Perfect markets achieve efficiency: maximizing total surplus generated. But real markets are imperfect. In this course we will explore a set of market imperfections to understand why they fail and to explore possible remedies including as antitrust policy, regulation, government intervention. 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.
ofrecido por
Microeconomics: When Markets Fail
Universidad de PensilvaniaAcerca de este Curso
Habilidades que obtendrás
- Externality
- Economics
- Microeconomics
- Market (Economics)
ofrecido por

Universidad de Pensilvania
The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Programa - Qué aprenderás en este curso
Costs and Profits + Perfect Competition
In the first part of the course we learnt that if we allow market forces to work we reach an efficient outcome: the maximum benefit that can be generated by a market. The second part of the course explores cases where the markets fail to accomplish our goals. This week sets up the benchmark case of the perfectly competitive market: a model we will modify in the next few weeks. We define Perfect Competition, learn to model it graphically and discuss some key results in terms of long run profits and implications for efficiency.
Monopoly
A monopoly is a case where there is only one firm in the market. We will define and model this case and explain why market power is good for the firm, bad for consumers. We will also show that society as a whole suffers from the lack of competition.
Monopoly Continued
Monopolies come in various types: one price monopoly, natural monopoly, price discrimination and monopolistic competition. This week we will expand the basic monopoly model to cover these cases and then explore market outcomes in each case. We will also discuss how government may intervene in such cases to benefit society as a whole and increase the surplus generated by the market.
Externalities + Public Goods
Two classic cases of market failure will be defined and explored: externalities and public goods. We will define each case, demonstrate why the market fails to provide the efficient outcome and suggest interventions through either marked design or regulation.
Reseñas
- 5 stars80,36Â %
- 4 stars15,67Â %
- 3 stars3,42Â %
- 2 stars0,18Â %
- 1 star0,36Â %
Principales reseñas sobre MICROECONOMICS: WHEN MARKETS FAIL
Very helpful and informative class.... liked the challenge of getting my microeconomics view back in order...
I really appreciated the short form videos and abundant visual examples. I would take MANY more classes on Coursera if it were guaranteed that they would follow this format.
Great and relevant content, presented in an interesting and easy way; allowing the student to go through the video materials in an individual pace and thus optimize the study sessions.
The course material is clear and easy to follow, and the questions are just tricky enough to be interesting without breaking my brain.
Preguntas Frecuentes
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