"Exactly the overview I was hoping for — clear, well-structured, and easy to follow from start to finish. I finished in an afternoon and felt I'd actually learned something."
LLéa M.
France★★★★★
France★★★★★
All courses
Principles
Principles
of Economics
Economics isn't abstract theory — it's a lens for understanding the decisions behind every price, market, and policy. In about two hours, you'll learn how economies really work and how to think clearly about the forces shaping business and everyday life.The core ideas of economics — how markets, prices, and decisions work — in about two hours.
What you will learn
Economics comes down to a handful of core ideas you can actually learn — and this course covers the ones that matter most. Whether you're new to the subject or want sharper business judgment, you'll leave able to read markets, weigh trade-offs, and reason through economic decisions with confidence.
Core skills
- Understand how markets, prices, and incentives really work
- Reason through everyday economic decisions and trade-offs
- Apply key economic concepts and models (supply and demand, elasticity, GDP, etc.)
This isn't theory for its own sake. Across eight focused chapters you'll work through what economic thinking actually involves — reading a market, weighing costs against benefits, and making sense of the numbers behind the headlines — with ideas you can put to use the same day.
Why this matters
70%
of employers rank analytical thinking as their most essential core skill in 2025 — and economics is the discipline built to sharpen exactly that kind of reasoning.
Source: WEF Future of JobsEconomics shapes nearly every decision a business makes — from pricing and hiring to strategy and investment. This course gives you a clear, practical grounding in how it all fits together, without the jargon or heavy math.
Across eight short chapters, you'll cover the essentials — how supply and demand set prices, how markets and competition work, what drives growth, inflation, and unemployment, and how governments and central banks shape the wider economy.
You'll get comfortable with the concepts and models that professionals actually use — supply and demand curves, elasticity, opportunity cost, GDP, and the basics of both microeconomics and macroeconomics — explained in plain language and grounded in real examples.
It's designed for a wide audience and open to everyone, with no prior experience required. It's especially useful for anyone who wants to grow professionally, sharpen their business judgment, and advance their career with a stronger grasp of how the economy works.
The course takes about two hours in text and audio, is fully self-paced, and comes with lifetime access and no prerequisites. Pass the short final exam to earn a verifiable certificate — one that also counts toward IBMI's Strategic Management program at no extra cost.
What we will cover
8 focused chapters that build from the fundamentals to the tools you’ll actually use — each grounded in practical, real-world examples.
- Introduction
- N. Gregory Mankiw
- The Ten Principles
- #1 People Face Trade-offs
- #2 The Cost of Something
- #3 Rational People
- #4 People Respond to Incentives
- #5 Trading Is Better
- #6 Markets Are Usually Good
- #7 Governments Can Help
- #8 A Country's Production
- #9 Printing Too Much Money
- #10 Inflation and Unemployment
- Weaknesses
- Strengths
- Conclusion
Course Quiz & Your CertificateMultiple choice · free retakes · no time limit · certificate issued instantly on passing
Learn your way
Read or listen at your own pace, on any device — and yours to keep forever.
- No app neededIn your browser
- Any devicePhone to laptop
- Auto-savedContinue anytime
- Stay focusedDistraction-free
Certificate
A certificate you can
actually use
- Instantas a digital PDFPDF download
- Includedno extra fees
- Lifetimeno expiry
- ShareableLinkedIn & CV
- Verifiableunique ID number
Demo verification
IBMI-BM-8F3K2
Valid certificatePrinciples of EconomicsIssued by IBMI Berlin to David Fischer · 15 July 2025
Check any real certificate ID on our verification page.Check any real certificate ID here.
Ratings & feedback
What students say
about this course
4.8
average rating for this course
★
Rated ExcellentIBMI on Trustpilot →
"A genuinely good introduction to the principles of economics. The pacing is quick but never rushed, and everything is explained in plain terms."
HHaruki T.
Japan★★★★★
Japan★★★★★"Well organized and to the point. I liked that I could go at my own pace, and the certificate at the end was a nice touch for my profile."
JJonas W.
Germany★★★★★
Germany★★★★★"Great value for the price. Concise, clear, and professional — a really efficient way to get the core ideas without wading through a textbook."
SSofia B.
Sweden★★★★★
Sweden★★★★★"One of the clearest short courses I've taken. The structure makes it easy to follow, and you come away with a solid overview of the whole subject."
DDaan V.
Netherlands★★★★★
Netherlands★★★★★"Very good introduction and easy to follow. I'd have loved a bit more depth in places, but for the length and price it's excellent value."
RRafael S.
Brazil★★★★☆
Brazil★★★★☆"Clear, well-paced, and easy to understand even without a background in the field. Getting a verifiable certificate at the end made it well worth it."
PPriya N.
India★★★★★
India★★★★★"A great course to fit around a busy schedule. Self-paced, straightforward, and it gave me the confidence to talk about economics at work."
TTunde A.
Nigeria★★★★★
Nigeria★★★★★"Excellent structure and very clear explanations. I finished it quickly and felt I got real value — the certificate counting toward the program is a big plus."
MMai P.
Vietnam★★★★★
Vietnam★★★★★Drag to explore more reviewsSwipe to explore more reviews
Featured in
Program
This course is part of
a larger credential
It’s a required course in the Strategic Management program — and it counts toward that program certificate at no extra cost.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Add the course to your cart and create your student account during checkout. You can start right after payment — and you keep lifetime access, so breaks and retakes are always possible.
It’s a focused short course — 8 chapters and 16 topics, about 2 hours in total, 100% online and self-paced. Read the content or listen to the audio on your computer, tablet, or phone, and pick up exactly where you left off. No additional reading material required.
None. This course is designed for students and non-students alike — no prior knowledge and no formal application. All you need is a web browser and some motivation.
With the current discount, this course costs US$12. That includes the full course content and your personal certificate — there are no additional costs.
Work through the 8 chapters and pass the course quiz — multiple choice, with free retakes and no time limit. Your certificate is issued instantly as a digital PDF that you can download, print, share on LinkedIn, and that employers can verify online via its unique ID.
IBMI holds its distance learning programs to the same high standards applied by traditional educational institutions, and our certificates are acknowledged by employers around the world as professional certificates. Please note we do not award academic titles or degrees.
The full course — audio and text — is in English. You can also read the course text in 100+ other languages via automatic (machine) translation, so you can follow along in whichever language you’re most comfortable with. See available languages →
Yes. Alongside your course certificate, this course counts toward the Strategic Management program certificate — at no extra cost. Finish the required courses in a program and you earn its certificate too.
More questions? Visit the Help Center →
Short course, fast results
From start to certificate
in about 2 hours
Start
Enroll & start instantly
Checkout takes a minute — chapter one opens right away.
2 hours
Read or listen to the content
Compact topics and real case studies, at your own pace.
The quiz
Take the course quiz
Multiple choice, free retakes, no time limit.
Finish
Certificate in hand
Issued instantly — add it to your CV and LinkedIn.
Principles of Economics
Start now and get certified today
Self-paced online courseOnline course · Personalized certificate
One-time payment · Lifetime access
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