Microeconomics for Managers: Foundations
Understanding the Microeconomics Fixed Core Requirement
Microeconomics for Managers Foundations (0.5 CU) establishes the micro-economic foundations for understanding business decision-making. Students with an economics background should still enjoy the application-oriented approach to basic economic concepts. The course covers demand, supply, market equilibrium under full information and policy interventions (4 lectures), perfectly competitive markets and pricing with market power (3 lectures), an introduction to game theory (3 lectures), a lecture on auctions (1 lecture), and additional topics of current interest. Students are expected to have mastered these materials before enrolling in the second quarter course: Microeconomics for Managers: Advanced Applications.
Waiver Process
Waiver by Exam
Incoming students who have an extensive background in economics may waive out of the first quarter of Microeconomics for Managers by passing a waiver exam. The second quarter covers advanced topics and is required for all students.
To be exempted from enrolling in MGEC 6110: Microeconomics for Managers: Foundations, students have to pass a 90-minute waiver exam. It should be noted that MGEC is a cohorted class, and offers the opportunity to work together with your learning team on problem sets and group projects, and so students report enjoying participating in both quarters, even if some of the material is review.
Waiver Exam Tests Mastery of the Following Topics
1. Demand and Supply2. Market Equilibrium3. Taxes
4. Regulating Externalities5. Cost-Minimization6. Operating in a Price-Taking Industry7. Optimal Monopoly Production and Pricing8. Double Marginalization and Supply Chains9. Simultaneous-Move Games10. Sequential-Move Games11. Repeated Games
Please note, you should not expect to pass the waiver exam if you have just a passing familiarity with these topics, or even some deeper expertise in a subset of the topics. The MGEC course teaches these topics at an advanced level, with specialized applications to business settings, and the waiver exam is designed to mirror this content. Many students who have undergraduate economics degrees still find they need to take the course, as they may not have covered all topics in depth, or may need to review some areas.
There is no summer prep course for this class.
Sample Exams
*MGEC 6120 cannot be waived but builds off material in MGEC 6110; please review if you are considering waiving MGEC 6110