AP® Microeconomics

An overview of introductory microeconomics. Learn the key principles of economics and how to apply them to the real world - and the AP® exam!

AP® Microeconomics

An overview of introductory microeconomics. Learn the key principles of economics and how to apply them to the real world - and the AP® exam!

Want to learn how individuals and businesses make the decisions that drive our economy - and use those skills to ace the Microeconomics AP® exam? This is the course for you!

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This economics course is an introduction to basic microeconomic principles. You will learn how individuals make decisions ranging from what type of goods to buy to how many hours to work, and how firms make decisions ranging from how many workers to hire to what prices to charge. You will study how to evaluate economic outcomes from the perspective of efficiency and fairness, and discuss the proper role of the government in determining these outcomes.

This course will cover all material that is required for the Microeconomics AP® exam. It will cover this material through a mix of intuitive explanations, real-world applications, and graphical and mathematical supplements that explore the content in more depth. By the end of the course, not only will you have an understanding of the most important principles of microeconomics, but you’ll be able to use these principles to better understand the workings of the real world around you!

*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these offerings.

What you'll learn

  • Consumer theory: How do consumers make decisions to maximize happiness?
  • Producer theory : How do firms make decisions to maximize profit?
  • Market structures : How does the structure of a market affect economic efficiency?
  • Market failures : How do markets fail and what is the role of government to respond to these failures?
  • Economic fairness : How do we strike the balance between economic efficiency and fairness?

Unit 1. Basic Economic Concepts: Opportunity Cost, Consumer Preferences, Budget Constraints, Utility Maximization

Unit 2. Supply and Demand: Shifts of Supply and Demand, Elasticity, Income and Substitution Effects, Consumer and Producer Surplus, Taxes, International Trade

Unit 3. Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model: Short-Run and Long-Run Production, Short-Run and Long-Run Supply, Profit Maximization, Perfect Competition

Unit 4. Imperfect Competition: Monopoly, Oligopoly, Game Theory, Ologopolistic and Monopolistic Competition

Unit 5. Factor Markets: Labor Supply and Demand, Monopsony, Capital Markets

Unit 6. Market Failures and the Role of Government: Efficiency-Equity Tradeoff, Externalities, Redistribution, Public Goods

Prerequisites

None

Meet your instructors

  • Featured image for Jonathan Gruber
    Ford Professor of Economics

Who can take this course?

Because of U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions and other U.S. federal regulations, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea and the Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine.