Microeconomics

Instructor: Francesca Barigozzi (francesca.barigozzi{at}unibo.it)
Office hours: by appointment on Teams
Teaching Assistant: Matteo Maria Cati (matteomaria.cati{at}unibo.it)

Teaching material for tutorials can be find here: https://virtuale.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=17832

Overview and Course Objective

Resources available to individuals, families, organizations, corporations and governments are scarce (regrettably, but this is life). The study of microeconomics examines how these scarce resources are, or should be, allocated to competing needs and thus investigates the lowest (micro) level of the decision-making process. A good grasp of microeconomics will thus let you make better and informed decisions in your current and future life, and help you understand the way others behave. To reach these goals you will learn the microeconomic concepts and techniques of the economists’ tool box.

Starting with simple knowledge and comprehension of basic ideas, you will move towards the ability to apply microeconomic concepts, analyze real world cases and make your own critical judgments of private decisions and public policies.

Required Text

Pindyck and Rubinfeld, Microeconomics, 8th edition. Previous editions are perfectly fine. (You do not need any of the additional online materials provided by the publisher that may be available) Copies of the book are available in the library for consultation.

Students can, and are encouraged to, purchase the (cheapest) on line edition.

Slides refer to the 8th edition of the textbook and cover all the course program (you should study only the material appearing in the slides; in different words, slides represent the syllabus of the course). They are available below.

WARNING: studying slides ONLY will not allow you to master the topics of this course.

For additional readings and insights (fully optional) you may want to look at the open access book "The Economy".

Strategies for Success

Several students find this course challenging. In order to perform well, it is very important that you start working hard immediately and continue to do so throughout the entire semester. Pay careful attention during class, read the assigned chapters after (or even before) the class, and review your notes after class. Much of your learning will be accomplished by struggling through problems and carefully understanding their solutions. Problem sets will be solved in class both by the teacher and by the TA.

Class attendance

Students are expected to attend all lectures. Each lecture will build on the knowledge acquired in the previous one and, if you miss a class, you are responsible for getting the lecture notes from your classmates and catch the material up.

Exam

The final grade is given either by:

the sum of two midterm written exams

a unique final written exam

The written exam contains some open questions (on the theory presented in class) and one or two short problem sets (as the ones the teacher and the T.A. will solve during classes and tutorials). See an example here: Exam July 2017.

Exam dates