Microeconomics

Anna Goeddeke
SYLLABUS

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 Class time
Group A:
Monday 3:30pm-3:15pm
Wednesday 9:45am-11:15am
Group B:
Monday 1:45pm-3:15pm
Wednesday 11:30am-1:00pm

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 Office hours
open door policy or ask for appointment
room 5-114: Building 5, first floor
if you are having difficulty with the class, you should let me
know as soon as possible

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 Workload

Total 5 credits each worth 30 hours 150 hours

Hours in class 12 weeks, 180 minutes per week 36 hours

Exam preparation 5 workdays 35 hours

Self-study & More than 11 hours per week 79 hours

assignments

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6
 Nuremberg funnel

Learning is an active process, not a passive!

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Watching fitness DVDs does not work!

Just sitting in class and read the

textbook will also not help!
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 Learning to learn

Read:
Brown et al (2014): Make it stick (on Relax)

Watch:
Barbara Oakley: Learning how to learn (short version)
Barbara Oakley: Learning how to learn (long version)

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 Blooms taxonomy
Creating Evaluating Analysing
Use information to create Critically examine info & make Take info apart & explore
something new judgements relationships
Design, build, construct, plan, produce, Judge, test, critique, defend, criticize Categorize, Examine, Compare/Contrast,
devise, invent Organize

Applying
Use information in a new (but similar) situation
Use, diagram, make a chart, draw, apply, solve, calculate

Understanding
Understanding & Making sense out of information
interpret, summarize, explain, infer, paraphrase, discuss

Remembering
Find or remember information
name, find, identify, locate, describe, memorize, define, list

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 Evaluation
Continuous assessment Maximum points
& final exam
Final Exam 100

All of you get 20 squirrel points today, but:

If you do not perform well in Pop up to -15

quizzes & assignments I will reduce your
squirrel point by up to 15.
If you do not actively participate in class up to -5
I will reduce your squirrel points by up
to 5.

You pass microeconomics with 51 points or higher.

To calculate your grade, I assume 100 points = 100%! 11

 Grading system
Percentage 100 93 92 - 78 77 - 63 62 - 51 50

Grades 1.0 1.4 1.5 2.4 2.5 3.4 3.4 4.0 5.0

Five point
grading scale Very good Good Satisfactory Sufficient Insufficient

achievement achievement which achievement which achievement which

outstanding
substantially above corresponds to average barely meets the does not meet the
achievement
average requirements requirements requirements requirements

Conversion: US
system A+; A A- B+; B; B- C; D F

A very good grade is the exemption and not the rule!

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 Attempts for the exam

number of attempts a candidate can give the exam is limited

to two.
however, you are allowed to sit two exams during your studies
a third time.
the third attempt is psychologically challenging!

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 Attendance policy
it is your decision whether or not to attend class
incentive to attend class
assignments and quizzes. They cannot be made up or
turned in late
class participation is graded
academic research shows that students attending classes have
significantly higher grades.*
stick to our Code of Conduct!
arrive on time
be courteous to your fellow classmates
and stay for the duration of the class
*Romer (1993). Do Students go to class? Should they?. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 7 (3). 167-174.

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 Tutorial Programme
provides an opportunity for you to clarify, reinforce, and
extend your understanding of the subject.
meetings are based on the Test Yourself question pool
which you can find on Relax.
solve the questions before each tutorial!
the tutors will not provide you with sample solutions for each
question. They will support you if you have problems solving
the questions.
there will not be an official solution before the exam. So you
have to prepare the question and discuss it during the
tutorial.
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 Learning objectives
Upon completion of this course, you should
be prepared to think critically about economic issues and make informed
statements about policies based on those issues,
understand the technical language of economics,
apply the basic concepts of microeconomic analysis and use appropriate
tools in solving economic problems,
know the structure and underlying assumptions of the standard models
used in microeconomic analysis and how the models' predictions change
when the standard assumptions are relaxed,
be able to explain in non-technical terms the fundamental economic
intuition associated with the standard models, and
have learned to apply these theoretical models to address real-world
problems.
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 Learning objectives
You should also have improved your study skills; in particular,
you will be able to
manage a large amount of intellectually challenging new
content by yourself,
work successfully with a textbook,
being familiar with effective note taking during classes, and
read and understand academic articles, in particular three
mandatory articles:
Roth (2007) Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets. Journal of Economic Perspectives.
21(3). 3758.
Hofer, Williams & Wu (2007) The Economics of Market Definition Analysis in Theory and
Practice. The Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review. 10-13.
Coase (1960) Problem of social cost. the. Journal of law & economics . 3. 1-44.

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 Recommended textbooks
Perloff Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus
Wi 15-250-123a/3
Mankiw Principles of Microeconomics
Wi 15-250-110b/6 or look for older editions
Baumol and Blinder Microeconomics, Principles and Policy
Wi 15-250-128/12

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 Other appropriate textbooks
Arnold Microeconomics, International Edition
Bade and Parkin Foundations of Microeconomics
Besanko and Braeutigam Microeconomics
Colander - Microeconomics
Krugman and Wells Microeconomics
Pindyck and Rubinfeld Microeconomics
Samuelson and Nordhaus Microeconomics
Stiglitz and Walsh Principles of Microeconomics
Rittenberg and Tregarthen Microeconomics
(http://tinyurl.com/q2sc7xy)
Tucker Microeconomics for Today
Varian Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach

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 Other books
The experiments are based on
Bergstrom and Miller Experiments with Economic Principles:
Microeconomics
Other non-fiction books on applied microeconomics
Gneezy and List The Why Axis
Levitt and Dubner Freakonomics; Super Freakonomics; Think
like a freak; When to rob a bank;
Roth Who Gets What - and Why

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 High school vs university*
High school
High school is mandatory
You will usually be told what to do and corrected if
your behaviour is out of line.
You may study outside class as little as 0 to 2 hours a
week, and this may be mostly last-minute test
preparation.
You seldom need to read anything more than once,
and sometimes listening in class is enough.
You are expected to read short assignments that are
then discussed, and often re-taught, in class.
You will usually be told in class what you need to learn
from assigned readings.
* Stolen from the internet.
University
University is voluntary
You are expected to take responsibility for what you
do and don't do, as well as for the consequences of
your decisions.
You need to study at least 5 to 6 hours outside of class
for each hour in class.
You need to review class notes and text material
regularly. It is normal and okay to not understand
everything directly in class.
You are assigned substantial amounts of reading and
writing which may not be directly addressed in class.
It's up to you to read and understand the assigned
material; lectures and assignments proceed from the
assumption that you've already done so.
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 High school vs university
High school
Teachers present material to help you understand the
material in the textbook.
Teachers often write information on the board to be
copied in your notes.
Mastery is usually seen as the ability to reproduce
what you were taught in the form in which it was
presented to you, or to solve the kinds of problems
you were shown how to solve.
Effort counts. Courses are usually structured to
reward a "good-faith effort."
University
Professors may not follow the textbook. Instead, to
amplify the text, they may give illustrations, provide
background information, or discuss research about
the topic you are studying. Or they may expect you to
relate the classes to the textbook readings.
Professors may lecture nonstop, expecting you to
identify the important points in your notes. When
professors write on the board, it may be to amplify
the lecture, not to summarize it. Good notes are a
must.
Mastery is often seen as the ability to apply what
you've learned to new situations or to solve new kinds
of problems.
Results count. Though "good-faith effort" is important
in regard to the professor's willingness to help you
achieve good results, it will not substitute for results
in the grading process.
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 Course outline
1. Introduction
2. Supply and Demand
3. Demand in more detail: Consumer theory
4. Supply in more detail: Costs
5. Different markets
6. Market failures

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1. INTRODUCTION

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 Business Studies
Business studies is concerned with the actions and decisions taken by firms and focuses
on topics such as marketing, staff in the organisation, accounting and finance,
management and production methods.

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 Economics
Economics is a social science that attempts to explain how the actions and decisions of
firms, consumers and workers and governments affect the operation of the economy.

Macro
economics
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 How about Microeconomics?

Macroeconomics

Microeconomics

Business studies

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How many CDs and/or Should I buy more
books should I buy with champagne if my
my money? income increases?

If my hourly wage If the price of

rises, should I work chocolate increase
more or less? should I eat ice-
cream instead?

Economic agent
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 Should I decrease my Should I agree on prices
prices, if my input costs with my competitiors?
decrease?

Should I merge with Should I negotiate

the other box factory with the labour
in Springfield? union about higher
wages?

Economic agent
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 Economic models
Positive economics Normative economics
what is What should be
A positive statement is a A conclusion as to whether
testable hypothesis about something is good or bad
matters of facts such as
cause and effect relation. Cannot be proved or
Can be true of false disproved by the facts alone
Positive only indicates Based on value judgements
that we can test the
hypothesis, not that it is
true.

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 Differences in study approaches
Economics
theory driven
seen as more academic
understanding matters, less
or no memorizing required
requires knowledge of
calculus, algebra and
statistics
Business Studies
less theory driven, involves
more learning
less academic more applied
has a great deal of new
terminology and concepts
to grapple with
requires a greater use of
numbers
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