MICROECONOMICS

Aims: The aim of this module is to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of microeconomics, which will allow them to engage with the latest theoretical literature and teach this material. 

Assessable learning outcomes: By the end of the module students should: have the knowledge and understanding required to select and use appropriate microeconomic techniques for research; have a good understanding and knowledge of the prime model of a competitive economy; understand the proofs of the main results in microeconomic theory; be able to read research papers on general equilibrium theory. 

Outline content: The textbook for the course is Mas-Colell, A., M. D. Whinston, and J. R. Green (1995): “Microeconomic Theory", Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. The topics to be covered are: Preference and Choice (Chp. 1), Consumer Choice (Chp. 2), Demand Theory (Chp. 3), Aggregate Demand (Chp. 4), Production and Firms (Chp. 5), General Equilibrium Theory (Chp. 15), The Two Theorems of Welfare Economics (Chp. 16), Positive Theory of Equilibrium (Chp. 17), Equilibrium under Uncertainty (Chp. 19). 

Brief description of teaching and learning methods: There will be a  weekly 3-hour lecture which will be delivered in-person at a central location in London and will be simultaneously shared online via MS Teams. For every chapter, there will be selected exercises that will be pointed out to students in class.  

Summative Assessment / Exams: Depending on the students’ preferences, there will be either a mid-term and a final exam, or a final exam only. [weight: 80%]

Summative Assessment / Exercises: Every chapter comes with selected exercises that can be handed in (or submitted online) at any point during the course. A few units will be reserved for a discussion of the exercises. [weight: 20% - latest submission in May] 

Administration: 

• Live sessions in class or on Microsoft Teams 

• Other course materials (e.g., lecture slides, reading lists, coursework instructions) shared in a Dropbox folder 

• Exercises to be submitted in person or online to the module convenor 

• Online sessions can be recorded on the students’ request and will then be shared with them in the chat of the Teams channel 

Maximum class size: There is a soft cap on this module of 20 students each year. 

Step 1 of 2: Application Email. Send an email to the Instructor of this course and to the Academic Officer of the host university: names and contact links are reported above in the section 'Course Details' (right-click on the name to copy their email address, or left-click on the name to create a new email with your default software). Please send your application email using your university email account. Sample email:

To: [INSTRUCTOR]

Cc: [ACADEMIC OFFICER]

Object: Application to your online PhD course (ShOT/SEDOT)

Dear Prof [INSTRUCTOR],

My name is [STUDENT NAME], PhD student at [HOME UNIVERSITY]. I would like to attend online your PhD course in [COURSE TITLE], shared through the ShOT/SEDOT network. Please let me know if I can join the course, I look forward to hearing from you.

Step 2 of 2: Confirmation Form. Please answer all the questions in the Confirmation Form below and press the Submit button in the last page. All fields are required. You will receive an automated notification by email.