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2016/2017  BA-BINBO1320U  Microeconomics

English Title
Microeconomics

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in International Business
Course coordinator
  • Herdis Steingrimsdottir - Department of Economics (ECON)
Main academic disciplines
  • Economics
Last updated on 21-09-2016
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: After having followed the course the students should be able to:
  • • Explain basic economic terminology (as e.g. opportunity costs, moral hazard, risk aversion) 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 elasticity to predict a change in demand).
  • • Solve algebraically simple microeconomic problems (e.g. utility maximization, profit maximization, and determination of the equilibrium economic variables), and reflect on the solutions with a critical mind.
  • • Use economic intuition to explain topical policy issues (e.g. why are housing taxes popular among economists?).
Examination
Microeconomics:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Autumn and Winter, the regular exam takes place in December. The make-up and re-examination takes place in January.
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below:
  • Books and compendia brought by the examinee
  • Notes in paper format brought by the examinee
  • Approved calculators: HP 10bII+ and Texas BA II Plus
  • Dictionaries (only some, see specification below)
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure

The following aids are allowed:

Basic language dictionaries (e.g. from mother tongue to English and vice versa and English/English) and approved calculators.

Course content and structure

Course content and structure

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. We also explore important extensions to the basic model such as uncertainty and symmetric information. The main blocks of the curriculum are:

 

  • Supply and Demand
  • Consumer theory: preferences, rationality assumptions, budgetary constraints
  • Extensions: Uncertainty and information economics
  • Producer theory: production and costs functions
  • Market structure: perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, etc.

 


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.

Teaching methods
There are 42 lecturing hours. These hours will be devoted to covering the material in the textbook by traditional lectures and discussion in the class. There are also 12 exercises hours that will be used for doing exercises and applications with the aim of providing students an opportunity to practice the more applied aspects of the class.

In case that your mathematical skills (level B) are not recent, please make sure to attend the 12 Math brush-up course hours that the IB (dates and classes will be announced in due time).
Student workload
Lecture hours 42 hours
Workshop/exercises 24 hours
Preparation for class and exams 140 hours
Expected literature

"Microeconomics",including MyEconLab, by Jeffrey M. Perloff

Last updated on 21-09-2016