Microeconomics / Microeconomics

The Academic Board of Business Administration, Odense
Teaching activity id: 83100601.
Teaching language: English.ECTS / weighting: 10 ECTS / 0.167 full-time equivalent.
Examination language: English.
Exam activity id: 83101612, 83101602, 83100612, 83100602.Approved: 29-06-16.
Period: Autumn 2016 to Spring 2017.
Grading: Internal grading.
Assessment: 7-point scale.
Offered in: Odense.
Subject director:
Trine Tornøe Platz, Department of Business and Economics.

Prerequisites:
Mathematics level B from upper secondary school.
Tools for Quantitative Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Business Administration to be studied simultaneously.

Purpose:
The purpose of the course is to provide the students with fundamental knowledge of central microeconomic principles and tools viewed from the company's perspective. It aims at giving the students a wide analytical understanding of the basic decisions of the company regarding profit maximization and optimization of production (including resource procurement) in a market with utility maximizing consumers. The course thereby provides students with the prerequisites to analyze basic economic problems while also forming a theoretical basis for the more advanced courses in managerial economics and business administration. The course makes use of methods and skills acquired through the course Tools for Quantitative Analysis.

Content - Key areas:
Part 1: Markets characterized by perfect competition
-        Market equilibrium under perfect competition
-        Consumer theory. Utility maximization with rational consumers
-        Demand (individual, market)
-        Theory of production and costs. Optimization
-        Supply (individual, market)
-        Introduction to economic efficiency, consumers- and producers surplus

Part 2: Markets characterized by incomplete competition. Decisions under uncertainty and involving time
-        Pricing under monopoly
-        Introduction to other price determination methods and market forms: price discrimination, oligopoly models
-        Factor markets, factor demand.
-       Decisions under uncertainty
-       Decisions involving time and interest rates, including the company's long-term procurement decisions

Goals description (SOLO taxonomy):
The student must demonstrate knowledge and abilities in relation to the subject field and be able to:

General goals:
- Explain concepts and definitions within the subject area of the course.
- Explain and relate these concepts and definitions to short-term economic decision problems, including comparing and assessing elementary economic decision alternatives.
- Explain and discuss the significance of the assumptions underlying the models.


Specific goals:
Part 1:
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, price determination in a market under perfect competition. Including analyzing the demand curve, the supply curve and the influence of different elasticities.
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, how the introduction of different forms of taxation affects price formation and the welfare of consumers and producers.
-        Describe and analyze how consumers choose between alternatives and solve the consumer’s utility maximization problem graphically and mathematically.
-        Describe and analyze graphically how consumer behavior changes with changes in prices and income, and how these changes affect consumer welfare.
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, how the producer chooses to produce, including the importance of the producer's cost structure and technology.
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, the producer's supply in the short and long run.

Part 2:
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, the price formation on a market characterized by monopoly, including under different forms of price discrimination.
-        Describe and analyze, graphically and mathematically, price formation under other forms of imperfect competition (duopoly, monopolistic competition).
-        Describe and analyze price formation in factor markets.
-        Describe the significance of market forms for allocation and economic efficiency, and give arguments for public regulation of enterprises.
-        Describe and analyze mathematically the consumer's choice under uncertainty and explain the significance of risk aversion.
-        Use discounted cash flow calculations to determine the time value of money amounts.
-        Describe, compare and use models using cash flows over time.  

Literature:
Perloff J.M.: Microeconomics with MyEconLab, Global Edition 7/E
ISBN: 9781292071732

The book is a ”package solution” consisting of the book and an access code for MyEconLab.

Time of classes:
Autumn and spring

Scheduled classes:
Lectures: 56 hours.
Exercise sessions: 26 hours.


Form of instruction:
Teaching is in English. Two lectures and one exercise session lesson per week for two semesters. Teaching is coordinated using blackboard and MyEconLab.

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

The skills that are obtained in the course, the student will learn through independent work solving exercise problems given in the course. This work can be carried out alone or in a study group. The student will be supported in exercise classes, where solution methods to the exercises posed will be shown and discussed based on the students’ suggested solutions.  

Furthermore, the student must each semester solve at least 4 out of 5 online problem sets via MyEconLab. These problem sets are mandatory and serves the purpose of giving the students an opportunity to test their knowledge and obtained skills during the course and of highlighting the importance of working with the subjects.  


Students will be required to do approximately 270 hours of work, which is expected to be spent as follows:
Lectures: 56 hours.
Exercise sessions: 26 hours.
Preparation for lectures/syllabus: 101 hours.
Preparation for exercise sessions: 52 hours.
10 sets of assignments (5 each semester): 30 hours.
Examinations: 5 hours.

