Understand key microeconomic concepts and the role of government through case studies and practical examples.
Should we promote competition? What taxes should be used to raise government revenue? How can economics help to reduce traffic congestion? Should we price carbon? If you have ever wondered what economists really mean when they use microeconomic concepts, this course is for you. In this course, you will learn basic concepts of microeconomics including trade-offs, opportunity cost, supply and demand, taxes and subsidies, public goods, externalities, market failure, as well as competition, monopolies and regulation.
Key topics include:
- Key insights and introduction to the economic way of thinking
- Markets and prices: demand, supply and elasticities
- Government intervention: price controls
- Government intervention: taxes
- Government intervention: market failure, externalities and public goods
- Summary: role of government
At a glance
Format: Online
Duration: 2 weeks (excluding orientation)
Commitment: 4-6 hours per week
Cost: $1,495 (or $1,195 for early bird registrations by 10 May 2025)
Start/end date: 10 - 19 June 2025 with a course introduction / meet and greet on 3 June
Group discounts available.
Course curriculum
- Module 1 Introductory microeconomics concepts
- Module 2 Supply, demand, and elasticities
- Module 3 Externalities and market structure
- Module 4 Government intervention
Learning outcomes
- Understand key microeconomic concepts
- Develop the ability to analyse applied case studies in microeconomics
- Understand key tools for the analysis of competitive markets
- Develop skills in applying the supply/demand framework to real-world settings
- Gain an understanding for why markets may not perform as well as desired
- Apply microeconomics concepts to real-world cases
- Gain an understanding of the role of government in addressing microeconomic issues
- Critically analyse government interventions
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for individuals at any level of their career who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of basic economics and its usefulness and application to policy issues. The course is designed for those with no economics background.
Session schedule
This course will run as an online and distance program in 2025. It is scheduled to run for two weeks 10 - 19 June 2025 with a course orientation / meet and greet on 3 June. Specific dates and times to note in your diary are as follows:
- 1pm-2pm Tuesday 3 June 2025 – course introduction/meet and greet session
- 1pm-2:30pm Tuesday 10 June 2025
- 1pm-2:30pm Thursday 12 June 2025
- 1pm-2:30pm Tuesday 17 June 2025
- 1pm-2:30pm Thursday 19 June 2025
Note: Dates and times are in Canberra time (AEST). The calendar invite for each session should automatically adjust to your timezone when you add it to your calendar. You can check at a site like this to be sure.
