Bachelor
2020/2021
Microeconomics-2
Type:
Compulsory course (Economics and Statistics)
Area of studies:
Economics
Delivered by:
Department of Theoretical Economics
Where:
Faculty of Economic Sciences
When:
2 year, 1, 2 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of one campus
Instructors:
Anastasia Antsygina,
Sofia Dolgikh,
Polina Koroleva,
Ilya Krasikov,
Konstantin Makshanchikov,
Dmitry Mikhaylov,
Vladimir Shchukin
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
6
Contact hours:
90
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The course examines the organization of markets from a microeconomic perspective, the principles of microeconomic policy and the role of government in allocating scarce resources. The topics include: perfect competition, pricing in the presence of market power, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, game theory and factor markets, general equilibrium and efficiency, markets with asymmetric information, externalities and public goods. The course continues Microeconomics–1; however, it can also be treated as an independent discipline for exchange students. Module 1 (2) of this course corresponds to Module III (IV) of a generic undergraduate course in microeconomics. Prerequisites: Multivariable calculus; Microeconomics–1, including: consumer behaviour, intertemporal choice, uncertainty, production, perfectly competitive markets.
Learning Objectives
- Understand basic real-world microeconomic problems
- Develop critical thinking about economic matters
- Be able to solve stylized microeconomic models
- Evaluate different economic policies and trace how they affect social welfare
- Understand the basic principles of strategic interaction
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Understand basic real-world microeconomic problems
- Develop critical thinking about economic matters
- Be able to solve stylized microeconomic models
- Evaluate different economic policies and trace how they affect social welfare
- Understand the basic principles of strategic interaction
Course Contents
- Introduction: Competitive Profit MaximizationIntroduction: Competitive Profit Maximization
- MonopolyLinear pricing, social costs of monopoly
- Pricing with market powerPrice discrimination, two-part tariff, non-linear pricing, bundling
- Overview of strategic modelsSimultaneous move games: pure and mixed strategies, dominant strategies, Nash equilibrium
- Static oligopolistic competitionCournot, Bertrand with homogenous good, horizontal differentiation, vertical differentiation
- Sequential move gamesBehavioral strategies, subgame perfection, Stackelberg competition
- Repeated gamesGrim triggers, minmax payoff, Folk Theorem, collusion
- Factor markets with market powerFactor markets with monopoly power, factor markets with monopsony power
- General equilibrium and economic efficiencyEfficiency in exchange economy, market trade, equilibrium and efficiency, efficiency in production, production and welfare theorems
- Asymmetric informationQuality uncertainty and the market for lemons, market signaling, screening, hidden action and moral hazard
- ExternalitiesExternalities and efficiency losses, market failures and market interventions, externalities and property rights, common property resources
- Public goodsPublic goods and efficiency, private provision of the public good, free riding, government regulation
Assessment Elements
- Home Assignments (Module 1)There are 3 home assignments in Module 1 ( (with the weights of 5%, 5% and 6% each) and 3 home assignments in Module 2 ( with the weights of 5%, 5% and 6% each). All submissions must be done electronically via Google Forms. Please, upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit a problem set only once. Late submissions are not accepted and graded with zero points.
- Mid-Module Test (Module 1)In each module, there is a mid-term exam (its weight in the final grade is 29%). The test will be held online in Zoom and recorded. You have 80 minutes to solve problems and 10 minutes to submit the solutions electronically via Google Forms. Upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit his/her solutions only once. In Zoom, you must clearly state your name, surname and group. Before the test starts, you have to verify your personality by showing a student ID or a passport. During the test, your camera and microphone must be turned ON. If the examiner finds your room too noisy, he/she will first notify you about the necessity to keep silence. In case it does not have an effect, you test will be over before the official time elapses. If you finish earlier, you still have to wait until 80 minutes expire and then start the upload of your solutions. If you report any technical issues (no internet connection, a computer not working, etc.), this must be supported with proofs. For example, in the absence of internet connection, you can ask your provider to give you a report about network failures which happened on a certain date/time. There is no make-up for the mid-term test. If a student misses it without an official excuse, s/he gets zero for this course element. With an official excuse (e.g. illness with a valid medical proof), her or his final test score accounts for 84% (resp. 84%) of the Module 1 (resp. 2) grade.
