COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 201A.2A

COURSE TITLE: Economics for Business Decision Making (Microeconomics)

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 units

INSTRUCTOR: Shachar Kariv

E-MAIL ADDRESS: kariv@berkeley.edu

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: bCourses

PREREQUISITE(S): None

CLASS FORMAT: The course will rely heavily on problem sets. There are no group assignments.

REQUIRED READINGS:

  1. Microeconomics (not necessarily latest edition) by R. Pindyck and D. Rubinfeld.
  2. Some additional readings (cases) will be made available through the course website (bCourses and study.net) and in class.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Midterm (50%) and a noncumulative final (50%).

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
Business success depends on the successful positioning of the firm and the management of its resources. The goal of this course is to think systematically about achieving competitive advantage through the management of the firm's resources. Topics include analyzation of management decisions concerning real options, cost determination, pricing and market entry and exit.

Module 1: The economic agent
Module 2: Production and the costs production
Module 3: Competitive markets and economic efficiency
Module 4: Monopolistic markets and economic inefficiency
Module 5: Game theory