Microeconomics
Objectives
Microeconomics is an introduction to economic modeling. You will learn how to use rigorous analysis and analytical tools to understand (i) how economic agents choose how to allocate scarce resources and (ii) the interaction of the individual choices in the society.
General characterization
Code
1102
Credits
7.5
Responsible teacher
Antonieta Cunha e Sá | Catarina Alvarez
Hours
Weekly - Available soon
Total - Available soon
Teaching language
English
Prerequisites
Mandatory Precedence
- 1100. Introduction to Microeconomics
Bibliography
The course is based on selected chapters of the textbook Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions (Walter Nicholson and Christopher Snyder) An alternative source is Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus (Jeffrey Perloff)
Teaching method
The class meets twice a week. The lectures are devoted for the presentation of the material by the instructor, using a combination of slides and board notes. The slides are made available before the lecture on the moodle platform. Whenever possible, use will be made of FT.com and VoxEu.org material to motivate the concepts and foster in-class discussion. Please make sure you have your FT access sorted out before the classes begin. We shall also use some interactive games to illustrate some topics. Interactive games give students first-hand experience of the concepts covered in the course.
Tutorial sessions with the TAs take place once a week. They are dedicated to solving algebraic problems and discussing real-life application of the concepts. Students are expected to try and solve the problems before the class. You are encouraged to do so in groups: collective problem solving is a very efficient learning tool. Once in every tutorial session, a student is selected by the TA in charge to solve one of the problems. This, together with class participation, allows the TA to extract information about whether and how seriously you prepared for the session.
Evaluation method
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Final Exam 50%
Online bi-weekly moodle-based quizzes 10%
Essay 20% - please refer to separate guidelines
Subject matter
1. Individual and Market Demand
2. Behavioral Economics
3. Firms and Production
4. The Cost of Production
5. Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply
6. Market Power: Monopoly