Economics for Public Managers

Quarters
Spring Open
Location
Olympia
Class Standing
Graduate
Spencer Brien

The goal of this course is to provide a graduate-level introduction to some key principles of microeconomics. Many of the economic decisions are made in our society through markets and it is therefore important听 for 听those that design and implement听 public 听policy to have an understanding of how markets operate.听 Particular emphasis is placed on developing the analytic tools of economic reasoning and using these tools to examine policy interventions of interest to听 publicmanagers . As such, this course is divided into three sections. First, we begin by developing a basic understanding of how a perfectly competitive market allocates good and services in society. Next, we explore the ways in which this 鈥渋deal鈥 model can break down, necessitating government intervention in markets. Specifically, such topics as equity and efficiency, monopolies, externalities,听 public 听goods, and asymmetric information are discussed in detail. In the final section of the course, we turn our attention听 to the 鈥渢ools鈥 of听 public 听action that are used to correct market failures.

Registration

Academic Details

4
15
Graduate

Schedule

Spring
2026
Open
In Person (S)

See definition of Hybrid, Remote, and In-Person instruction

Evening
Olympia