• Explain basic economic terminology (as e.g. opportunity costs, public goods) in a comprehensive and intuitive way.
• Describe and rationalize the main assumptions behind simple economic models and analyze the role that those assumptions play in the models.
• Use economic models graphically (diagrammatically) to analyze the effects of policy experiments (e.g. introducing taxes).
• Derive numerically economic instruments and apply them in analytical settings (e.g. find a price elasticity and use the elstasticity to predict a change in demand).
• Solve algebraically simple microeconomic models (e.g. demand=supply, profit maximization, etc.) in order to determine the equilibrium economic variables (e.g. price, quantity, profit, etc.), and reflect on the solutions with a critical mind (e.g. price and quantity can not take negative values while profits can take negative values in the short run).
• Use economic intuition to explain topical policy issues (e.g. why are housing taxes popular among economists?)

This course provides an introduction to the functioning of economic markets: it describes what lies behind the notions of demand and supply. Emphasis is placed on the behavioural assumptions that generate demand for particular products, and on whether the producers of a particular product compete in a perfect or an imperfect way. By integrating the two sides of the market, we also focus on the general equilibrium functioning of an economy and on the role of the government. The main blocks of the curriculum are:

Supply and Demand;
Consumer theory: preferences, rationality assumptions, budgetary constraints;
Producer theory: production and costs functions;
Market structure: perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly;
General equilibrium theory; Public goods, externalities, and income distribution.

Practical Application of Theory

In each main block the theory is exemplified with everyday problems and issues. We will consider economic models evaluating policies such as minimum wages and commodity taxation.


Relation to a Business or an Institutional Setting

We consider in depth how different market structures affect firms and consumers. We also emphasize how governments design institutions to correct market imperfections.

Relation to International Business or Economics

Several examples from the international business area are considered. Examples will be drawn particularly from U.S., Canada and Europe.

Research Based Teaching

Issues which are currently under debate in economic research are presented when relevant. In particular, we will discuss the limits of neoclassical models and how the research frontier confronts those limits.

"Microeconomics and Behaviour", eighth edition, by Robert Frank, McGraw-Hill 2010.