Beginner's guide to microeconomics for the public sector

Course participants will develop an understanding of the key insights from economics and how they can be applied in policy and government settings. The economic approach to understanding decision-making will be examined in detail with special attention paid to key concepts such as: opportunity cost; incentives; trade-offs; markets and market failure. A key aspect of the course is developing a framework to think about how to blend markets with government to achieve the best outcomes for society.

See related courses: Beginner's guide to macroeconomics for the public sector, Beginner's guide to economics for the public sector series.

This course will run as an online and distance program in 2022. It is scheduled to run for two weeks 9 - 20 May 2022 with a course orientation / meet and greet on 9 May. Specific dates and times to note in you diary are as follows:

Note: Dates and times are in Canberra time (AEST/GMT+10). The calendar invite for each session should automatically adjust to your timezone when you add it to your calendar. You can check at a site like this to be sure.

Contact csee@anu.edu.au to find out more.

Microeconomics analyses the behaviour of individual consumers, households and firms. It provides a framework for understanding decision-making by all of these agents in the economy. It examines motivations, incentives and decision-making processes. While its direct relevance to businesses is well understood, the insights and solutions that can be gained from microeconomics are equally important for the public sector. Successful policy design and implementation is greatly facilitated by a solid understanding of the responses and reactions of those influenced by policy.

This course takes you through basic concepts of microeconomics, including trade-offs, opportunity cost, supply and demand, taxes and subsidies, public goods, externalities and market failure. Competition, monopolies and regulation will also be examined. The course uses case studies, and competing viewpoints will be explored.

If you have ever wondered what economists really mean when they talk about key microeconomic concepts, this course is for you.

This course is paired with a beginner's course in macroeconomics. Because they are inter-related, it is recommended you attend both courses.

Core topics:

• Key insights and introduction to the economic way of thinking
• Markets and prices: demand, supply and elasticities
• Government intervention: price controls
• Government intervention: taxes
• Government intervention: market failure, externalities and public goods
• Summary: role of government

Students will learn:

• Key insights from microeconomics
• Supply and demand
• The role of markets and the importance of prices
• Market failure and policy responses
• The application of key insights to government and policy-making
• We finish the course by drawing it all together to think about how to blend the role of government with markets.

Who should attend?

This course is designed for individuals at any level of their career who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of basic economics and its usefulness and application to policy issues. The course is designed for those with no economics background.

This is a real-time, date-specific course, in which you will join live classes, engage and connect with experts, other course participants and the Executive Education team. Here's how it works:

• Pre-course live session. This is an opportunity for you to grab a cuppa and join our meet and greet before the course commences.
• Practice + Study. Set aside up to 2 hours per day - this time commitment will vary depending on how deeply you choose to engage with the material. It is up to you.
• Course pack. Each participant will receive a carefully curated workbook, which includes everything you need to guide you through the course.
• Live sessions with presenter. This is a specified date and time for you to come together with the presenter and other participants to consolidate your learning.
• Post-course. On completion of the course, you will receive your post-course resources for your reference and further learning.

• No time off work - study and practice when you can.
• Busy schedule? No problem, you can go at your own pace, join just the live classes, and do the course work whenever suits you best. We know that work and family obligations can be overwhelming. Mix and match the schedule to fit your life.
• No travel. This is a course right at your fingertips. With no travel expenses, this is a very affordable option for high-level training with world-leading experts.
• Live interaction with world-leading experts. You'll have direct access to all the best resources and trainers.
• Working remotely? With the online and distance format, we welcome participants from around the world to join us.

What if I can't make a live session? No problem, we understand you are busy. Live sessions are recorded and transcribed for you to catch up in your own time.

What if I'm in a different time zone? All advertised course times from 3rd October 2021 until 3rd April 2022 are scheduled in Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) otherwise known as GMT+11. From 3rd April 2022 to 2nd October 2022 scheduled times are AEST(GMT+10).

What if I am not tech savvy? As long as you have access to a phone or computer, you'll have no problems. This is a low-tech course designed for everyone. If needed our team is here to help - contact us at csee@anu.edu.au.

What if I have questions? We would love to hear from you. Contact our team at csee@anu.edu.au.