Introductory Microeconomics

Paper Code: 
ECO 111
Credits: 
3
Contact Hours: 
45.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 
  1. To orient the students with the basic principles of microeconomics.
  2. To examine the interactions of supply and demand and characteristics of perfect and imperfect markets.
  3. To describe the various concepts of labour markets.

 

Course Outcomes (COs):

Course

 Outcome (at course level)

Learning and teaching strategies

Assessment Strategies 

Paper Code

Paper Title

 

ECO 111

Introductory Microeconomics

CO1: Students will understand the fundamentals of microeconomics.

CO2: Students will interpret the working of markets through the tools of demand and supply.

CO3: Students will comprehend the behaviour of households and firms.

CO4: Students will explain the working of factor markets.

 

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.

 

9.00
Unit I: 
Exploring the subject matter of Economics

 Scope and method of economics; the economic problem: scarcity and choice; the question of what to produce, how to produce and how to distribute output; science of economics; the basic competitive model; incentives and information- prices, property rights and profits; rationing; opportunity sets; economic systems; reading and working with graphs.

9.00
Unit II: 
Supply and Demand: How Markets Work, Markets and Welfare

 Determinants of individual demand/supply; demand/supply schedule and demand/supply curve; market versus individual demand/supply; shifts in the demand/supply curve, demand and supply together; elasticity and its application; taxes and the costs of taxation; consumer surplus; producer surplus and the efficiency of the markets.

9.00
Unit III: 
The Households

 The consumption decision - budget constraint; representing preferences with indifference curves, properties of indifference curves; consumer‘s optimum choice; income, price and substitution effects

9.00
Unit IV: 
The Firm and Market Structure

 Perfect Competition: Behaviour of profit maximizing firms and the production process; short run costs and output decisions; costs and output in the long run.

 Imperfect Competition: Monopoly; government policies towards competition; imperfect competition.

9.00
Unit V: 
IInput Markets

 Basic concepts-derived demand, productivity of an input, marginal productivity, marginal revenue product of labour; demand for labour; input demand curves; shifts in input demand curves; competitive labour markets

Essential Readings: 

 

  • Karl E. Case and Ray C. Fair, Principles of Economics, Pearson Education Inc., 8th Edition, 2007.
  • N. Gregory Mankiw, Economics: Principles and Applications, India edition by South Western, a part of Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning India Private Limited, 4th edition, 2007.
  • Joseph E. Stiglitz and Carl E. Walsh, Economics, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, International Student Edition, 4th Edition, 2007.
Academic Session: 
2021-22
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