Economists Do It With Models

Warning: “graphic” content…

Bookmark and Share
Welcome To Microeconomics 101!

(Note: If you are looking for a video that isn’t of a Micro 101 sort, you can see all of the videos I have uploaded to my YouTube channel here.)

Below you will find an outline of the videos and other content that pertain to a typical introductory microeconomics course. I hope you will peruse at your leisure and hopefully learn something in the process! I welcome comments and suggestions, so please leave them below if you have them. The videos get better as you go along in the material- I’m still getting practice not being horribly awkward in an empty room in front of a camera. :)

This course follows Greg Mankiw’s Principles of Microeconomics textbook, and I will try to point out what part of the textbook each of the sections references. (Note, however, that I am using the 4th edition, and the current edition is the…6th edition?? This shouldn’t matter very much in terms of content.)

If you would prefer to watch the entire playlist on YouTube directly, my username is jodiecongirl and my YouTube channel can be found here. You can also see the archive of posts with the embedded videos (and random commentary) in the video category archive.

Introduction:
– Introduction to Econgirl’s Course

Lesson 1: Introduction and the Production Possibilities Frontier
– Introduction to Economics (Ch. 1 and 2)
– Introduction to the Production Possibilites Frontier (Ch. 2)
– Constructing the Production Possibilities Frontier (Ch. 2)
– The Circular Flow Diagram and Microeconomics vs. Macroeconomics (Ch. 2)

Lesson 2: Comparative Advantage and the Gains From Trade
– Comparative Advantage and Gains From Trade (Part 1) (Ch. 3)
– Comparative Advantage and Gains From Trade (Part 2) (Ch. 3)

Lesson 3: Supply and Demand, Part 1
– Introduction to the Supply and Demand Model (Ch. 4)
– The Demand Curve (Ch. 4)
– The Determinants of Demand (Ch. 4)
– Changes in Demand and Shifting the Demand Curve (Ch.4)
– Some Demand Curve Algebra (moving and shifting curves)
– Horizontal Addition (See also helpful hint here.)

Lesson 4: Supply and Demand, Part 2
– The Determinants of Supply (Ch. 4)
– Changes in Supply and Shifts of the Supply Curve (Ch. 4)

Lesson 5: Market Equilibrium
– Market Equilibrium (Ch. 4)
– Solving For Equilibrium (Ch. 4)

Lesson 6: Elasticity
– Introduction to Elasticity (Ch. 5)
– More on Elasticity and General Rules About Price Elasticity of Demand (Ch. 5)
– More on Elasticity and Two Ways of Computing Elasticity (Ch. 5)
– Other Elasticities (Ch. 5)
– Elasticity and Revenue (Ch. 5)

Lesson 7: Comparative Statics (Changes in Equilibrium)
– Comparative Statics Part 1 (Ch. 4)
– Comparative Statics Part 2 (Ch. 4)
– Comparative Statics Part 3 (Ch. 4)
– Comparative Statics Algebra Part 1 (Ch. 4)
– Comparative Statics Algebra Part 2 (Ch. 4)

Lesson 8: Price Controls
– Price Ceilings Part 1 (Ch. 6)
– Price Ceilings Part 2 (Ch. 6)
– Price Floors Part 1 (Ch. 6)
– Price Floors Part 2 (Ch. 6)

Skipping ahead…

Cap and Trade:
– Cap and Trade Part 1 (Ch. 10)
– Cap and Trade Part 2 (Ch. 10)
– Cap and Trade Part 3 (Ch. 10)

Game Theory:
– Game Theory Part 1: The Prisoners’ Dilemma (Ch. 16)
– Game Theory Part 2: The Meeting Game (Ch. 16)

All comments and errata can be directed to econgirl at economistsdoitwithmodels dot com.

   

38 Comments

38 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Elaine Tan // Sep 10, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    YAY!

  • 2 Ryan // Sep 10, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    I think it is a good start!

  • 3 Daniel R // Sep 10, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    Hahaha. The PPF video is cute. :-)

  • 4 Christian G // Sep 11, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    This is great! It’s hard to convince non-econ-oriented people that they should pick up a book or download a .pdf lesson on Economics. A video lecture makes it easy to understand and sweet.

  • 5 Fred // Sep 11, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Love the way you described the circular flow model. You are a fresh breath of air when it comes to teaching economics. Too bad for me that you are on the east coast. Keep on posting to YouTube so I can get a clear understanding of economics.

  • 6 Stephen // Sep 14, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    I like the PPF example. Unfortunately, it is wrong.
    From point D on the PPF, if you wanted more lawns, you would have Larry mow more lawns since his opportunity cost is 1 car. Thus the PPF has three sections with MRT (slope) 2, 1, and .5.

  • 7 econgirl // Sep 17, 2009 at 2:01 am

    @ Stephen: I wasn’t clear in the example about the assumption that the 4 points I labeled were the only options for production. You will hopefully be happy to see that I did a generalized treatment of the PPF in a follow up video. You can see it at:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0K8R7D_C-w

  • 8 Pamela Beep // Sep 19, 2009 at 12:57 am

    I hope it is ok if I put a link to your website on my page…

  • 9 econgirl // Sep 19, 2009 at 2:15 am

    Please do! That is the beauty of the interwebs… :)

  • 10 Dan Grigoras // Sep 22, 2009 at 1:14 am

    Hey Econgurl!…I absolutely love your videos and your take on economics. I just started the PhD Econ program at Georgia Tech and I was searching for one of those sweet “Economists do it with models!” bumper stickers when I stumpled upon your site. I’ve told everyone in my program about it and they all love it! Just wanted to throw out some props. Thanks for being awesome.

