CO-ECON2101-Term 3 - Lecture notes course outline PDF

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UNSW Business School Course Outline

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2 - 2019 Study Level Undergraduate

Term Term 3

business.unsw.edu.au - CRICOS Code 00098G View course outline in browser

UOC 6 Units of Credit

Location On Campus

School Economics

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1. Course Details Summary of Course Decision-making by consumers, producers, and governments lies at the heart of economic analyses. The first half of this intermediate course in microeconomic theory is devoted to the study of rational decisionmaking and the modelling of associated market behaviour. We then study how individual economic decisions interact in markets with varying degrees of competition, paying substantial attention to the comparative welfare outcomes produced by different market forms. Additional topics include game theory and its applications and asymmetric information. There is emphasis on the use of analytical tools and models which underpin current research in microeconomics.

Teaching Times and Locations Please note that teaching times and locations are subject to change.Students are strongly advised to refer to the Class Timetable website for the most up-to-date teaching times and locations. View course timetable

Course Policies & Support The Business School expects that you are familiar with the contents of this course outline and the UNSW and Business School learning expectations, rules, policies and support services as listed below: Program Learning Outcomes Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Student Responsibilities and Conduct Special Consideration Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts Student Learning Support Services Further information is provided in the Assessment and Policies and Support sections.

Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses This course provides an overview of Microeconomics at an intermediate level, and focuses on the application of microeconomics to the solving of problems. It builds on the foundation established in ECON1101 (Microeconomics 1), and relies heavily on mathematical techniques taught in ECON1202 (Quantitative Analysis). It is also an essential prerequisite for a large number of Level 3 courses: ECON3101 (Markets and Frictions) ECON3107 (Economics of Finance) ECON3121 (Managerial Economics) ECON3123 (Organisational Economics) ECON3110 (Development Economics) ECON3106 (Politics and Economics) ECON3116 (International Trade Theory and Policy) business.unsw.edu.au - CRICOS Code 00098G View course outline in browser

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These later courses develop many ideas first introduced in Microeconomics 2. The second year course ECON2112 (Game Theory and Business Strategy) complements the material taught in this course.

Student Learning Outcomes The Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are what you should be able to demonstrate by the end of this course, if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items. CLOs also contribute to your achievement of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), which are developed across the duration of a program for all coursework students in the Business School. More information on PLOs is available under Policies and Support . PLOs are, in turn, directly linked to UNSW graduate capabilities and the aspiration to develop “globally focussed graduates who are rigorous scholars, capable of leadership and professional practice in an international community”. The following table shows how the CLOs for this course relate to the overall PLOs and indicates where each CLO and PLO is assessed:

Course Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Course Assessment Item

On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

This course helps you to This learning outcome will be develop the following assessed in the following Program Learning items: Outcomes: PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving PLO 3: Business communication

Homework Assignments Midterm Exam Final exam

PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 2: Problem solving

Homework Assignment Midterm Exam Final exam

PLO 1: Business 3. Construct written and analytical work knowledge which communicates ideas in a succinct and PLO 2: Problem solving clear manner, and is logically and professionally presented.

Homework Assignment Midterm Exam Final exam

1. Demonstrate an understanding of economic concepts and their appropriate usage; construct economic arguments in terms of these concepts. 2. Use appropriate mathematical techniques to construct and solve economic models; apply economic models to the analysis of choice problems and markets.

4. Understand environmental and sustainability problems arising from noncooperative decision making among agents/ firms/countries.

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PLO 1: Business knowledge PLO 5: Responsible business practice PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

Homework Assignments Midterm Exam Final exam

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2. Staff Contact Details Position Title

Name

Email

Location

Phone

Consultation Times

Lecturer- Dr incharge

Jonathan Lim

Email

Room 409, UNSW Business School

9385 0121

Thursday 15:30-17:30 (and by appointment)

Lecturer

Arghya Ghosh

Email

Room 468, UNSW Business School

9385 3734

Thu 9 am - 12 pm (Weeks 1-3,5,6); Mon 2 - 5 pm (weeks 7-10)

Prof

Communications with Staff You should feel free to approach your lecturers or tutors about any academic matter via the dedicated Moodle discussion forum . We encourage you to use Moodle as a medium for resolving questions regarding course material and content. However, as any electronic communications platform, it has some limitations. Thus, we also encourage you to ask your most challenging questions in the classroom, in tutorials and in consultation hours. Questions regarding the logistics and administration of this course should be addressed to the lecturers via email. Electronic correspondence on administrative matters will be responded to within 48 hours, but not over weekends. Please note that we do not have advance notice of the date and time of the final exam.