Time of examination:
Mid-term examination in January with re-examination in February. Final examination in June with re-examination in August.

Students are automatically registered for the ordinary examination in the course. Cancellation is not possible. If the student does not participate in the examination, the student will use an examination attempt.
The university may grant an exemption from the rules in case of exceptional circumstances.
Examination form at the re-exam can be changed.

Examination conditions:
None

Form of examination for the certificate:
Mandatory assignment fall: 5 problem sets in MyEconLab
Mid-term examination: written
Mandatory assignment spring: 5 problem sets in MyEconLab
Final examination: written

Supplemental information for the form of examination:
The examination consists of two mandatory assignments and two written exams: a midterm examination and a final examination. The mandatory assignments are evaluated pass/not-passed. Each assignment consists of 5 problem sets posed and answered through MyEconLab.

Mandatory assignment part 1 - 8076812:
Duration: 5 problem sets throughout the semester. Each problem set can be answered within a given timeframe (of e.g. 14 days).
The mandatory assignments are evaluated pass/not-passed.
Location: The examination is held using the students own PC.
Internet access: Required
Hand out: Via MyEconLab
Submission: In MyEconlab
Extent: not relevant
Exam Aids: All exam aids allowed.

Mid-term examination (8076802):
Duration: open book 2 hours
Location: The examination is held using the students own PC.
Internet access: Required
Hand out: Will be handed out in the examination room.
Submision: Only digital submission, via SDU-assignment in the course page in Blackboard.
Extent: no limit
Exam Aids: All exam aids allowed.

Mandatory assignment part 2 - 8076912:
Duration: 5 problem sets throughout the semester. Each problem set can be answered within a given timeframe (of e.g. 14 days).
The mandatory assignments are evaluated pass/not-passed.
Location: The examination is held using the students own PC.
Internet access: Required
Hand out: Via MyEconLab
Submission: In MyEconlab
Extent: not relevant
Exam Aids: All exam Aids allowed.

Final examination (8076902):
Duration: open book 3 hours
Location: The examination is held using the students own PC.
Internet access: Required
Hand out: Will be handed out in the examination room.
Submission: Only digital submission, via SDU-assignment in the course page in Blackboard.
Extent: no limit
Exam Aids: All exam Aids allowed.

To pass a mandatory assignment, 4 out of the 5 problem sets of the semester must be accepted. A problem set is accepted if the student obtains at least 75% correct answers. Each problem set must be completed within a given timeframe (say 14 days). Within this timeframe the student may repeatedly work to improve the answers to the problem set. If the course is not passed, a “pass” for the mandatory assignment can be transferred to the following term.

There will be a re-examination in the mandatory assignments in February/August consisting of an assignment in MyEconLab, The extent corresponds to 4 problem sets of a given semester.


Grades for the course are awarded as an average of the grades for the final examination and the mid-term examination, where the final examination is given a 2/3 weighting and the mid-term examination a 1/3.
To pass, the student must have achieved an average of at least 02 without rounding up. The partial grade -3 may not be included.

The topics and objectives worked on during the first semester are tested in the mid-term examination. The fulfillment of all objectives, with an emphasis on topics and objectives worked on between February and May will be tested at the final examination. If the course as a whole is not passed, the grade for the passed mid-term examination or passed final examination is transferred to a new examination term.


Campus Odense, part 1: 83100601 (teaching) and 83100612 (Mandatory assignment 1) 83100602 (Mid-term examination)
Campus Odense, part 2: 83101601 (teaching) and 83101612 (Mandatory assignment 2), 83101602 Final examinastion)

Campus Sønderborg, part 1: 83100701 (teaching) and 83100712 (Mandatory assignment 1) 83100702 (Mid-tern examination)
Campus Sønderborg, part 2: 83101701 (teaching) and 83101712 (Mandatory assignment 2), 83101702 (Final Examination)

Programmes:
BSc. Economics and Business Administration - Business Management
1st semester, mandatory. Offered in: Odense
BSc. Economics and Business Administration - Business Management
2nd semester, mandatory. Offered in: Odense
BSc in Economics and Business Administration - International Economics and Business Relationships
1st semester, Not chosen, mandatory. Offered in: Sønderborg
BSc in Economics and Business Administration - International Economics and Business Relationships
2nd semester, Not chosen, mandatory. Offered in: Sønderborg
BSc. Economics and Business Administration - Credit Transfer Programme for AP Graduates
1st semester, mandatory. Offered in: Odense, Sønderborg
BSc. Economics and Business Administration - Credit Transfer Programme for AP Graduates
2nd semester, mandatory. Offered in: Odense, Sønderborg
Negot
1st semester, mandatory. Offered in: Sønderborg
Negot
2nd semester, mandatory. Offered in: Sønderborg