Dr Catherine Thomas MAR.6.29

This course is compulsory on the BSc in Management. This course is available on the BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available with permission to General Course students.

This course has a limited number of places (it is capped). Students who have this course as a compulsory course are guaranteed a place. Places for all other students are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Economics A (EC100) or Economics B (EC102) or Microeconomics I (EC1A3) or Macroeconomics I (EC1B3) is a pre-requisite. In addition, Quantitative Methods (Mathematics) (MA107) or equivalent is also a pre-requisite. This course cannot be combined with Microeconomic Principles I (EC201) or Microeconomic Principles II (EC202) or Microeconomics II (EC2A1 and EC2A3).

The objective of the course is to provide students with insights from economic theory which are relevant to applications in managerial decision making. The emphasis is on applying microeconomics ideas to solve problems. Topics covered include consumer theory, production, market structure, monopoly, oligopoly, pricing, game theory, bargaining, auctions, and asymmetric information.

Teaching hours will be commensurate with a usual full unit undergraduate course.

This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of Michaelmas and Lent Term, in line with departmental policy.

Students are expected to prepare answers to set problems on a weekly basis. Some of this work will be assessed. Assiduous preparation for the weekly tutorials is essential to achieve a good exam performance.

No textbook covers the whole course but Hal R Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus (International Student Edition) is the best text book to use for the course. In addition students are advised to refer to T C Bergstrom & H R Varian, Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics (1990), which contains practice problems.

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the summer exam period.