Microeconomics module (BU21004)

This module covers the micro aspects of the economy by focusing on the basic theories of consumer and firm behaviour under various settings.

You will learn about the conditions in which markets will or will not produce desirable outcomes and the role of government in improving the operation of markets.
 

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• understand the demand and supply in markets
• explore consumer theory: utility, choice and demand
• discuss producer theory: production, cost and supply
• learn about market structure: perfectly competitive, monopolistic and oligopolistic markets
• gain awareness of topics in public economics and behavioural economics
• be introduced to basic theoretical tools for the analysis of the market, demand and supply tools, and various types of market structures as well as topics in public/behavioural economics

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand core microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts
• apply the application of economic principles and reasoning to cost benefit analysis
• discuss the verbal, graphical, mathematical representation of microeconomic data
• explore analytical methods in microeconomics
• understand the nature of diverse market structures such as oligopoly, monopoly and perfect competition
• discuss the application of economic principles to design, guide and interpret various aspects of microeconomic policy
• develop key skills for economics such as abstraction, analysis, quantification and design and numeracy
• propose solutions to economic problems
• contribute to the design and evaluation of policy from an economic perspective
• assess the performance of both economic institutions and economies

Assignments / assessment

Class Test 1 (30%)

• Held in week 5
• 40 hours of effort expected

Class Test 2 (30%)

• Held in week 9
• 44 hours of effort expected

Essay-writing Assignment (40%)

• Given in week 1
• Due in week week 11
• 1,000 words
• 45 hours of effort expected

This module does not have a final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

Each week you should expect one x 1 hour lecture and one x 1 hour tutorial.

You will be expected to attend all sessions, preparing in advance to ensure you can contribute to discussions. All mathematical techniques will be taught within the module itself and opportunities given in tutorials to practise these.