Learn Basic Economics Principles in Rice’s Intro to Economics Online Course

Explore the foundations, concepts, and theories that shape the study of economics

In this first course of a three course Specialization we'll cover the introduction to the basic concepts of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Economic theory is fundamental to decision making in business, economic policy, and everyday life. If you're interested in a career in business, law, accounting, or investment management, then studying economics is a great foundation of knowledge for the workplace.

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DESCRIPTION

Principles of Economics: Introduction (Course 1)

In this introductory course, the essentials will be broken down into their two main components, micro and macro. The microeconomic components include analysis of supply and demand, consumer and producer behavior, and competitive and noncompetitive market equilibria, with applications to current policy issues. The macroeconomic components provides an overview of the determination of national output, employment, interest rates, inflation, and analyzes monetary fiscal policies and international trade. There’s also an optional, but very helpful course book that coincides with this online economics class.

Who should attend:

People seeking an online class to help them better understand the field of economics
Folks curious about how economic trade or business decisions are made
Individuals considering a career in business, law, investment, or accounting

You will be able to:

Identify how opportunity costs affect economic decisions
Calculate and interpret the meaning of market efficiency
Explain the interaction between budget constraints and indifference curves.

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MEET YOUR RICE PROFESSOR

Dr. James DeNicco, Ph.D.

Jimmy is the Director of the Principles of Economics Program and a Senior Lecturer at Rice University. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Drexel University in 2013, where his primary concentration was in Macroeconomics and his secondary in Industrial Organization. He has a real passion for teaching Economics, going back to his first time in the classroom in 2010 during graduate school. He was awarded as the “Outstanding Ph.D. Instructor” for the Lebow College of Business at Drexel University. He currently teaches Principles of Economics to about 700 Rice students annually. He also teaches in the Master of Arts in Global Affairs and the Master of Social Policy Evaluation programs.

When not on campus, you can usually find Jimmy spending time with his wonderful family, watching sports or cheesy 80s horror films, and barbecuing.

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