- Docente: Marco Casari
- Credits: 10
- SSD: SECS-P/01
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Economics, Politics and Social Sciences (cod. 5819)
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from Feb 13, 2023 to May 26, 2023
Learning outcomes
Students acquire a working knowledge of the fundamental topics of microeconomics: Theory of consumption, theory of production in competitive markets, partial equilibrium, general equilibrium and efficiency.
Course contents
This class will be taught in the SECOND semester in the Bologna campus. The plan is to cover these topics:
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1. Introduction
2. Competitive markets
3. Consumer choice
4. Production
5. Climate change
6. Monopoly
7. Imperfect competition
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8. Uncertainty
9. The State as an economic actor
10. Markets and taxation
11. Economic Inequality
12. Labor markets
13. Credit markets
14. Firms and business corporations
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Readings/Bibliography
The main textbook for this course is CORE's "The Economy: Economics for a Changing World," available online for free:
https://www.core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/0-3-contents.html
Additional readings will be provided in Virtuale.
Teaching methods
The course will be based predominantly on frontal lectures. Students are expected to attend lectures and complete the mandatory readings. Readings are a complement to, not a substitute for, lectures---the exam will test knowledge of both.
Lectures will include a variety of in-class games, where you will take decisions in economic situations and which constitute a critical learning experience.
Attending lectures is recommended because the concepts covered in class only partially overlaps with the textbook and because it is the only way to experience the in-class games.
In addition to lectures, there will be recitations to go through practice problems and applications. For the recitation sessions, you will be assigned to a group, and extra points will be earned each session by those groups who actively interacts in recitation sessions with the tutor.
Assessment methods
The course grade will be determined by a midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams will be written, and will contain a mixture of multiple choice and short open questions, including practical exercises. The midterm will account for 50% of your grade, and the final exam will account for the remaining 50%.
The midterm will cover topics 1-7.
The final will cover topics 8-14.
The full exam will cover topics 1-14.If you fail the midterm you will have to take the full exam.
The final grade is graduated as follows:
- <18: failed
- 18: sufficient
- 19-23: satisfactory
- 24-26: good
- 27-29: very good
- 30 e lode: excellent
Teaching tools
The Teaching Assistant in charge of the course recitations will be dr. Riccardo Pesci.
All the material covered in class and in the recitation sessions (slides, readings, lecture notes) will be available online on Virtuale.
In order to prepare for the exam, students are required to read all mandatory readings (book, lecture notes, additional readings) and the lecture slides. The mandatory readings, including the book sections are detailed in the course syllabus, which will be posted in Virtuale before the first lecture.
Office hours
See the website of Marco Casari