MICROECONOMICS
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
None.
Students are evaluated according to a written exam. There are two formats:
a) The exam can be taken as two partial exams. Duration of each partial exam: 60 minutes. When opting for this format, it is necessary to pass both exams (each with a score larger than 18). The final mark is computed as the rounded up average of the two results obtained in the partial exams. The mark obtained in the first partial exam can be rejected (more below). If a student does not pass one of the partial exams or rejects a mark he/she has to take the exam with format b. Partial exams can be sat only in two specific dates dedicated to partial exams.
b) Alternatively, the exam can be taken as a single general exam at the end of the course. Duration of the general exam: 90 minutes. The first general exam takes place at the beginning of June. PLEASE NOTE: in order to sit an exam it is compulsory to be registered online. Students who are not registered will not be admitted to the exam. To avoid being excluded due to technical problems, we strongly recommend to print the screenshot proving the successful registration. A student can reject a mark within 5 days from its publication through the online platform. After 5 days the mark is automatically accepted without any further possibility to reject it.
GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Microeconomics course introduces the main concepts, tools, and theories for analyzing the decision making of economic agents (consumers and producers), and their interaction through markets, both competitive and non-competitive. The concept of economic efficiency provides a basis for the appraisal of market performance and government intervention. At the end of the course, the student will be able to understand the key features of economic decision making and the main problems concerning the functioning of markets.
COURSE CONTENT
The course addresses the following topics:
FIRST PART, 40 hours
Consumer choice.
Intertemporal decision making.
Production.
Profit maximisation.
SECOND PART, 40 hours
Decision making under uncertainty.
Strategic interaction.
Behavioral economics.
The analysis of competitive markets: equilibrium, efficiency, intervention.
The analysis of non-competitive markets: monopoly.
Externalities
Asymmetric information.
TA sessions: 8 + 8 hours.
Preliminaries: Bernheim & Whinston (B&W), ch. 1
Supply and Demand: B&W, ch. 2
Consumer Preferences: B&W, ch. 3
Constraints, Choices, and Demand: B&W, ch. 4
Demand and Welfare: B&W, ch. 5
Choices Involving Time: B&W, ch. 9
Technology and production: B&W, ch. 6
Cost: B&W, ch. 7
Profit Maximization: B&W, ch. 8
Choices Involving Risk: B&W, ch. 10
Choices Involving Strategy: B&W, ch. 11
Behavioral Economics: B&W, ch. 12
Equilibrium and Efficiency: B&W, ch. 13
Market Interventions: B&W, ch. 14
Monopoly: B&W, ch. 16
Externalities: B&W, ch. 19
Asymmetric Information: lectures notes
• Textbook: B.D. Bernheim e M.D. Whinston, Microeconomia, terza edizione, MacGraw-Hill, customised edition for Università dell'Insubria.
• Workbook (not compulsory): M. Bonacina e P. De Micco, Microeconomia – Esercizi, Egea, Milano, terza edizione.
• Slides and exercises provided by the instructors.
The course consists of lectures (80 hours) and TA sessions (16 hours); in the TA sessions problems related to the topics addressed during the lectures are discussed and solved.
Additional teaching materials can be found on the e-learning platform of the course.