Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Credits from this course qualify for general education purposes at Portland Community College and may be applied toward satisfying Associates Degrees at Portland Community College and/or Oregon transfer degrees.  Textbooks are at the discretion of each course instructor.  Prices for texts and/or other materials may be found at the Portland Community College bookstore. 

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Discuss basic concepts and theories in microeconomics.
2. Formulate independent conclusions about economic issues and
   policies.
3. Explain economic processes utilizing an understanding of the historical evolution of economic systems, institutions, and ideologies.
4. Make decisions based on rudimentary marginal analysis.
5. Examine market structures and market power.

This course may include lecture and discussion formats utilizing faculty expertise, texts, supplementary reading materials, films, speakers, and other classroom aids at the discretion of the instructor.  Regular attendance and completion of assigned reading are essential to the successful completion of this course.  Instructors will teach in accordance with the goals and objectives listed in this Course Content Guide.  The course Content Guides are developed by college-wide subject area faculty and are approved by management.

Traditional and nontraditional techniques will be used to assess student mastery of the content, competencies, and outcomes. These techniques can asses either products or processes:

Products: multiple choice exams, essays, individual group projects, student demonstrations, research projects, other projects with specified rating criteria, and portfolios.

Processes: interviews, documented observations, web searches, journals, student self-evaluations.

• Introductory terms and concepts: opportunity costs, marginal decision making, and the use of the production possibility curve.

• Demand analysis: identify the factors that determine consumer demand. This will include topics such as elasticities and the utility theory of value.

• Comparative advantage: how countries specialize in international trade and the use of tariffs and quotas.

• Production costs: identify types of production costs and illustrate graphically various cost curves.

• Profit maximization: how firms maximize profits under different types of markets such as perfect competition; monopoly; oligopoly; monopolistic competition; etc.

• Labor markets:  wage determination and hiring decisions

• Factor prices: Theories of rent, profit, interest and wages

• Market failures: public goods and externalities

• Government intervention: regulation of industry and antitrust policies. The roles and functions of government in regulating market activities and encouraging competition.

Skills and competencies:
 

• Build a vocabulary of economic terms that will enable the student to find the daily reading of papers and periodicals easier and more meaningful.

• Å·ÖÞ±­¾öÈü¾º²Âapp_Å·ÖÞ±­×ãÇòÍø-Ͷע|¹ÙÍø the ability to summarize an argument, understand economic reports, and to discern between positive and normative statements.

• Å·ÖÞ±­¾öÈü¾º²Âapp_Å·ÖÞ±­×ãÇòÍø-Ͷע|¹ÙÍø the ability to acquire and analyze quantitative data and make mathematical computations using formulas.

• Å·ÖÞ±­¾öÈü¾º²Âapp_Å·ÖÞ±­×ãÇòÍø-Ͷע|¹ÙÍø the ability to use and apply theoretical models.

• Å·ÖÞ±­¾öÈü¾º²Âapp_Å·ÖÞ±­×ãÇòÍø-Ͷע|¹ÙÍø the ability to conduct cost/benefit analyses.

• Å·ÖÞ±­¾öÈü¾º²Âapp_Å·ÖÞ±­×ãÇòÍø-Ͷע|¹ÙÍø the ability to think clearly about social and environmental problems in an orderly and object way.