Firm Level Economics: Markets and Allocations

About this course

In markets, prices act as rationing devices, encouraging or discouraging production and consumption to find an equilibrium. In this course, you will learn to construct demand curves to capture consumer behavior and supply curves to capture producer behavior. The resulting equilibrium price “rations” the scarce commodity. Additionally, the course examines the ways in which markets are subject government intervention and the impacts of these interventions. You will be able to: • Explain how different market structures result in different resource allocations • Model the impact of external shocks to a particular market structure and demonstrate the new equilibrium price and quantity after the impact of this external shock has played out • Evaluate the efficiency of an equilibrium • Explain when and why the government might intervene with regulatory authority or antitrust litigation to lessen inefficiencies in some markets • Describe how information problems can cause inefficient outcomes • Understand externalities and consider optimal government response to these market failures This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these programs and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.

Course objectives

• Explain the relationship between market structures and resource allocation
• Model external shocks and analyze resulting equilibriums
• Identify when government intervention is necessary to correct market inefficiencies
• Understand the implications of information problems and optimal government responses