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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Microeconomics: The Power of Markets by University of Pennsylvania

4.7
stars
1,442 ratings

About the Course

We make economics decisions every day: what to buy, whether to work or play, what to study. We respond to markets all the time: prices influence our decisions, markets signal where to put effort, they direct firms to produce certain goods over others. Economics is all around us. This course is an introduction to the microeconomic theory of markets: why we have them, how they work, what they accomplish. We will start with the concept of scarcity and how specialization according to comparative advantage helps us achieve more than we could alone. Next we model a marked using the tools of Supply and Demand and learn what well working markets accomplish and what their limit are. We end by exploring the impact of government intervention on perfect markets. Examples are taken from everyday life, from goods and services that we all purchase and use. We will apply the theory to current events and policy debates through weekly exercises. These will empower you to be an educated, critical thinker who can understand, analyze and evaluate market outcomes....

Top reviews

AN

Jan 21, 2021

It’s been my 4th and favorite course on coursera one so far! Very short interesting videos with great explanation and great visual demonstration by having a transperent board in front of the teacher!

D

May 24, 2021

A very good introduction to microeconomics course, the professor was great. She explained all the concepts with ease. I would urge everyone who wants to get started with economics to try this course.

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1 - 25 of 292 Reviews for Microeconomics: The Power of Markets

By Jie H

Mar 1, 2016

The professor is very thorough and clear in explaining the key concept of microeconomics. Although no math background is needed to take this course, I recommend some prior exposure to calculus to get an even deeper insight from this course.

By Larry L E

Sep 28, 2016

This is an excellent intro to microeconomics under the standard model, taught by an excellent professor. I would take more courses from Dr. Stein, and in fact have enrolled in the 2nd piece of her microeconomics course, "How Markets Fail." Examples are very good, standard terminology is used, even when it shows a free-market bias, such as used when discussing taxes and subsidies. Given that Adam Smith insisted that government structures were necessary for the proper functioning of markets (e.g. contract law, free flow of information), such bias in the terminology is disturbing - but so it has been for a long time.

For several years I taught a course in community college, "Calculus for Business and Economics," which focused on the applicability of calculus, the mathematics of change, especially non-linear change, to microeconomic principles. This course would have been a perfect pre-req for that course, better than the usual 1st-term college micro course, in that it summarized the key elements and demonstrated them graphically, leaving an opening to discuss such topics as elasticity and surplus when the demand and supply curves are non-linear.

By Dinesh R

Jan 17, 2017

I am an engineer with a deep interest in Economics and Finance. I have read about (and even taken classes on ) demand & supply before, but no one quite explained it like Rebecca Stein does in this course. She distils the essence of this very fundamental concept and presents it with simplicity and clarity in a unique manner that somehow sticks in my head.

Thank you Dr Stein. I breezed through this course in record time, and immediately signed up for the next one.

By Anthony T

Mar 15, 2016

Originally I take this course as a refresher. I did my MBA at Cardiff University in Wales quarter of a century ago. But the standard of the course has proved to be rather challenging. I have found Dr Stein an excellent teacher. Her lecturing style is such that I hung onto every word she says, even though I know most of the contents. I am looking forward to the sequel.

By Xiao L

Oct 19, 2017

I took the Microeconomics course in university, and I have read some textbooks of it. But none of them can compete with this course. Learning on Coursera is really organized and comfortable. And Professor Stein really reveals the philosophy of economics behind figures.

By Eli E

Apr 27, 2020

In terms of material, how interesting it was and the instructor's teaching it was definitely a 5/5. Although, the videos were a little too long sometimes and made me lose a bit of interest, overall the course was a 5/5/

By Faris B

Apr 30, 2020

Amazing course. I went to Arizona State University and took this course during my undergrad. Yet, I found this course on the subject was much more informative and easier to understand as well as put into practice.

By W

Mar 5, 2020

I really liked this course. The lecturer is able to convey terminologies clearly in a short time. The problems are more sophisticated and worth time thinking instead of just toy questions.

By Ziya Z

May 5, 2021

This is a great introductory course for beginners in microeconomics.

By Martijn S

Aug 26, 2019

More reading material that is made available would be very helpful instead of just naming chapters you should read from a book you don't have, and better explanation of the questions that you did wrong would also be helpful.

By OC U

Jun 28, 2023

What I enjoyed about the course is that from the beginning, it is evident that it has been meticulously crafted to cater to both beginners and intermediate learners. The course assumes no prior knowledge of economics, making it accessible to a wide range of individuals interested in understanding the fundamental principles that drive markets. Yet, it also delves deep enough into the subject matter to challenge and stimulate the intellect of more experienced students. The course structure made it easy for me not only to meet but to excel in my expectations and exposed me to critical thinking and problem-solving skills. One of the most impressive aspects of this course is the quality of instruction provided by the University of Pennsylvania's professor, Rebecca Stein. With her extensive academic background and practical experience, effortlessly convey complex economic theories with remarkable clarity. Their ability to demystify intricate concepts, such as supply and demand, market equilibrium, and consumer behavior, is commendable, making even the most abstract ideas relatable and comprehensible. It was so enchanting getting a virtual taste of my next year's learning path at Penn. :)

By Aida T

Jun 13, 2021

Great course! Proffesor Stein explains the material perfectly, with engaging examples. The length of the videos is short and thus keeps attention of the students captured till the end. The quality of videos and materials adviced is also excellent. I could see the passion in the eyes of Professor Stein. As a person who was an absolute zero in economis, I highly reccomend this course for beginners. One thing I would suggest is to add explanations to the answers of quizez. Explanations guide people to think on their mistakes and alternative solutions. I kinda struggled without these. Please, add them! To show WHY something is wrong. Thanks to everyone who worked on creation of this course, and special thanks to Professor Rebecca Stein for lightening my interest in economics! Best wishes!

By Yining G

Jun 12, 2020

Highly recommend this course for someone wanna learn some stuff about microeconomics. In this course, there is no much mathematical issues to proof some of the diagram, so even a person without knowledge about advanced mathematics can get through it. With the second part--- Microeconomics: when market falls, you can grasp all the main contents of microeconomics principles.

Ps: might be a bit difficult for total beginners

By Swagota S

Jun 1, 2020

This course is very interesting as well as very informative course. The arrangement of the topics for this course is very educative. Personally, I like studying Microeconomics. Moreover, the Course instructor Prof. Rebecca Stein made this course more interesting, more attractive.

By Brady B

Aug 3, 2020

Moderate difficulty, but the problem sets are rewarding when you figure them out. Basic algebra principles needed to set and solve equations for various concepts. Course instructor is very knowledgeable. Hits the main concepts of micro very well.

By rahmat s

Dec 8, 2022

This course is too much good and very highly concept clearing. It clear a lot of my confusion about the basics of microeconomics and specially the market analysis.

Thank you so much "coursera" platform to gave me this previous opportunity.

By Diksha A B

May 25, 2021

A very good introduction to microeconomics course, the professor was great. She explained all the concepts with ease. I would urge everyone who wants to get started with economics to try this course.

By Enikoe B

Aug 15, 2020

logical and comprehensible progression of material, clear presentation of figures and calculations, concise and clear description of concepts, written and video content perfect for all learners

By Juan R

Jun 7, 2020

The professor was clear and concise. I learned a lot without ever feeling overwhelmed. The quiz questions were relevant to the material covered and improved my understand of the material.

By Ankit S

Jun 13, 2017

The quizzes were easy. There wasn't an explanation to why some of my quiz answers were wrong. Excellent teaching but the assignments need a lot of work.

By Pratik R K

Apr 16, 2021

Nice course but there were few places where I could not grasp the concept easily. Maybe a few examples on every definition might help

By Radhika B

May 8, 2021

Great course. A little complicated to understand if you lose focus but overall easy

I still havent understood the concept of opportunity cost but neither have most economists :)

I wish the quizzes had an explanations for all correct/wrong answers to ensure that the student is using the correct logic

I understand graphs really well, but i still end up making a lot mistakes in the quizzes and i still dont know where i went wrong

I also did not have access to the book recommended in the readings section, which could have been of great help

By Brian B

Jun 26, 2020

While Professor Stein is obviously very intelligent and knowledgeable in her field, I can honestly say that I am more confused about economics than before. This may be because I lack the basic mathematical skills required to complete the course. However, with an online course like this, there needs to be more practice and explanations with this level of required calculations. I passed the course but I don't feel more intelligent or well-versed in my knowledge of economics.

By Alexandra S

Apr 10, 2021

Definitely a nice introduction. The professor explains things really nicely with good examples. There are a lot of references to a textbook you have to pay to read, but that seems unfair when you are already paying for the course...I also would have like a better way to get help when I was stuck. Usually I had to resort to google which is again a shame when you are paying for a course not just videos.

By Sohun S

Jul 14, 2018

the quiz content didnt always correlate with the lessons