uwloo

ECON 201Microeconomic Theory for Business and Policy

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Economics

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course offers an introduction to the theory of market based economies. Topics include consumer choice, production, price and output under perfect and imperfect competition, price discrimination and two part pricing, vertical and horizontal firm boundaries and integration, and market structure.

Prerequisites

  • Complete 1 of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • COMM103 - Principles of Economics (0.50)
      • ECON100 - Principles of Economics (0.50)
      • ECON101 - Introduction to Microeconomics (0.50)
      • MSE263 - Managerial Economics (0.50)
    • Must have completed the following:

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001316854 / 89MW 13:00–14:20
LEC 002316975 / 89TTh 10:00–11:20

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00131060 / 89TTh 14:30–15:50
LEC 00231070 / 89MW 10:00–11:20
LEC 701118476 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

61% liked it71% easy59% useful

From 175 ratings and 30 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I took the course with Mr. Gibson. His lectures were a waste of time, and the exams are much more difficult than what he makes it sound. I don't recommend taking his courses.

    Apr 2024 · didn’t like it · 5 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The concepts can be difficult to understand, and I found the lectures hard to follow because the explanations were often unclear. There are very few practice problems or resources provided to help reinforce the material, which makes learning the concepts even more challenging. The midterm and final are short-answer based, so don’t expect multiple choice questions. Assignments and exams often include tricky questions that test intuition and understanding rather than straightforward application. Andrew Gibson is a funny and nice professor, but I did not find his teaching style effective for this course. Overall, I would not recommend taking ECON 201, especially with him.

    Jun 2026 · didn’t like it · 4 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Taught by Prof. Andrew Hugh Gibson. The midterm average is 66%. Make sure to attend the lecture to get the notes, or you will miss the actual important points.

    Jul 2026 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • HEADS UP: This course is said to be "redesigned". Think twice if reading a comment more than 3 years ago and/or have a different delivery method.
    Class is okay and somewhat engaging. TAs are not consistent in grading. Test is more difficult than you think or he said.

    Nov 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • An interesting course that reviews the concepts of ECON 101, but adds in more math and detail to focus on specific concepts. The course content is very prof-dependent, but it overlaps a lot with ECON 101.

    May 2019 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

336 posts and comments in 268 threads mention ECON 201, January 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

CS 1B courses 1 point, 3 comments

u/anonim0791: “How doable (with good grades) would be CS 2B: || || |CS 136L, CS 146, MATH 146, MATH 148, STAT 230, ECON 201?| | |”

u/amongus44: “… and you feel somewhat confident if you took 14X this term you'll find stat230 pretty easy Econ201 also I believe is rather easy from what other people have said cs136l is a fake course lol just do the thing every week class is optional it won't be easy that's for sure”

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Spring 2024

Winter 2024

cs251 usefulness 3 points, 6 comments

“Course selection coming up thinking about what courses to take on top of cs240, cs241, math239, and afm274 for 2B CFM. Debating between math235 (linalg) and cs251 and bird courses right now. …”

u/RainerAXMC: “… ECON 201). …”

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Fall 2023

Spring 2023

bird course 2XX 1 point, 7 comments

“hi guys! thanks for clicking in, I really want to know if there is any bird course starting with 2 (like 2XX) outside the math department (if it's interesting that will be better) for math students. …”

u/DarkEmperor7135: “Econ 201 is basically a rehash of Econ 101 with more math if you’ve taken that already”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar