GRA 6626 Economic Theory
GRA 6626 Economic Theory
People and firms make decisions every single day. Students may have to decide which master program to attend. Education providers may have to decide which master programs to offer, and at what price. In these problems, the basic issue it to make a choice from a set of available alternatives, which immediately raises a number of basic questions. How are individuals’ decisions made? How should we expect firms to interact in a given market setting? How do people and firms react to changes in their environment?
Microeconomics is the basic tool for understanding economic peoples' and firms’ decision-making, and for understanding the allocation of resources in complex market-oriented economies. This course provides the students with concepts and models used in modern microeconomic analysis.
The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of markets and of how people and firms make optimal decisions when:
- they are constrained by technology, available resources and information;
- and interact with each other in a market.
More specifically, students will gain fundamental knowledge about:
- Choice theory;
- Market equilibrium and efficiency;
- Game Theory.
Students should be able to:
- Predict individual choice and market outcomes such as prices;
- Identify market failures related to external effects and public goods;
- Understand the basics workings of insurance markets and of the banking system;
- Decide on optimal investment under uncertainty;
- Analyze strategic choices of firms;
- Design optimal contracts between a principal and an agent;
- Simulate basic microeconomic models using MatLab.
Student should develop an understanding for the mechanisms involved in decision-making processes.
Students should be able to critically assess the underlying assumptions of the methods used.
Main topics are:
- Choice theory
- Equilibrium analysis
- External effects
- Public goods
- Uncertainty
- Game Theory
- Information problems
Students are encouraged to participate in complementary lab experiments where students actively make choices in virtual markets contexts.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on It'sLearning or text book.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 100 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Comment: Final written examination under supervision Exam code: GRA66264 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.