Introduction to Microeconomics

2023/2024

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

6

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

International College of Economics and Finance

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

1 year, 1, 2 module

Instructors

Avtonomov, Yury V.

Verem, Irina Y.

Зимрутян Гаянэ Аршаковна

Коваленко Яна Алексеевна

Yurko, Anna

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The Introductino to Microeconomics is a one semester course designed to teach students the main concepts of economics. The course is taught in English, but the main ideas and concepts can be explained in Russian as well during class work. Pre-requisites: good understanding of high school mathematics, including basic calculus.

Learning Objectives

• Provide an analysis of the behavior of individual economic agents, including consumer behavior and demand, producer behavior and supply, price and output decisions by firms under various market structures, factor markets, market failures.
• Explain the core concepts of microeconomics. Students should be able to understand the fundamental concepts and evaluate them using analytical tools.
• Develop students ability to critically evaluate and understand how individual decision-makers behave, microeconomists build models, use data and conduct experiments.
• Enable students to participate in debates on microeconomic issues and policies.
• Creating an academic atmosphere in which students may develop their intellects and skills.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Calculate supply and demand elasticities, identify the determinants of price elasticity of demand and supply, and demonstrate the relationship between elasticity and total revenue. Ability to find and interpret price Elasticity of Demand, define Determinants of Elasticity, Total Revenue, Income Elasticity, Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand, Elasticity of Supply.
• Describe governmental efforts to address market failure such as monopoly power, externalities, and public goods. Ability to define Private and Public Goods, Spillover Benefits and Positive Externalities.
• Describe the production function and the Law of Diminishing Marginal Productivity; calculate and graph short-run and long-run costs of production, Accounting and Economic Profit, define Explicit and Implicit Costs. Calculate and graph short-run and long-run costs of production.
• Determine structural characteristics of Monopoly and Monopolistic competition, Monopoly Demand, Profit Maximization, Efficiency Analysis, solve problems on Price Discrimination.
• Determine structural characteristics of Oligopoly, Industry Concentration, Prisoners’ Dilemma, Collusion.
• Determine the profit maximizing price and quantity of resources in factor markets under perfect and imperfect competition by use of marginal analysis. Define structural characteristics of competitive markets, Marginal Revenue Product, Profit Maximizing Employment, Derived Demand, Determinants of Resource Demand.
• Explain the role of scarcity, specialization, opportunity cost and cost/benefit analysis in economic decision-making. Ability to use theoretical concepts of Scarcity, trade-offs, find Opportunity cost, and apply Marginal analysis
• Identify the benefits of free trade using the concept of comparative advantage. Ability to use theoretical notions, concepts of Absolute and Comparative advantage and interpret results.
• Identify the determinants of supply and demand; demonstrate the impact of shifts in both market supply and demand curves on equilibrium price and output, define equilibrium, solve equations.
• Identify the four market structures by characteristics; calculate and graph the profit maximizing price and quantity in the output markets by use of marginal analysis. Ability to define structural characteristics of Perfect competition, Demand, Profit Maximization, Short-Run Profits, Decision to Shut Down, Long-Run Adjustment.
• Summarize the law of diminishing marginal utility; describe the process of utility maximization. Construct Budget Constraint and Utility, Total and Marginal Utility, define Unconstrained Choice, Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, Constrained Choice, Utility Maximizing Rule.

Course Contents

• Introduction to Economics
• Comparative Advantage and Exchange Comparative advantage
• Supply and Demand
• Elasticity
• Consumer Choice
• Producer Theory: Revenues and Costs
• Short-Run and Long-Run. Perfect competition
• Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition
• Oligopoly
• Factor Markets: Labor Market
• Market Failures. Externalities and Public Goods

Assessment Elements

• Winter exam
• Class performance
  Class performance (10% of final mark) includes attendance (5%) and class assignments (5%) at the beginning of each class. Class assignment will be written in Socrative at the beginning of each class (approximate time 5 minutes), follow the link https://b.socrative.com/login/student/ to join the assignment, after that class teacher will tell you Room name, then enter your Surname and Name and group number (for example: Ivanov Ivan, 10).
• Home assignments
  Home assignment will be submitted in the offline format before the beginning of the lecture according to your timetable. If you are late or sick, you have an opportunity to send your home assignment in PDF format to your class teacher before the beginning of the lecture. Online submission is acceptable no more than 3 times per semester, otherwise it will be checked without grading.
• Midterm test

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 2nd module
  0.1 * Class performance + 0.1 * Home assignments + 0.29 * Midterm test + 0.51 * Winter exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Principles of economics, Case, K. E., 2016

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Principles of microeconomics, Frank, R. H., 2009

Presentation

• Full syllabus

Authors

• VEREM IRINA YUREVNA
• YURKO ANNA VYACHESLAVOVNA