    -A Fan named Dan.

  • 11 EL JAI // Sep 23, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    please have a look at my website and give me your opinion. I know it is not only about economics, but please I want to konw your opinion about it.

  • 12 EL JAI // Sep 25, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Thanks for visiting my website, “blog”.
    pleaze your comments

  • 13 Arthur Shead // Sep 25, 2009 at 8:56 pm

    Question off the beaten path:
    Do you have any economic relevance to lend to the HealthCare debate?

  • 14 Laice // Sep 27, 2009 at 9:58 pm

    OMG!
    YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!

  • 15 John // Sep 29, 2009 at 10:17 am

    This is outstanding! You should be proud of yourself. (I am) I would be failing this online class if it were not for your guidance.

    Thanks!

  • 16 jay jay // Sep 29, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    nbsp;etutoring.yolasite.com

  • 17 Capone // Oct 3, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    Very nice indeed, I couldn’t let my eyes off the screen. Enjoying every moment of you sexy

    do you have a boy friend?

  • 18 ZAK // Oct 5, 2009 at 10:40 am

    nbsp;etutoring.yolasite.com etutoring. yolasite.com the N 1 tutoring site in Morocco.

  • 19 Coach Myers // Oct 15, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Is there a way to access or download your videos without Youtube? My high school students would benefit, as would my classroom on occasion, but unfortunately, our county blocks that particular website. You’ve got a great blog by the way.

  • 20 Richard // Oct 23, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    Hello, my name is Richard and I am currently taking Microeconomics at Penn State. Unfortunately, I am an active duty soldier also, so I have a lot to juggle. I am about 9 weeks into the semester and this class is killing me. I am in the Perfect Competition portion now. Can you recommend any additional study material that will help me out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

  • 21 Saad // Oct 24, 2009 at 7:56 am

    you can check  etutoring.yolasite.com section ECO 100. hope you enjoy it. good Luck

  • 22 James // Oct 28, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    Jodi,
    Thanks a million for putting up your videos, especially the ones focusing on supply and demand. I’m taking Principles of Microeconomics (Honors) in an undergraduate BSBA program. Many of the concepts are difficult to grasp at first; however, your videos have helped me out a lot.
    =]
    James

  • 23 Nicholas Peters // Dec 1, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    Hello Jodi,

    Thanks for the MicroEconomics videos. They were very helpful because in college the professor was not very helpful in teaching it and I also was not mature to learn it. Is that the end of Chapter 16? Also will you put up other videos of other chapters? Finally, do you have any tests or exams to test people to make sure they understood the work?

    Thanks,
    Nicholas Peters

  • 24 jay jay // Dec 4, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    nbsp;etutoring.yolasite.com the N1 tutoring site in north africa.

  • 25 Dilmurod // Dec 8, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    hey, very nice explanation, I like it. I think I solve my problem with PPF, haha I have a exam soon :)
    thanks & cheers!!!

  • 26 Nicholas Peters // Dec 8, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    I graduated from college and am painfully believing I need to know economics. I really would like to learn Micro and Macro, but I also need a few exams to test what I know. Does anyone know any resources I can use even though I am out of college or is nice enough to give me an exam and grade it to see how well I did on it? Also, I would have to learn the Micro and Macro before being tested. So, I would need some time to learn them.

  • 27 Travis // Jan 6, 2010 at 11:20 pm

    I’m just wondering how economist calculate utility? It makes no senses to me how someone can measure happiness.

  • 28 Daniel // Jan 9, 2010 at 9:28 pm

    nice lectures. its really distracting because i keep visualising you naked and thus losing my concentration on the actual teaching.

  • 29 Cristy // Feb 7, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    I love you video’s, they are the perfect supplement to my online macro economics class! I would love to see more video’s. Do you have any upcoming video’s in the works???

  • 30 Jester // Feb 8, 2010 at 2:04 am

    I wish more qualified people such as Econgirl would post videos like this series. Besides the obvious fact that Econgirl has a great presentation, the audio and illustrations are very clear in the technical sense.

    I really hope the missing chapters are filled in. Thanks for the great work.

  • 31 Zumar // Feb 18, 2010 at 5:53 am

    Your Lectures are as simple that any body may able to take insight depth of this biggy subject.Carry on in glamorous flavour

  • 32 AML // Feb 20, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    You are way more interesting than my prof! I come here to decipher what was said in his lecture. Thanks so much. You are a lifesaver!!!!!!!

  • 33 Hossam Issa // May 10, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    Thank you for the wonderful course. I really enjoy all the sessions and would rather understand from you more than from my MBA economics professor.

    Keep up the hard word.
    Hossam from Egypt

  • 34 Steve // May 17, 2010 at 12:31 am

    Are you going to complete the missing chapters? I’m at Ch5 now and will be at Ch10 by next week. Your Videos are a great complement to the text.
    Thanks!

  • 35 david dacruz // May 19, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    hey i just wanted to thank you i passed my class thanks to your videos they helped me alot during my studies
    by the way i’m watching your videos all the way in France and i will let people know about this blog

  • 36 luvbeingrich // May 27, 2010 at 1:21 am

    Thanks econgirl for the vids, there a great help for me.
    are there any vids that cover perfect competition, and monopoly market structures and how to determine production output of each?

    from australia,
    aZzI

  • 37 Tai // Jun 9, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    Please post videos starting micro and macro theory (intermediate econ). I am struggling with econ at the intermediate level and I find your explanation of introductory econ very well explained compared to my professors at Villanova University.

  • 38 Ashwin // Jul 6, 2010 at 2:49 am

    Great stuff :)

Leave a Comment