| Unit name | Microeconomic Analysis |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIM20038 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Simpson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
In 2019/20: Economic Principles 1 (EFIM10010) and Economic Principles 2 (EFIM10019) as well as Mathematical and Statistical Methods (1) (EFIM10008) From 2020/21: The Economy (EXIMxxxx) and Mathematical and Statistical Methods (1) (EFIM10008) |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit will study the main microeconomic models which underlie modern economic thinking and which are drawn upon by macroeconomics and other fields within economics. As such it will prepare students for final-year units and provide the foundation for students to have the economic tools to apply to concrete problems upon graduation.
The approach of the unit will be to take particular issues and show how these can be modelled formally to analyse the issue in detail; to interpret the model and see how underlying assumptions are related to the model’s conclusions; to use empirical analysis to evaluate the models to see if (or when) they are correct.
Topics will include
(i) consumer behaviour and choice
(ii) monopoly power and limited competition
(iiI) coordination failures and multiple equilibria
(iv) asymmetric information (adverse selection and moral hazard) in a variety of contexts
(v) labour markets and the effect of minimum wages or other regulation.
Although the list of theoretical models used will remain the same, the particular applications used will vary slightly to retain relevance.
Students will be able:
1. To have a basic understanding of how microeconomic models work and to sketch the derivation
of such models;
2. To use economic models to answer hypothetical questions about the operation of the
microeconomic issues and to draw appropriate policy conclusions;
3. To compare and contrast competing theories about how markets work (or fail), to interpret how different assumptions result in different conclusions, and to select different versions of models to apply to different concrete situations;
4. To understand the conclusions, problems and methods used (albeit without a
technical knowledge) by empirical papers in microeconomics and to evaluate economic models.
There will be 36 hours of large group lectures (or exercise lectures) and 9 hours of small group classes.
Summative assessment:
[1] 25% Essay (1500-2000 words), which assesses all learning outcomes.
[2] 75% 2 hour Final Exam in June Exam Period, which assesses all learning outcomes.
(in all cases the most recent edition can be used)
Varian: Intermediate Microeconomics
Pindyck & Rubinfeld: Microeconomics
Bowles: Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions and Evolution
Bowles: Coordination, Conflict and Competition: A Text in Intermediate Microeconomics
Textbooks will be supplemented with additional teaching notes and references to articles from journals such as the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fiscal Studies and Oxford Review of Economic Policy.