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3. Learning and Teaching Activities Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course This course takes the approach that economic theory is best learnt through extensive practice with problem-solving. Students spend much of their energies working through numerical problems that require the direct application of theoretical principles. The philosophy underpinning the teaching in this course follows the “ Guidelines on Learning that Inform Teaching at UNSW ".

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies The examinable content of the course is defined by the text references given in the Lecture Schedule, the content of Lectures, the content of the Tutorial Program, and the problems in the Homework Assignments.

Lectures The purpose of Lectures is to provide a logical structure for the topics that make up the course, to emphasise the important concepts and methods of each topic, and to provide relevant examples to which the concepts and methods are applied.

Tutorials The purpose of tutorial meetings is primarily to provide an opportunity for small group discussion of the economic concepts and methods, and to use those concepts and methods to understand applied problems. The problems assigned for each tutorial are referenced in the Course Schedule (Section 7 of this course outline).

Out-of-Class Study While students may have preferred individual learning strategies, it is important to note that most learning will be achieved outside of class time. Lectures can only provide a structure to assist your study, and tutorial time is limited. An ideal strategy includes: Reading the relevant chapter(s) of the text before the lecture - this will give you a general idea of the topic area. Attendance at lecture. Here the context of the topic in the course and the important elements of the topic are identified. The relevance of the topic is explained, and problem-solving methods are illustrated. Attempting the assigned problems and preparing answers for them. This will identify the things you need to do to demonstrate your understanding of a topic, and guide your re-reading of specific parts of the text. This will also provide a self-test of your understanding, and identify those parts of the topic with which you have problems. Attending Tutorials. Although attendance is not mandatory, there is no substitute for attending tutorials for this course.

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4. Assessment Formal Requirements In order to pass this course, you must: achieve a composite mark of at least 50 out of 100; meet any additional requirements described in the Assessment Summary section. You are expected to attempt all assessment requirements in the course.

Assessment Structure Assessment Task Homework Assignments

Weighting

Length

20%

–

Due Date Due on Friday at 5pm on the following weeks: Week 3 Week 4 Week 8 Week 9

Midterm Exam

Final examination Total

30%

50% 100%

1 hour

Thursday of Week 6. Details to be provided in due course.

Two hours

UNSW Exam period

–

–

Assessment Summary As a student at UNSW you are expected to display academic integrity in your work and interactions. Where a student breaches the UNSW Student Code with respect to academic integrity, the University may take disciplinary action under the Student Misconduct Procedure. To assist you in understanding what academic integrity means, and how to ensure that you do comply with the UNSW Student Code, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Working with Academic Integrity module before submitting your first assessment task. It is a free, online self-paced Moodle module that should take about one hour to complete. Some students require a credit in Microeconomics 2 in order to obtain accreditation for other courses. You should note that this does not provide grounds for requesting reconsideration of your mark in Microeconomics 2.

Homework Assignments (20%) Homework assignments will be posted at least one week in advance before the submission deadline. business.unsw.edu.au - CRICOS Code 00098G View course outline in browser

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Each homework will be due 5pm on Friday of the relevant week. Each homework will be worth 5%.

Midterm Exam (30%) The midterm exam will be held on Thursday of Week 6. It will test materials covered during Week 1 to 4 in lectures. The exam will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer/calculation questions.

Final Examination (50%) This will be held in the University examination period. The exam will test your ability to set up and solve problems similar to those in the assignments and worked out in the class. It will be a closed-book exam. The final examination will be comprehensive. Further information on the content of the Final Exam will be provided towards the end of semester.

Assignment Submission Procedure Submission of the homework Assignments is via Moodle - only documents uploaded in pdf format that comply with the submission requirements will be accepted. Everything else will not be graded. Please read the homework submission instructions carefully, as non-compliant submissions will not be accepted .

Assessment Feedback Feedback on student performance from formative and summative assessment tasks will be provided to students in a timely manner. Assessment tasks completed within the teaching period of a course, other than a final assessment, will be assessed and students provided with feedback, with or without a provisional result, within 10 working days of submission, under normal circumstances. Feedback on continuous assessment tasks (e.g. laboratory and studio-based, workplace-based, weekly quizzes) will be provided prior to the midpoint of the course.

Special Consideration You can apply for special consideration when illness or other circumstances beyond your control, interfere with your assessment performance (to apply see Special Consideration on the UNSW Current Students page). Special Consideration is primarily intended to provide you with an extra opportunity to demonstrate the level of performance of which you are capable. Special Consideration applications will be assessed centrally by the Case Review Team within Student Lifecycle. The Case Review team will update the online application with the outcome and add any relevant comments. Please note the following: Applications can only be made through Online Services in myUNSW. Applications will not be accepted by teaching staff. The lecturer-in-charge/course coordinator will be automatically notified when you lodge an online application for special consideration. Applying for special consideration does not automatically mean that you will be granted a supplementary exam or other concession. If you experience illness or misadventure in the lead up to an exam or assessment, you must submit an business.unsw.edu.au - CRICOS Code 00098G View course outline in browser

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application for special consideration, either prior to the examination taking place, or prior to the assessment submission deadline , except where illness or misadventure prevent you from doing so. If you sit the exam/submit an assignment, you are declaring yourself well enough to do so and are unable to subsequently apply for special consideration. If you become unwell on the day of the exam, you must provide evidence dated within 24 hours of the exam, with your application. The current provisions will continue for exceptional circumstances, for example, if a student falls sick during an exam. Other exceptions will continue to be examined on a case by case basis by the Student Lifecycle team. Special consideration requests do not allow the awarding of additional marks to students. Further information on Business School policy and procedure, as well as supplementary exam dates for the current term, can be found under “Special Consideration” on the Policies and Support page. .

Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts The UNSW Business School has set a protocol under which students may view their final exam script. Individual schools within the Faculty may also set up a local process for viewing final exam scripts, so it is important that you check with your School. Further school specific information may be included below. .

Quality Assurance The Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of the student experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessment tasks may be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation purposes, and aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential.

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5. Course Resources The Microeconomics 2 website may be found among others of your courses at: http:// moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au Students are expected to: Make sure that they are officially enrolled in Microeconomics 2. Familiarise themselves with Moodle. Access this site at least weekly, as the site will contain important announcements about the course, as well as lecture slides. In addition, it will carry most of the subject information and tutorial allocations. It will be assumed that all students have seen any notice posted on the course website.

Books The prescribed textbook for this course is: Varian, Hal (2014): Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus, 1st Edition [Norton]. The accompanying WORKBOOK IS REQUIRED: Bergstrom & Varian (2014): Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics, 9th Edition [Norton] It is also strongly recommended to get a copy of the textbook, especially if you intend to pursue your studies in economics. The textbook provides the details that cannot be covered in the lectures and useful review questions that will help to better prepare for the exams.

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6. Course Evaluation & Development Feedback is regularly sought from students and continual improvements are made based on this feedback. At the end of this course, you will be asked to complete the myExperience survey , which provides a key source of student evaluative feedback. Your input into this quality enhancement process is extremely valuable in assisting us to meet the needs of our students and provide an effective and enriching learning experience. The results of all surveys are carefully considered and do lead to action towards enhancing educational quality.

The School of Economics strives to be responsive to student feedback. If you would like more information on how the design of this course and changes made to it over time have taken students’ needs and preferences into account, please contact the Director of Education at the School of Economics.

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7. Course Schedule Note: for more information on the UNSW academic calendar and key dates including study period, exam, supplementary exam and result release, please visit: https://student.unsw.edu.au/ new-calendar-dates

Week

Activity

Week 1: 16th September

Lecture

Week 2: 23rd September

Lecture

Tutorial

Week 3: 30th September

Lecture

Tutorial

Topic

Assessment/ Other

Topics Introduction to ECON2101 The Market Budget Constraint Preferences

Readings Varian Ch. 1 - Ch. 3

Topics Preferences Utility Choice Demand

Readings Varian Ch. 3 - Ch. 6

Topics The Market Budget Constraint Preferences

Workbook Chapters: Ch 2: 1,3,5,7,8,11,12 Ch 3: 1,2,3,8,10,12,13,1 5

Topic Market Demand Consumer Surplus Technology

Readings Varian Ch. 15 (Sec. 1-6) Varian Ch. 14 Varian Ch. 19

Topics Preferences Utility Choice Demand

Workbook Chapters: Ch 4: 1,2,3,5,6,8,10 Ch 5: 1,2,3,4,7,8,9 Ch 6: 1,2,3,4,7

Homework – Assignment

Week 4: 7th October

Lecture

Topics Profit Maximisation Cost Minimisation Cost Curves

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Homework 1 is due this week, on Friday 5:00pm. Readings Varian Ch. 20 Ch. 22

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Week

Activity

Topic

Assessment/ Other

Tutorial

Topic Market Demand Consumer Surplus Technology

Workbook Chapters: Ch 14: 1,4,5,6,7,10 Ch 15: 0, 1, 2, 3 Ch 19: 1,2,3,4,9,11

Homework – Assignment
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