Unit name | Introduction to Microeconomics |
---|---|
Unit code | ECON10010 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Mr. Huxley |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
A-level Mathematics (or equivalent) |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Economics, Finance and Management |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The central aims of this unit are to introduce students to the concepts and analytical techniques used in microeconomics.
The course emphasises the central role of price theory in understanding economic events. Students are expected to truly understand why when prices change people change their behaviour and what it means to say that 'decisions are taken at the margin'.
Topics covered include: Competitive markets. Consumer demand, allocation of time and labour supply, intertemporal choice. Production and cost functions, cost minimization, firms' input and output choices in the short and long run. Externalities, public goods. General equilibrium. Comparative advantage and international trade.
Lectures (27) plus two hours for revision in the summer term. Plus 9 exercise lectures. Plus 15 classes of roughly 14 students.
Interactive whiteboards: Tutorials make extensive use of interactive whiteboards (where this is appropriate)
Podcast: All the lectures are podcast.
We are experimenting with electronic tutorial quizzes and tutorial sheets.
Summative Assessment This is a three-hour closed book exam, consisting of three sections. Section A (30%) covers consumer theory. Section B (30%) production and cost and general equilibrium. Section C (40%) Involves writing an essay on any topic covered in the course. All three sections require the student to demonstrate all the intended learning outcomes given above.
Formative Assessment Students prepare weekly exercises which are gone over in class. In addition to this they write three short essays. Students receive a mark and feedback on all three essays.
Thomas Nechyba, Microeconomics: An intuitive approach with calculus
Alternative textbooks:
H. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, a Modern Approach
Jeffrey Perloff, Microeconomics with calculus