MICROECONOMICS - 1

Microeconomics studies how individuals, firms, the government, and other organizations make choices given the options available to them and how their decisions determine market prices and the allocation of society’s resources. The main objective of the course is to make students familiar with the economic way of thinking. We will cover the basic concepts and analytical tools of microeconomics and show how they can be used to understand a broad range of real-world problems. We will analyse both firms’ and consumers’ behaviour, market equilibria, principles of game theory and the role of the government in the economy.

The main objective of the course is to make students familiar with the economic way of thinking.

You are expected to be comfortable with the material covered in the Mathematics Prerequisite course. Knowledge of Microeconomics-1 is necessary to understand the topics covered in Microeconomics-2.

The topics covered in the 12 credits course include:

Introduction to Microeconomics
1. Analyzing Economic Problems
2. Demand and Supply Analysis

Consumer Theory
3. Consumer Preferences and Utility Functions
4. Consumer Choice
5. The Theory of Demand
6. Applications of Consumer Theory

Theory of the Firm
7. Inputs and Production Functions
8. Costs and Cost Minimization

Market Structure
9. Perfectly Competitive Markets
10. Monopoly and Price Discrimination
11. Oligopoly
12. Game Theory and Strategic Behavior

Gains and Losses of Government Policies

General Equilibrium and Economic Efficiency

Bernheim, B. D., and Whinston, M. D., 2008, Microeconomics McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Inc. New York, NY.

Alternative references:

Besanko, D., and Braeutigam, R. R., 2014, Microeconomics, 5th Edition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.


Detailed syllabus, problem sets and additional teaching material will be available on the course website at: https://moodle.unive.it/course/view.php?id=1756

There will be one final grade for the whole 12-credit course.
Alternatively, students who regularly attend classes, submit at least 3 assignments before the midterm exam and complete all the coursework by the first sitting in May can take two midterms covering the material discussed in the first and in the second module, respectively.

Lectures and practice sessions. Interactive learning via web is optional.

English

For any course-related information, students should trust only the course website:
https://moodle.unive.it/course/view.php?id=1756

Students are strongly encouraged to actively participate in class meetings and regularly work through the weekly problem sets.

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