Economics Dilemma: Micro or Macro First?

I'm looking into majoring in Economics, and I have the ability to choose my courses. I need an insight: Should I take microeconomics or macroeconomics first? Which one lays a better foundation for the other, or does it not really matter?

In general, the sequence of studying microeconomics and macroeconomics does not significantly impact understanding as they study different aspects of economic theory.

Microeconomics focuses on individual behavior and decision-making in the context of margins and markets. It dives deeply into how individual units within the larger economy - such as households, businesses, and consumers - make decisions about topics like pricing, consumption, and production. It provides a solid foundation on understanding principles like supply and demand, market competition, and consumer behavior.

Macroeconomics, on the other hand, zooms out to look at the economy from a broad scale, incorporating themes like inflation, unemployment, fiscal policy, and economic growth. Insights you get from macro will be about how economies behave and perform on a national or global scale.

That being said, some educational institutions may recommend, or even require, students to take microeconomics before macroeconomics. The rationale behind this is that some of the principles and concepts taught in microeconomics act as building blocks for understanding more complex macroeconomic concepts.

However, this rationale does not hold across the board and the decision is largely dependent on the specific curriculum of the institution. If neither path is suggested by your syllabus or your professor, it can be beneficial to research the individual-units of each course, and make the decision based on whichever seems to align more closely with your existing understanding of economics.

Long story short, in many situations it may not make a huge difference. You might consider checking the course syllabi or speaking with your advisor to see if there is any advantage to taking one before the other in your specific program.