Microeconomics
Use economic models to learn how prices and markets allocate resources in the face of scarcity.
Course Information
Certificate Track
Learn for Free
About this Course
What is produced in an economy? How is it produced? Who gets the product? Microeconomics seeks to answer these fundamental questions about markets.
In this course, you will learn to analyze mathematical models that explain real-world behavior of consumers and firms while exploring empirical results and policy implications.
You’ll join the ranks of business executives, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and global leaders who rely on the insights they derive from a working knowledge of microeconomics. Nobel memorial prize-winner Paul Samuelson invented the modern microeconomics curriculum at MIT. Don’t miss your chance to learn the field from the intellectual tradition he began.
The course is free to audit. Learners can take a proctored exam and earn a course certificate by paying a fee, which varies by ability to pay. Please see our FAQ articles for more information on the certificate and audit track features as well as more information on the pricing structure. Enroll in this course by selecting the "enroll now" button at the top of the page.
This course can be completed by itself or as part of the MITx MicroMasters program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP), which provides a path toward the master’s in DEDP at MIT.
What you'll learn
The course will investigate the following topics:
- Supply and Demand
- Consumer Choice
- Applying Consumer Theory
- Firms, Production, and Costs
- Competitive Firms and Markets
- Applying the Competitive Model and Monopolies
- Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition
- International Trade and Uncertainty
- Capital Markets
- Equity
- Behavioral Economics and Health Economics
Access the full syllabus here.
Prerequisites
While anyone can enroll in this course, it is helpful to have the following knowledge to successfully complete the course: elementary calculus, such as the following MITx courses:
- Calculus 1A: Differentiation
- Calculus 1B: Integration
- Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series
Various other resources will be available throughout the course for students to learn or refresh on the most important topics.
Course Readiness Check:
Our course readiness checks help you determine if you should review key concepts before starting the course.
Please use this link to access the course readiness check and answer key.
Meet your instructors
Jonathan Gruber
Ford Professor of Economics
Dr. Jonathan Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught since 1992. He is also the Director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a Research Associate, and President of the American Society of Health Economists. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Social Insurance. He has published more than 150 research articles, has edited six research volumes, and is the author of Public Finance and Public Policy, a leading undergraduate text, and Health Care Reform, a graphic novel. In 2006 he received the American Society of Health Economists Inaugural Medal for the best health economist in the nation aged 40 and under.
