Microeconomics

Описание мероприятия

Описание программы

This course is designed to equip students with the economic principles which are necessary to analyse a whole range of economic problems. It builds on the foundations of economic analysis provided in course EC1002 Introduction to economics.

Aims and objectives

• To deepen the understanding of the basic theory of optimization by economic agents and the efficiency of the resulting outcome for the market as a whole
• To introduce students to the analysis of strategic interaction as well as interaction under asymmetric information
• to clarify the role of economic policies as tools to improve efficiency in the presence of market failures
• to promote the ability to think in a structured framework, and clarify the importance of formal arguments
• to demonstrate the art of modelling which requires simplifying a problem by identifying the key elements without oversimplifying the issue.

Assessment

This course is assessed by a three-hour unseen written examination.

Учебный план:

• Consumer choice and demand, labour supply
• Choice under uncertainty, the expected utility model
• Producer theory: production and cost functions, firm and industry supply
• Game theory: normal-form and extensiveform games, Nash equilibrium and subgame perfect equilibrium, repeated games and cooperative equilibria
• Market structure: competition, monopoly and oligopoly
• General equilibrium and welfare: competitive equilibrium and efficiency
• Pricing in input markets
• Inter-temporal choice: savings and investment choices
• The economics of information: moral hazard and adverse selection, resulting market failures and the role of contracts and institutions
• Market failures arising from monopoly, externalities and public goods. The role of policy.

Результат обучения:

At the end of this course and having completed the essential reading and activities students should:

• 
  be able to define and describe:
• the determinants of consumer choice, including inter-temporal choice and choice under uncertainty
• the behaviour of firms under different market structures
• how firms and households determine factor prices
• behaviour of agents in static as well as dynamic strategic situations
• the nature of economic interaction under asymmetric information
• be able to analyse and assess:
• efficiency and welfare optimality of perfectly and imperfectly competitive markets
• the effects of externalities and public goods on efficiency
• the effects of strategic behaviour and asymmetric information on efficiency
• the nature of policies and contracts aimed at improving welfare
• 
  be prepared for further units which require a knowledge of microeconomics.
  

Требования к поступающим:

If taken as part of a BSc degree, courses which must be passed before this course may be attempted:

• EC1002 Introduction to economics and either
• MT105a Mathematics 1 or
• MT1174 Calculus

Exclusions

This course may not be taken with MN3028 Managerial economics