How long is the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics?

The Certificate in Microeconomics Basics runs for three to six months across modes, with weekly problem sets and a final UK regulatory case-study assessment.

Is the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics recognised by UK employers?

The Certificate in Microeconomics Basics is designed around the Royal Economic Society introductory syllabus, which UK regulators, consultancies and think tanks recognise as a credible foundation.

What are the entry requirements for the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics?

Open access at 18+ with GCSE English and Maths at grade 4/C; some comfort with algebra and graph reading is expected. IELTS 5.5 for non-native English speakers.

How much does the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current fee schedule, instalment options and scholarship eligibility for the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics.

Certificate in Microeconomics Basics | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Certificate in Microeconomics Basics at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) introduces the reasoning tools an economist uses to make sense of a single market. Sitting in the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, this short programme covers demand and supply, elasticity, consumer choice, producer behaviour, competitive and imperfectly competitive market structures, and the classic UK regulatory questions asked by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Ofgem and Ofcom.

The Certificate suits school-leavers, career changers into policy or regulation, and public-sector professionals who want to read a CMA merger decision or an Ofgem consultation with confidence. Content is designed around the Royal Economic Society's introductory economics reading list, and study is available on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning. Case material is refreshed each cohort against live CMA merger investigations, Ofgem price-cap consultations and the Bank of England's inflation reporting, so students read regulatory documents in the same form a working analyst sees them.

Teaching runs in small tutor-visible cohorts with weekly seminar discussions, a diagnostic in week one, formative quizzes that build to a single summative case study, and a fortnightly practitioner clinic where students can bring live questions to a working professional. Applicants who prefer flexibility can join the fully online cohort — the same materials, the same tutor, the same intake calendar — with recorded live sessions and asynchronous discussion boards so working students never fall behind.

Key Features

Curriculum designed around the Royal Economic Society introductory economics reading list.
Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning — with a single intake schedule.
UK regulatory case studies drawn from CMA merger decisions, Ofgem price-cap consultations and Ofcom competition reviews.
Weekly graphical problem sets using demand-supply diagrams, indifference curves and cost curves.
A final case-study assessment applying microeconomic analysis to a UK market decision.
Direct credit transfer onto the LSIBM Diploma in Economics on completion.
CMA and Ofgem consultation reading clinics led by a working regulatory economist each intake.
Assessment blends weekly graphical problem sets with a summative UK regulatory case brief.

What You Will Learn

The Certificate teaches the microeconomic vocabulary and diagrammatic reasoning that underpin every UK regulatory decision, competition case, and pricing debate — the tools a junior policy analyst is expected to apply in their first month at Whitehall or a regulator.

Demand and supply, market equilibrium and the elasticity family.
Consumer choice, budget constraints, indifference curves and welfare measurement.
Production, costs, revenue and the short-run / long-run distinction for a UK firm.
Perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition — how each behaves in a UK market.
Market failure — externalities, public goods, information asymmetry — and the CMA / Ofgem responses.
Introductory game theory and strategic behaviour, applied to UK duopoly cases.
Factor markets and the microeconomics of UK labour and capital.
Reading and criticising a CMA or Ofgem consultation document.
Writing a short economic-reasoning note in the format a UK regulator or think tank would recognise.
Interpreting Bank of England inflation data alongside a CMA market study.
Using simple welfare analysis to argue for or against a UK intervention.

Who This Course Is For

School-leavers considering an economics degree who want to test their appetite for the material first.
Career changers into UK regulatory, competition or policy work from law, journalism or the civil service.
Junior consultants at economic consultancies who need the graphical toolkit before their first client project.
Public-sector professionals interpreting CMA, Ofgem or Ofcom output as part of their day job.
International students preparing for a UK Bachelor's or diploma in economics.
Civil-service fast-stream applicants wanting a credible economics foundation before assessment centres.

Career Pathways

Graduates of the Certificate typically move into junior analyst roles at UK economic consultancies, regulators, think tanks and public bodies. The Certificate supports applications but does not by itself substitute for a full economics degree. Typical destinations include:

Junior Economic Analyst
Regulatory Analyst
Competition Analyst (junior)
Policy Research Assistant
Pricing Analyst (junior)
Economics Graduate Programme Applicant
Junior Research Assistant (regulator)
Economics Graduate Scheme Applicant

The Certificate is the natural step onto the LSIBM Diploma in Economics, the BSc in Economics, or an entry-level Government Economic Service assistant scheme.

Certificate holders progress into the LSIBM Diploma in Economics, the BSc in Economics or a Royal Economic Society graduate-track membership, and the Government Economic Service assistant scheme is a realistic longer-run target.

Entry Requirements

Open access — GCSE-level English and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or international equivalent); a comfortable grasp of algebra and simple graph reading is expected on the diagnostic.
Applicants over 18 are welcome regardless of prior qualifications, provided a short statement of intent is submitted.
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.0) for non-native English speakers, or an equivalent test at CEFR B2.
Two personal references — one professional, one academic; work-based references accepted for career changers.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. We teach in small cohorts so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule that students can rely on, and partner with UK professional bodies — CMI, CIM, CIPD, ACCA, CIMA, CFA UK, CIPS and IOE&IT — so qualifications carry weight with employers.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. LSIBM Certificate students frequently attend evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse, and CIM London — building a working professional network alongside their studies.

Apply for Certificate in Microeconomics Basics

Take the first step with the Certificate in Microeconomics Basics. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance and the current fee schedule. LSIBM runs a single intake schedule so applicants know exactly when their cohort begins.