Intermediate Microeconomics

Paper Code: 
24CECO 311
Credits: 
6
Contact Hours: 
90.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 
  1. To acquaint the students with the theory of Consumer Behaviour.
  2. To examine the theory of production and costs in the short and long run.
  3. To understand the working of different markets.

 

Course Outcomes: 

Course

Code

Course Title

Learning outcome (at course level)

Learning and teaching strategies

Assessment Strategies 
   

24CECO 311

Intermediate Microeconomics-I

(Theory)

Students will:

CO25: comprehend the optimizing behaviour of consumers in terms of cardinal and ordinal utility

CO26: analyzevarious aspects related to production and cost.

CO27: analyze equilibrium in perfect competition and monopoly markets

CO28: analyzeequilibrium in monopolistic competition and oligopoly

CO29: analyze factor market equilibrium under different conditions and related concepts

CO30: contribute effectively in course-specific interaction

Approach in teaching: Interactive Lectures, Discussion, Case studies.

 

Learning activities for the students:

Presentations, Assignments and Group discussions

Class activity, Assignments and Semester end examinations

 

18.00
Unit I: 
Theory of Consumption
  • Preferences – consumers’ preferences, assumptions about preferences, indifference curves, examples of preferences, well behaved preferences, MRS
  • Utility – cardinal & ordinal approaches, utility function, examples of utility functions, Cobb Douglas preferences, MU and MRS
  • Budget constraint – meaning, budget set, properties of budget set, price line,  changes in price line; tax, subsidies and rationing
  • Choice – meaning, optimal choice, consumer demand: some examples, estimating utility functions, choosing taxes
  • Demand – normal and inferior goods, ordinary goods and Giffin goods, PCC and demand curve, ICC and Engel curve, substitutes and complements, inverse demand function

 

18.00
Unit II: 
Theory of Production and Cost
  • Technology – concepts of output & input and production function
  • Isoquants – meaning and characteristics
  • Production with one and more variable inputs
  • Returns to scale
  • Costs and cost curves in the short run and long run, cost functions

 

18.00
Unit III: 
Perfect Competition and Monopoly
  • Perfect competition-equilibrium of the firm and the industry in short-run and long-run
  • Monopoly-  pricing with market power; price discrimination; peak-load pricing, two-part tariff, effect of various taxes, comparison with perfect competition

 

18.00
Unit IV: 
Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
  • Monopolistic competition- Characteristics, product differentiation, equilibrium of firm
  • Oligopoly- Quantity leadership, Price leadership, Simultaneous price determination
  • Simultaneous quantity determination

 

18.00
Unit V: 
Factor Market
  • Factor price determination under perfect competition and under imperfect competition, monopolistic exploitation
  • Monopsony
  • Analysis of backward bending supply curve of labour
  • Upstream and downstream monopolies

 

 

Essential Readings: 
  • Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, a Modern Approach, W.W. Norton and Company/Affiliated East-West Press (India), 8th edition, 2014.

 

References: 

Suggested Readings: 

  1. Nicholson, W. and Snyder, C. M., Intermediate Microeconomics and Its Applications, South-Western, 13th Edition, 2009.
  2. Nicholson, W. and Snyder, C. M., Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, 10th ed., Cengage, 10th Edition, 2014.
  3. Kreps, A Course in Microeconomic Theory, Princeton University Press, 1992.

E- Resources:

  1. Steven A. Greenlaw, Principles of Microeconomics, Second Edition, OpenStax (2017).
  2. Dirk Mateer and Lee Coppock, Principles of Microeconomics, Third Edition, W. W. Norton & Company (2020).

Journals:

1. American Economic Journal : Microeconomics,                 https://www.jstor.org/journal/aejmicrecon

2. Journal of Economics, https://www.springer.com/journal/712

 

Academic Session: 
2024-25
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