Why are markets commonly believed to be the best way of allocating resources and organizing economic activity? This course will answer this critical question while examining its implications for pricing, market entry and exit, short-term and long-term business strategies, and the forecasting of key market variables. The course introduces fundamental topics in the economic analysis of markets, and some of the analytical tools used to study them, as a means to build an economic intuition and fostering an understanding of a variety of market conditions and market forces.
Managerial Economics: Buyer and Seller Behavior
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Managerial Economics: Buyer and Seller Behavior
Instructors: Liad Wagman
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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.4
(37 reviews)
Beginner level
Recommended experience
Flexible schedule
Approx. 42 hours
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What you'll learn
How to explain the basics of supply and demand curves.
How to characterize variable and fixed costs.
How to analyze short-run and long-run equilibria in competitive markets.
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Assessments
16 assignments
Taught in English
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There are 4 modules in this course
Welcome to Managerial Economics: Buyer and Seller Behavior. In this course, we will cover the topics of How the Costs of Doing Business Determine Success and Failure, From Cost Structures to Market Supply Curves, and The Economic Outcomes of Competitive Markets. Module 1 introduces the strategic lens of game theory, focusing specifically on Prisoner’s Dilemma situations. This game-theoretic lens helps lay the groundwork for understanding competitive markets, where each market actor, including all buyers and sellers, are doing the best they can to maximize their individual payoffs. Through a simple market simulation and an initial reading of the Adamantium case study, the module then develops intuition for models of supply and demand in competitive markets, including pricing, product allocation, and firms’ cost structures.
What's included
20 videos5 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt
Module 2 takes a deep dive into short-run market analysis. With a second reading of the Adamantium case study, Module 2 focuses on how cost structures translate to firm-level and market-level short-run decisions and supply curves, how variable and fixed costs create thresholds on the prices that may sustain short-run and long-run firm profitability, how a firm’s short-run decisions significantly differ from long-run decisions, and how all of this begins to map to a market’s equilibrium.
What's included
12 videos5 readings5 assignments3 app items
Module 3 introduces entry (break-even) and exit prices, how they map to a market’s long-run supply curve, and why they are fundamental in determining firm profitability. Through examples, including a conclusion to the Adamantium case study, all of the supply and demand concepts in the course are tied together. The module showcases the predictive power of market analysis in determining where markets are going to go in terms of price, capacity, and firm entry and survival. The module then demonstrates the capstone ability of economic models of supply and demand: interpreting market price paths.
What's included
17 videos4 readings5 assignments3 app items
This module contains the summative course assessment that has been designed to evaluate your understanding of the course material and assess your ability to apply the knowledge you have acquired throughout the course. This summative assessment consists of two parts. In Part 1, you will answer open-ended questions for two prompts. For Part 2, you will need to upload a file with your answers to the provided prompt. Be sure to review the course material thoroughly before taking the assessment.
What's included
1 assignment
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Business Essentials
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Coursera Instructor Network
Copenhagen Business School
University of Minnesota
Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by Illinois Tech. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
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