A collection of browser-based interactive simulations for use in intermediate microeconomics courses. Each application is a self-contained HTML file — no installation, server, or internet connection required. Students and instructors can open any file directly in a web browser.
Developed by Steven Matusz, Professor of Economics
Department of Economics, Michigan State University
How to Use
For students: Click any ▶ Open link below to run the interactive in your browser. No login or software required.
For instructors: Click any ⬇ Download link to save the .html file to your computer. You can then host it on your own LMS (Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle, etc.), post it to a course website, or distribute it directly to students. Each file is fully self-contained.
Interactives by Topic
Supply and Demand
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Price Controls & Market Surplus |
Explore how price ceilings and floors affect consumer and producer surplus |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Minivan Market Analysis |
Analyze a real-world market disruption using supply and demand |
▶ Open |
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| Stadium Ticket Price Simulator |
Analyze pricing decisions for a sports venue with fixed capacity |
▶ Open |
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Perfect Competition
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Profit Maximization |
Find the profit-maximizing output, visualize profit/loss rectangles, and apply the shutdown rule |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Short-Run vs. Long-Run Supply |
Compare firm and market supply responses over different time horizons |
▶ Open |
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| Welfare Effects of Taxation |
Visualize deadweight loss, tax incidence, and surplus changes under a per-unit tax |
▶ Open |
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| Import Tariff Analysis |
Examine the welfare effects of tariffs on domestic consumers, producers, and government revenue |
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| Liquor License Market |
Apply supply and demand to a regulated market with a fixed license quota |
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Consumer Theory
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Consumer Choice Explorer |
Budget constraints and indifference curves with Cobb-Douglas, perfect substitutes, and perfect complements preferences |
▶ Open |
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| Calculus of Utility Maximization |
Step-by-step walkthrough of the constrained optimization problem |
▶ Open |
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| Different Utility, Different Demand |
Derive demand curves from different utility function types and see how preference shape affects demand |
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| Income & Substitution Effects |
Decompose a price change into income and substitution effects |
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| Revealed Preference |
Determine whether observed consumption choices are consistent with utility maximization |
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| Labor Supply & Tax Policy |
Examine how wages and income taxes affect the work-leisure trade-off; includes backward-bending supply |
▶ Open |
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| Consumer Choice & Government Policy |
Compare lump-sum transfers versus in-kind transfers and their effects on consumer welfare |
▶ Open |
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Production and Costs
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Short-Run Production & Cost Curves |
Explore the relationships among TP, MP, AP, TC, ATC, AVC, and MC |
▶ Open |
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| Cost-Minimizing Input Mix |
Find the least-cost combination of inputs using isoquants and isocost lines |
▶ Open |
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| Returns to Scale & Long-Run Cost |
Visualize how scale economies and diseconomies shape the long-run average cost curve |
▶ Open |
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| Economic vs. Accounting Profit |
Illustrate the difference between accounting and economic profit using explicit and implicit costs |
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Monopoly
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Think Like a Monopolist |
Find the profit-maximizing price and quantity; explore deadweight loss |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Market (In)efficiency with Monopoly |
Compare monopoly and competitive outcomes; calculate CS, PS, and DWL |
▶ Open |
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| Monopoly Price Regulation |
Explore how price caps affect monopoly output, profit, and welfare |
▶ Open |
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Complex Pricing
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Discrimination at the Theater |
Model third-degree price discrimination with two consumer groups |
▶ Open |
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| Pricing Airline Tickets |
Apply third-degree price discrimination across passenger segments with different elasticities |
▶ Open |
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| Two-Part Pricing |
Analyze entry fees plus per-unit prices as a pricing strategy |
▶ Open |
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| Dynamic Pricing (Z-Phone) |
Examine intertemporal price discrimination across early adopters and later buyers |
▶ Open |
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| Bundled Pricing Simulator |
Explore when bundling goods increases profit relative to separate pricing |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
Imperfect Competition
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Game Theory Fundamentals |
Build and solve normal-form games; find dominant strategies and Nash equilibria |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Sequential Games & Game Trees |
Analyze extensive-form games using backward induction |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Comparing Oligopoly Models |
Side-by-side comparison of Cournot, Bertrand, and Stackelberg outcomes |
▶ Open |
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| Cartel Formation & Stability |
Examine why cartels form and why they tend to break down |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| MowTown: Monopolistic Competition |
Follow a landscaping firm through short-run profits and long-run zero-profit equilibrium |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
Externalities and Public Goods
| Title |
Description |
Open |
Download |
| Externalities Solutions Simulator |
Compare Pigouvian taxes, subsidies, and cap-and-trade as remedies for externalities |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Common Pool Resources |
Model the tragedy of the commons and explore regulatory solutions |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
| Public Goods & Vertical Summation |
Construct the social demand curve for a public good by vertically summing individual willingness to pay |
▶ Open |
⬇ Download |
Technical Notes
- All files are self-contained HTML with no external dependencies at runtime (Plotly.js and all other libraries load from CDN links embedded in each file)
- Files work in any modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
- Files can be used offline once downloaded (CDN libraries will not load without internet)
- All interactives meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards and have been tested with D2L’s built-in accessibility checker
License
These materials are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
You are free to use, adapt, and redistribute these materials for educational purposes, provided you give appropriate credit and do not use them for commercial purposes.
Steven Matusz
Department of Economics, Michigan State University
matusz@msu.edu