Short course
Microeconomics: An Introduction
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates:
21/09/2026 - 04/12/2026
Study format:
Online - flexible
Fees:
£430.00
Develop your understanding of the technical aspects of Microeconomics, such as opportunity cost, supply and demand, consumer and firm optimisation, market power and market failure.
Microeconomics: An Introduction will equip students with the technical skills with which they will be able to understand how consumers and firms make everyday consumption and production decisions. In this case, the course will ensure that students are able to relate fundamental microeconomic theory to daily economic activity.
The course will also allow students to develop critical thinking skills by considering the case of market failure, which occurs in sharp contrast to traditional microeconomic theory. In this case, students will learn that, despite the notion that supply and demand are determined by the market, there are cases of missing markets where government intervention is required to substitute for the price mechanism.
Students will also be able to use the knowledge gained on this course in everyday circumstances. Furthermore, this course will give students a solid foundation which they can use to progress to higher level studies in Microeconomics, as well as being able to apply knowledge gained from the course to other online courses such as Globalisation, the New Economic Powers and Introduction to Macroeconomics.
Listen to Dr Sangaralingam Ramesh talking about the course
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Programme details
The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:
Unit 1: Market Institutions
- The meaning of markets
- The development and expansion of markets
- The institutional requirements of markets
- Types of markets
Unit 2: Supply and demand
- The theory of supply
- The theory of demand
- The theory of market adjustment
- Topics in market analysis
Unit 3: Working with supply and demand
- How much money will sales bring in?
- The price elasticity of demand
- The price elasticity of supply
- Income, price and buyer behaviour
Unit 4: Production costs
- The production process
- Economic costs
- The production function
- Costs of production
Unit 5: Product decisions
- The nature of capital stocks
- Marginal thinking
- Discrete decision making
- Financial capital as an input to production
- Competitive equilibrium
Unit 6: Perfect competition
- Understanding market power and competition
- Perfect competition
- Efficiency and equity in the case of perfect competition
- Deadweight loss
Unit 7: Markets and market power
- The production process
- Economic costs
- The production function
- Costs of production
Unit 8: Markets for labour
- Thinking about markets for labour
- Labour supply
- Explaining variation in wages
- Labour in the traditional neoclassical model
Unit 9: Market failure and government policy
- Market failure
- The economics of the environment
- Regional and urban policy
- Social policy
Unit 10: Monopoly and mergers policy, competition policy and regulation
- Mergers and the public interest
- The control of mergers and acquisitions
- Privatisation
- Regulation and deregulation
We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral and very rewarding part of the course and the online learning experience.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
IT requirements
This course is delivered online; to participate, you must be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.
Programme details
The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:
Unit 1: Market Institutions
- The meaning of markets
- The development and expansion of markets
- The institutional requirements of markets
- Types of markets
Unit 2: Supply and demand
- The theory of supply
- The theory of demand
- The theory of market adjustment
- Topics in market analysis
Unit 3: Working with supply and demand
- How much money will sales bring in?
- The price elasticity of demand
- The price elasticity of supply
- Income, price and buyer behaviour
Unit 4: Production costs
- The production process
- Economic costs
- The production function
- Costs of production
Unit 5: Product decisions
- The nature of capital stocks
- Marginal thinking
- Discrete decision making
- Financial capital as an input to production
- Competitive equilibrium
Unit 6: Perfect competition
- Understanding market power and competition
- Perfect competition
- Efficiency and equity in the case of perfect competition
- Deadweight loss
Unit 7: Markets and market power
- The production process
- Economic costs
- The production function
- Costs of production
Unit 8: Markets for labour
- Thinking about markets for labour
- Labour supply
- Explaining variation in wages
- Labour in the traditional neoclassical model
Unit 9: Market failure and government policy
- Market failure
- The economics of the environment
- Regional and urban policy
- Social policy
Unit 10: Monopoly and mergers policy, competition policy and regulation
- Mergers and the public interest
- The control of mergers and acquisitions
- Privatisation
- Regulation and deregulation
We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral and very rewarding part of the course and the online learning experience.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Sangaralingam Ramesh
Sangaralingam Ramesh is an Economics Tutor at Oxford Lifelong Learning at the University of Oxford and a Senior Teaching Fellow in Economics at University College London, UK. He has been an Associate Professor in Economics at the Université Paris Dauphine GBD and Economics Module Leader at Kings College London
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.