Microeconomics III
Code: 102335 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501572 Business Administration and Management | OT | 4 |
| 2501573 Economics | OB | 3 |
Contact
- Name:
- Francisco Obiols Homs
- Email:
- francesc.obiols@uab.cat
Teachers
- Jesus David Perez Castrillo
- Amedeo Stefano Edoardo Piolatto
- Francesc Almendros Viladerrams
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
It is recommended that students have passed the following courses:
Introduction to Economics
Mathematics I and II
Microeconomics I and II
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course is the last one on the topic of microeconomics and, therefore, its main objective is to go beyond the understanding of basic knowledge by means of the more advanced concepts related to individual decision making and the functioning of markets.
Competences
- Economics
- Apply mathematical instruments to synthesise complex economic-business situations.
- Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Identify the processes that govern the operation of markets in different competition systems, different scenarios of interrelationship and different timescales.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
- Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
- Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
- Identify market failures and define the corrective mechanisms of public intervention.
- Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
- Recognize the role of uncertainty in the decision making of consumers and businesses.
- Relate the inter-temporal aspects to the processes of decision-making of economic agents.
- Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Weigh the impact of public sector on the activity of enterprises and consumers.
Content
SYLLABUS MICROECONOMICS III
(Note: In each topic we indicate the corresponding chapter of the book “Intermediate Microeconomics”, 9th edition, see Bibliography)
TOPIC I. General equilibrium with production (chap. 33)
I.1. The Robinson Crusoe economy
I.2. Consumption and Production
I.3. General equilibrium with production and the two theorems of welfare economics
I.4. Comparative advantage
I.5. Efficiency in the sense of Pareto
I.6. Decentralized allocation of resources
TOPIC II. Externalities (chap. 35)
II.1. Externalities in consumption
II.2. Coase's theorem
II.3. Externalities in production
II.4. Interpretation of efficiency conditions
II.5 The tragedy of the commons
TOPIC III. Public goods (chap. 37)
III.1. Public goods and the private provision of a public good
III.2. The free-rider problem
III.3. Voting systems
III.4. Vickrey, Clarke, and Groves mechanisms
TOPIC IV. Welfare and social choice
IV.1. Absolute welfare measures: compensatory variation and equivalent (chap. 14.8)
IV.2. Revealed preference, index numbers, measures of inequality (Chapter 7)
IV.3. Social choice (chap. 34)
TOPIC V. Other models of behavior and markets
V.1 Auctions (Chapter 18)
V.2 Network and platform economies (chap. 36)
V.3 Behavioral economics (chap. 31)
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practicum (exercise solving) | 17 | 0.68 | |
| Theory | 32.5 | 1.3 | |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Office hours and follow-up | 5 | 0.2 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study. Additional Readings. Preparing exercises. Team work. | 90.5 | 3.62 |
Teaching will be offered on campus or in an on-campus and remote hybrid format depending on the number of students per group and the size of the rooms at 50% capacity.
- Part-time teaching (50%) means that there will be groups in which half of the students will attend the Faculty on alternate weeks.
- In this case, the face-to-face classes will focus primarily on problem solving.
- All teaching material will be available exclusively in digital format in the Moodle classroom of the course.
The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 50 per cent | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
| Other evaluation exercises | 20 per cent | 1.5 | 0.06 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
| Partial examination | 30 per cent | 1.5 | 0.06 |
Evaluation process
The evaluation process will consist of a final examination with a weight of 50%, a practical partial examination with a weight of 30%, and the delivery of several problem sets during the course with a total weight of 20%.
A student that takes part on any of the evaluation activities and turns in the activity for grading cannot be considered for a "Not Evaluable" status.
Calendar of evaluation activities
The dates of the evaluation activities (midterm exams, exercises in the classroom, assignments, ...) will be announced well in advance during the semester.
The date of the final exam is scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty.
"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 264. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB).
Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedule: e-Formulari per a la reprogramació de proves.
Grade revision process
After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date andtime of grade revision following University regulations.
Retake Process
"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject greater than or equal to 3.5 and less than 5.
The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the Faculty.
The grading of the retake examination will be qualitative, with two possible results: “pass” or “no pass”. If the grade is “pass”, the grade will be equal to 5. If the grade is "no pass", the student will not pass the subject and his final grade will be the existing grade prior to the retake examination.
Irregularities in evaluation activities
In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 11 of Article 266. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).
Standards of behavior
Aside of any other disciplinary measures that may be considered pertinent, and in line with the current academic rules, the professor may reduce the average grade obtained in the "additional evaluation activities" by up to 2 points out of 10 toany student who repeatedly does not follow the rules of behavior in class. The professor will announce these rules at the beginning of the course.
2.1COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION (Art. 265 of the UAB Academic Regulations)
By requesting the comprehensive evaluation the student waives the option of continuous evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation must be requested at the Academic Management (Gestió acadèmica) of the Campus where the degree/master's degree is taught. The request must be filed according to the procedure and the deadline established by the administrative calendar of the Faculty of Economics and Business.
Attendance :
- Student attendance is mandatory on the day of the comprehensive assessment. The date will be the same as that of the final exam of the semester as per the evaluation calendar published by the Faculty of Economics and Business and approved by the Faculty's Teaching and Academic Affairs Committee. The duration of the comprehensive assessment must be specified in the characteristics of such activity.
- 100% of the evaluation evidences must be handed in by the student on the day of the comprhensive assessment.
- The evaluation evidences carried out in person by the student on the same day of the comprehensive assessment must have a minimum weight of 70%.
There wil be an exmination of all the material included in the syllabus of the course and the grade of this examination will represent 100% of the grade of the course (2.5 hours).
"For the retake procedure, no distinction is made between students who have followed the continuous evaluation and those who have opted for the comprehensive evaluation. All will be re-assessed using the same test or evaluation evidence."
"The review of the final qualification will follow the same procedure as for the continuous evaluation".
Bibliography
Varian, Hal. Intermediate Microeconomics. W. W. Norton & Company Inc. 9th Edition.
Software
No special software is needed.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 8 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 8 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |