Introduction to Microeconomics

Study Board of BSc in Economics and Business Administration

Teaching language: English
EKA: B220039412, B220039402
Censorship: Second examiner: None
Grading: Pass/Fail, 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Soenderborg
Offered in: Autumn
Level: Bachelor

Course ID: B220039401
ECTS value: 5

Date of Approval: 20-04-2023


Duration: 1 semester

Course ID

B220039401

Course Title

Introduction to Microeconomics

Teaching language

English

ECTS value

5

Responsible study board

Study Board of BSc in Economics and Business Administration

Date of Approval

20-04-2023

Course Responsible

Name Email Department
Birgitte Sloth bsl@sam.sdu.dk Microeconomics

Offered in

Soenderborg

Level

Bachelor

Offered in

Autumn

Duration

1 semester

Recommended prerequisites

Mathematics level B from upper secondary school. 

Aim and purpose

The course provides knowledge of fundamental microeconomic principles and methods. It focuses on the perspective of the firm. It aims at providing skills in analyzing economic models graphically, mathematically and numerically. It aims at a wide analytic comprehension of the firm's fundamental decisions regaring quatities and prices in a market economy with different forms of competition. The course thereby provides students with skills to analyse basic economic problems and theoretical and methodological prerequsites for more advanced courses.

Content

Fundamental models and concepts and markets characterized by perfect competition 
  • 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

Learning goals

The student must demonstrate knowledge and abilities in relation to the subject field and be able to:

Description of outcome - Knowledge

  • 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

Description of outcome - Skills

  • 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 

Description of outcome - Competences

  • 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

Literature

The course will be based on a textbook, e.g., Perloff J.M. & J.A. Brander: Managerial Economics and Strategy, latest edition (including access to MyEconLab).

Teaching Method

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. 

Workload

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:

Lectures: 28 hours.
Exercise sessions: 19 hours.
Preparation for lectures/syllabus: 48 hours. 
Preparation for exercise sessions: 21 hours. 
5 sets of assignments: 15 hours. 
Mock exam and peer-feedback: 2 hours. 
Examination: 2 hours.

Examination regulations

Exam

Name

Exam

Timing

Exam: 
Peer-feedback part 1: 1st exam attempt is held during the semester.
Written examination part 1: Ordinary exam in January.

Reexam:
Peer-feedback part 1: During the semester.
Written examination part 1: February

Tests

Peer-feedback part 1

Name

Peer-feedback part 1

Form of examination

Compulsory assignment

Censorship

Second examiner: None

Grading

Pass/Fail

Identification

Student Identification Card - Date of birth

Language

English

Duration

Mock exam 1 hour.
The feedback part can be done within a given time-frame of up to 5 days.

Examination aids

All exam aids allowed. It is not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.

Assignment handover

Hand-out via "Digital Exam".

Assignment handin

Via peergrade.io. The feedback must also be given via peergrade.

ECTS value

1

Additional information

Mandatory mock exam with peer-feecback.

EKA

B220039412

Written examination

Name

Written examination

Form of examination

Written examination on premises

Censorship

Second examiner: None

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Student Identification Card - Exam number

Language

English

Duration

2 hours.

Length

No limit.

Examination aids

No exam aids allowed. It is not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.

Assignment handover

Digital hand-out via "Digital Exam".

Assignment handin

Only digital submission, via "Digital Exam".

ECTS value

4

Additional information

The topics and objectives worked on during the first semester are tested in Written examination part 1. 

EKA

B220039402

External comment

NOTE - This course is identical with the former course 83304301.
Used examination attempts in the former identical course will be transferred.
Courses that are identical with former courses that are passed according to applied rules cannot be retaken.

Courses offered

Offer period Offer type Profile Education Semester

URL for Skemaplan

Sønderborg
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