Microeconomics, 7.5 credits

Main field of study

Course level

Advancement level

Course offered for

• Bachelor´s Programme in Political science and economics

Intended learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student must be able to:

 - explain how resource allocation via price formation works in different market forms 

- explain the meaning of economically efficient resource distribution 

- explain which conditions in a market lead to efficient resource distribution, as well as the conditions that hinder markets from working efficiently. 

- explain what is behind the rise of international trade, as well as why there are welfare effects associated with trade and trade policy 

- apply national economic models to analyse microeconomics problems and explain how markets are affected by different types of disturbances, such as changes in demand and political interventions.

Course content

The course covers: 

- how producers choose different production factors and production volume affected by productivity and various cost relationships 

- how the resource allocation for goods, services and production factors works at perfect and in various forms of imperfect competition, such as monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly. 

- the basic concepts of economic welfare theory, how welfare theory defines socioeconomic efficiency and how an economy with perfect competition in all markets in the ideal case leads to socioeconomic efficiency. 

- what conditions make markets not function socioeconomically effectively and what measures can be taken in such cases. 

- how, based on a so-called public-choice perspective, one can explain why public intervention in the market economy can sometimes result in reduced efficiency. 

- how efficiency is affected by different types of taxes and different ways of charge publicly provided goods and services. 

- what is behind the rise of international trade and why the welfare effects of trade and trade policy 

- current economic policy, such as environmental policy, housing policy and other relevant topics. Before taking this course, the student must be familiar with fundamental economic issues and have the ability to apply economic reasoning as well as have knowledge of the determinants of demand and supply and how consumer choices in different markets can be described. The course is a continuation of the course The Fundamentals of the Market Economy.

Examination

Students failing an exam covering either the entire course or part of the course twice are entitled to have a new examiner appointed for the reexamination.

Students who have passed an examination may not retake it in order to improve their grades.

Grades

Other information

Planning and implementation of a course must take its starting point in the wording of the syllabus. The course evaluation included in each course must therefore take up the question how well the course agrees with the syllabus. 

The course is carried out in such a way that both men´s and women´s experience and knowledge is made visible and developed.

Department