本课程在于说明由资源稀少性所引申出对选择的需求。资源稀少的事实使得个人、企业跟社会必须去选择在其有限资源中之不同的运用模式（或配置）。在此同时，由不同之经济动机所做成的多种选择必须相互一致。例如，一个产业领域在增加劳力及资本之运用后所伴随而来的扩张，只有在缩减其他产业的情况下才有可能发生。市场是一个达成此种调和的机制。我门在本课程的第一部份去了解经济学家如何建构个别消费者及企业选择过程之模式，以及市场如何运作以协调这些选择。我们也检视市场如何透过经济学家之市场效率准则以有效的执行上述此项功能。

相关阅读资料

相关阅读资料主要是来自：Parkin, Michael，《微观经济学》(Microeconomics)，第六版，雪梨：Addison-Wesley Publishing，2004，ISBN: 0321226577。其他额外挑选的阅读资料可在史隆学员学程之套装课程中获得。

成绩评分

学生成绩将依下列方式评分：

The course addresses the need for choice implied by the scarcity of resources. The fact of scarcity necessitates that individuals, firms, and societies choose among alternative uses – or allocations – of its limited resources. At the same time, the various choices made by different economic agents must be mutually consistent. For example, the expansion of one sector accompanied by that sector's increased use of labor and capital is only possible if accompanied by a net contraction in other industries. Markets are a mechanism to achieve such reconciliation. In this first part of the class we seek to understand how economists model the choice process of individual consumers and firms, and how markets work to coordinate these choices. We also examine how well markets perform this function using the economist's criterion of market efficiency.

Reading Assignments

The reading is primarily from: Parkin, Michael. Microeconomics. 6th ed. Sydney: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 0321226577. Some selected additional readings are found in the course packet provided by the Sloan Fellows Program.

Grading

Students will be graded as follows: