
- Choice and efficiency
- The basic demand and supply model
- Consumer and producer theory
Competition and Strategy
Next comes the part closest to a manager’s desk.
- Monopoly and pricing tactics
- Monopolistic competition and oligopoly
- Elements of strategy
When Markets Struggle
The final lectures widen the view.
- Externalities and public goods
- Uncertainty and information
- Organizational architecture
- International trade and income distribution
Course Completion
Job Outlook
This material supports general management, strategy, pricing and corporate finance roles, along with MBA-level study.
Good for: Experienced managers who never took economics, or who want a brisk refresher with business examples.
Keep in mind: From summer 2004, so market examples are old. The main text is Parkin’s Microeconomics, and the Sloan Fellows course packet is not included. You get lecture notes, two problem sets and one practice final.
Bottom line: A compact, businesslike tour of microeconomics, thin on practice but well organized for someone short of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much practice does it include?
Two problem sets that mix numbers with word problems, and a practice final with solutions, taken from the 2003 version of the class.
Does it cover macroeconomics?
Only a little. The class focuses on microeconomics, with some topics drawn from macroeconomics and international trade late in the term.
Which book should I use?
The readings come mainly from Michael Parkin's Microeconomics, 6th edition. The extra packet used by the Sloan Fellows is not on the page.
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