Courses tagged with "Structural+engineering" (25)

This course surveys major topics and theories in the field of Industrial Organization.  As part of the applied microeconomics structure, Industrial Organization uses the basic tools of microeconomic theory and game theory to study the structure and behavior of firms and their strategic interactions with one another in the marketplace.  Industrial Organization also studies the impact that those interactions have on market structure and welfare. Different kinds of market structures (perfect competition, imperfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, and so forth) present different scenarios in which firms strive to acquire and use market power for their strategic advantage.  While perfect competition and monopoly are two market structures on opposite ends of the spectrum, imperfect competitionwhere a limited number of firms attempt to manipulate their rivals or consumersis a more realistic set-up.  This course will emphasize market structure analysis and the strategic behaviors of competing firms, including…

In this course, you will build on and apply what you learned in the introductory macroeconomics course (ECON102 [1]).   You will use the concepts of output, unemployment, inflation, consumption, and investment to study the dynamics of an economy at a more advanced level.   For example, now that you understand the relationship between supply and demand in general terms, you will be asked to examine the effects that short-run and long-run price changes have on full employment and output.  As the course progresses, you will gain a better appreciation for how policy shifts and changes in one sector impact the rest of the macroeconomy (whether the impacts are intended or unintended).  You will also examine the causes of inflation and depression, and discuss various approaches to responding to them.  By the end of this course, you should be able to think critically about the economy and develop your own unique perspective on various issues. Remember that macroeconomics attempts to explain the role of gover…

This course is designed to provide you with a thorough understanding of the importance of money, banking, and financial markets of a developed economy.  Money, financial institutions, and financial markets have emerged as instruments of payments for the services of factors of production, such as labor and capital.  The use of money facilitates business in a market by acting as a common medium of exchange.  Of course, as that market expands and develops on a national and international level, the importance of money, banking, and other financial markets expands to accommodate innumerable exchanges. This course will allow you to examine not only the origins and nature of money, but also the institutions and markets that have evolved to enable the exchange of goods and services worldwide.  It will provide you with the opportunity to examine the instruments and strategies assisting production, distribution, and consumption.  Also, this course will help you develop an appreciation for important concepts in e…

Principles of Microeconomics belongs to the CLEP® PREP suite of Saylor courses. This version of ECON101 will help you master the subject of microeconomics and will help prepare you to take the CLEP® exam in microeconomics [1]. The purpose of this course is to provide you with a basic understanding of the principles of microeconomics. At its core, the study of economics deals with the choices and decisions that have to be made in order to manage scarce resources available to us. Microeconomics is the branch of economics that pertains to decisions made at the individual level, i.e., by individual consumers or individual firms after evaluating resources, costs, and tradeoffs. When we talk about the economy, we are referring to the marketplace or system in which these choices interact with one another. In this course, you will learn how and why these decisions are made and how they affect one another in the economy. Each of the following units has been designed as a building block, where the concepts you le…

Economics is traditionally divided into two parts: microeconomics and macroeconomics. The main purpose of this course is to introduce you to the principles of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is the study of how a country’s economy works while trying to discern among good, better, and best choices for improving and/or maintaining a nation’s standard of living and level of economic and societal well-being. Historical and contemporary perspectives on the roles and policies of government are part of the mix of interpretations and alternatives that surround questions of who or what gains and loses the most or least within a relatively small set of key interdependent players. In the broadest view, that set consists of households, consumers, savers, firm owners, investors, agency and elected officials, and global trading partners in which some wear many hats and face price considerations at two levels. Consider one distinction between macroeconomics and microeconomics though prices are taken into account in bot…