Facoltà di Economia

Aggiornato A.A. 2019-2020

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The course provides knowledge of methods and topics of the fundamentals of microeconomic theory, regarding the choices of individual economic actors (consumers, firms),and the functioning of competitive and non competitive (monopoly) markets

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
The student will be able to analyze and understand the main phenomena described during the course, in relation to the behavior of individual economic agents and  the economic mechanisms of production and exchange, with particular focus on theri strategic intercation.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:

The student will be able to use the tools of theoretical analysis for an advanced understanding of microeconomic phenomena.
MAKING JUDGEMENTS:

The student will acquire the ability to judge in an critical and independet way the microeconomic problems, also in relation to specific applications.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
The student will acquire the specific devices of microeconomics in order to communicate and explain the concepts learned.

LEARNING SKILLS:
The student will learn how to analyse and interpret the main problems related to the microeconomic issues

Textbook:
H.R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics (latest edition), W.W. Norton & Company
Workbook (for practice classes):
T.C. Bergstrom and H.R. Varian, Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics (latest edition), W.W. Norton & Company
________________________________________
List of topics (for Part II):
Consumer’s Surplus (chapter 14)
• Demand for a discrete good
• Measures for Consumer’s surplus
• Equivalent and Compensating variation
• Quasi-linear utility function
• Producer’s Surplus
• Deadweight loss
Market Demand (chapter 15)
• From individual to market demand
• Invers demand function
• Elasticity and demand
• Price and Income elasticity
Equilibrium (chapter 16)
• Aggregate Supply
• Aggregate Demand
• Market Equilibrium
• Equilibrium prices and taxation
Technology (chapter 18)
• Technological constraint
• Properties of technology
• Technical rate of substitution
• Marginal productivity
• Return to scale
• Short and long run
Single firm: Profit maximization (chapter 19)
• Profits
• Profit maximization
• Short and long run
• Comparative statics
Single firm: cost minimization (chapter 20)
• Cost minimization
• Average costs
• Returns to scale
• Short and long run
• Example Cobb Douglass
Cost curves (chapter 21)
• Average costs
• Marginal costs
• Fixed and variable costs
• Short and long run cost curves
Industry supply (chapter 22)
• Firms’ behavior
• Short-run industry supply
• Long run industry supply
• Long-run Industry equilibrium
• Short-run Industry equilibrium
Monopoly (chapter 24)
• Profit maximization under market power
• Optimal pricing
• Role of demand elasticity
• Inefficiently from Monopoly
Exchange (chapter 31)
• The Edgeworth Box
• Trade
• Pareto Efficient Allocation

Aggiornato A.A. 2018-2019

Textbook:
H.R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics (latest edition), W.W. Norton & Company
Workbook (for practice classes):
T.C. Bergstrom and H.R. Varian, Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics (latest edition), W.W. Norton & Company
________________________________________
List of topics (for Part II):
Consumer’s Surplus (chapter 14)
• Demand for a discrete good
• Measures for Consumer’s surplus
• Equivalent and Compensating variation
• Quasi-linear utility function
• Producer’s Surplus
• Deadweight loss

Market Demand (chapter 15)
• From individual to market demand
• Invers demand function
• Elasticity and demand
• Price and Income elasticity

Equilibrium (chapter 16)
• Aggregate Supply
• Aggregate Demand
• Market Equilibrium
• Equilibrium prices and taxation

Technology (chapter 18)
• Technological constraint
• Properties of technology
• Technical rate of substitution
• Marginal productivity
• Return to scale
• Short and long run

Single firm: Profit maximization (chapter 19)
• Profits
• Profit maximization
• Short and long run
• Comparative statics

Single firm: cost minimization (chapter 20)
• Cost minimization
• Average costs
• Returns to scale
• Short and long run
• Example Cobb Douglass

Cost curves (chapter 21)
• Average costs
• Marginal costs
• Fixed and variable costs
• Short and long run cost curves

Industry supply (chapter 22)
• Firms’ behavior
• Short-run industry supply
• Long run industry supply
• Long-run Industry equilibrium
• Short-run Industry equilibrium

Monopoly (chapter 24)
• Profit maximization under market power
• Optimal pricing
• Role of demand elasticity
• Inefficiently from Monopoly

Exchange (chapter 31)
• The Edgeworth Box
• Trade
• Pareto Efficient Allocation

Aggiornato A.A. 2014-2015

Università di Roma Tor Vergata
Master in Economics 2014/2015

CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION THEORY, GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM

Berardino Cesi

1. Introduction
The primary purpose of this course is to illustrate the microeconomic theory examining the behaviour of the most important sets of economic agents – the individual (household) and the firm. The material covered in this course is important in its own right, as a description and explanation of economic agents acting in rational manner , but also as the foundation for macroeconomics and for the many specialist subjects within economics.
The course consists of a combination of lectures and revision classes. The majority of the formal material will be presented in the lectures: the revision classes are mainly devoted to technical exercises and as such are a crucial ingredient of learning to do microeconomics yourself.

Specific Programme:
Consumption Theory (MWG, ch: 2-4)
• Preferences and Utility
• Consumer’s Problem
• Indirect Utility and Expenditure
• Consumer Demand

Production Theory (MWG, ch: 5)
• Technology
• Profit Maximization
• Cost Minimization
• Competitive firm

Choice under uncertainty (MWG, ch. 6)
• Expected Utility

General Equilibrium (JR ch: 5)
• Existence
• Efficiency
o First Welfare Theorem
o Second Welfare Theorem
• Equilibrium in production
• Contingency in  GE

Textbook
Official textbook:
• Mas-Colell, A., M. D. Whinston and J. R. Green, (1995). Microeconomic Theory. Oxford University Press. [MWG].
• Jehle, Geoffrey, and Philip Reny. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 2011[JR].
Further readings:
• Varian, H (1992). Microeconomic Analysis. Norton
• Kreps, D. (1990). A Course in Microeconomic Theory. Princeton University Press