Introduction to Microeconomics

• Market equilibrium under perfect competition
• Demand and consumer theory (including elaticity, utility maximization for rational consumers)
• Theory of production and costs (including concepts of costs, short and long run), optimal decision making by firms
• The implication of firms' organisation and ownership and market structure
• Firms' production under perfect competition
• Introduction to other market structures (including monopoly) and efficiency, consumers' and producers' surplus

• Explain concepts and definitions within the subject area of the course
• Explain and relate these concepts and definitions to economic decision problems
• Explain and discuss the significance of the assumptions underlying the models
• Describe and analyse price determination in a perfectly competitive market. This includes analyzing the demand curve, the supply curve and the impact of different elasticities
• Describe and analyse how taxation and price regulation affect price formation and welfare
• Describe and analyse consumers’ choice and welfare, and the impact of prices and income
• Explain the implications of firms' ownership and organisation and market struture for decisions
• Describe and analyse a profit maximizing firm's decisions and profit, imcluding the impact of prices and technology on firms' costs and production in the short and long run, particulary under perfect competition

• Describe and analyse economic mechanisms graphically, mathematically and numerically
• Apply mathematical analysis (derivatives, optimization) for numeric and parametic analysis in economic models
• Analyse specific economic models mathematically and numerically, and calculate economic consequences in models using spread sheets (Excel)
• Use models to analyse specific exemplary markets and decisions, and identify the limitations in such analysis 
  
  

• Apply graphic, mathematic and numeric modelling of firms and markets in business economic contexts, including the selection of relevant models and data, and reflect on the possibilities and limitations of economic modelling

The student is expected to gain knowledge of the course subjects through independent study of literature. These studies will be supported by lectures. The purpose of the lectures is to give an overview of the curriculum and to facilitate the understanding of complicated subject areas.

The skills are obtained through independent work solving exercise problems. This can be carried out individually, but it is recommended to work in a study group. The work is supported by exercise classes, where solutions to exercises are based on the students’ suggestions 

Furthermore, the student has the possibility access supplementary material and solve individual online exercses in MyEconLab, an online system connected to the course textbook. This will give students an opportunity to test their knowledge and obtained skills during the course and highlight the importance of working with the subjects.  

Finally, the student must each semester participate in a midterm mock exam, for which peer-feedback is required and provided. 

Schedueled classes:
Two lectures and two exercise sessions per week in the first 6 weeks. 
Two lectures and one exercise session åer week in the remaining weeks

Two lectures and one exercise session lesson per week. The lecturer may decide to have 2 exercise lessons every other week instead. 

Workload:
Students will be required to do approximately 135 hours of work, which is expected to be spent as follows: