Basis of Microeconomics - 1 - lezione (2008/2009)

Learning outcomes

This course covers the major topics of standard microeconomic theory. Our analysis relies primarily on verbal, graphical, and algebraic explanations. This course offers a thorough grounding in the basic tools used throughout economic studies. The course emphasizes intuitive explanations and it is also useful for students studying other fields who want to understand the basic economics approach to addressing problems. It will provide familiarity with the language and discourse of economics and allow students to understand economic analyses of issues in other fields. They should be able to use this knowledge to answer questions and analyze real-world situations.

Topics covered in this course:
- Budget constraint (Varian, Ch. 2)
- Preferences (Varian, Ch. 3)
- Utility (Varian, Ch. 4)
- Choice (Varian, Ch. 5)
- Demand (Varian, Ch. 6)
- Consumer Surplus (Varian, Ch. 14)
- Market Demand (Varian, Ch. 15)
- Equilibrium (Varian, Ch. 16)
- Technology (Varian, Ch. 18)
- Profit Maximization (Varian, Ch. 19)
- Cost Minimization (Varian, Ch. 20)
- Cost Curves (Varian, Ch. 21)
- Firm Supply (Varian, Ch. 22)
- Industry Supply (Varian, Ch. 23)
- Monopoly (Varian, Ch. 24)
- Oligopoly (Varian, Ch. 27)
- Game Theory (Varian, Ch. 28)
- Exchange (Varian, Ch. 29)

Consistently with the course contents, the final exam will be a written examination during which the students will be asked to answer some theoretical questions. In addition, the students will be expected to discuss and comment on real world events related to the course contents.