- Final Test (Module 1)The final test is a closed book exam (its weight in the final grade is 55%). The test will be held online in Zoom and recorded. You have 80 minutes to solve problems and 10 minutes to submit the solutions electronically via Google Forms. Upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit his/her solutions only once. In Zoom, you must clearly state your name, surname and group. Before the test starts, you have to verify your personality by showing a student ID or a passport. During the test, your camera and microphone must be turned ON. If the examiner finds your room too noisy, he/she will first notify you about the necessity to keep silence. In case it does not have an effect, you test will be over before the official time elapses. If you finish earlier, you still have to wait until 80 minutes expire and then start the upload of your solutions. If you report any technical issues (no internet connection, a computer not working, etc.), this must be supported with proofs. For example, in the absence of internet connection, you can ask your provider to give you a report about network failures which happened on a certain date/time.
- Home Assignments (Module 2)There are 3 home assignments in Module 1 ( (with the weights of 5%, 5% and 6% each) and 3 home assignments in Module 2 ( with the weights of 5%, 5% and 6% each). All submissions must be done electronically via Google Forms. Please, upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit a problem set only once. Late submissions are not accepted and graded with zero points.
- Mid-Module Test (Module 2)In each module, there is a mid-term exam (its weight in the final grade is 29%). The test will be held online in Zoom and recorded. You have 80 minutes to solve problems and 10 minutes to submit the solutions electronically via Google Forms. Upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit his/her solutions only once. In Zoom, you must clearly state your name, surname and group. Before the test starts, you have to verify your personality by showing a student ID or a passport. During the test, your camera and microphone must be turned ON. If the examiner finds your room too noisy, he/she will first notify you about the necessity to keep silence. In case it does not have an effect, you test will be over before the official time elapses. If you finish earlier, you still have to wait until 80 minutes expire and then start the upload of your solutions. If you report any technical issues (no internet connection, a computer not working, etc.), this must be supported with proofs. For example, in the absence of internet connection, you can ask your provider to give you a report about network failures which happened on a certain date/time. There is no make-up for the mid-term test. If a student misses it without an official excuse, s/he gets zero for this course element. With an official excuse (e.g. illness with a valid medical proof), her or his final test score accounts for 84% (resp. 84%) of the Module 1 (resp. 2) grade.
- Final Test (Module 2)The final test is a closed book exam (its weight in the final grade is 55%). The test will be held online in Zoom and recorded. You have 80 minutes to solve problems and 10 minutes to submit the solutions electronically via Google Forms. Upload ONE file (max 20MB) per student! Each student can submit his/her solutions only once. General instructions: (1) In Zoom, you must clearly state your name, surname and group. (2) Before the test starts, you have to verify your personality by showing a student ID. (3) During the test, your camera must be turned ON. Also, the examiner will turn all microphones ON from time to time. If the examiner finds your room too noisy, he/she will first notify you about the necessity to keep silence. In case it does not have an effect, you test will be over before the official time elapses. (4) During 80 minutes of the test, no cell phone is allowed! If the examiner detects you with a cell phone during this time, your test is automatically over and graded with zero points. However, cell phones can be used to scan and upload solutions after 80 minutes elapse, subject to the examiner’s approval. (5) You must not wear headsets and hoods! If this rule is violated, then your test is automatically over and graded with zero points. (6) If you solve a problem version not specified in your personalized task distribution, this is treated as the evidence of cheating, and the total test score is zero. (7) Your test time will stop immediately in case of communication with another student/person. (8) If the examiner detects you with any unauthorized written or printed materials and/or communication devices (including cell-phones), independently of their use, your test time will stop immediately. (9) If you finish earlier, you still have to wait until 80 minutes expire and then start the upload of your solutions. (10) In case of technical issues, general HSE rules apply (see https://www.hse.ru/studyspravka/distcontrol). A short-term breakdown is 5 minutes or less. In this case, a student can request 5 extra minutes to complete the tasks. A long-term breakdown is more than 5 minutes. If a student faces a long-term breakdown and wants to retake the test, he/she must report this to the studying office and ask for a formal approval. All the retakes (subject to the approval of the studying office) will be administered in January with the 1st wave. However, in this case the difficulty of the tasks will be increased.
