(in Polish) Mikroekonomia I 2400-ZL1MII
1. Consumers, producers, the market, Pareto efficiency, a perfectly competitive market, supply and demand curves, the market mechanism and market equilibrium.
2. Consumption (budget set, budget line, changes in budget constraint due to changes in the prices of goods and consumer income).
3. Preferences (axioms of preferences, indifference curves for typical preferences, special cases of preferences, well-behaved preferences).
4. Utility function (basic utility functions, monotonic transformations of utility functions, marginal utility, Marginal Rate of Substitution, the law of diminishing MRS).
5. Optimal consumer choice (choice under different utility functions, internal solutions, the alternative approach, Marshallian demand and Hicksian demand).
6. Comparative statics (price expansion path, demand curve, ordinary goods, Giffen goods, income expansion path, Engel curve, normal goods, inferior goods, necessities, luxury goods, price and income elasticity of demand, mixed price elasticity of demand).
7. Revealed preferences (directly and indirectly preferred bundles, weak and strong revealed preference axioms, price and quantity indices: Laspeyres and Paasche indices).
8. The substitution effect and income effect (the Slutsky equation, compensated income according to Slutsky and Hicks).
9. Buying and selling (initial endowment, net and gross demand, labour supply choice model, Slutsky equation with initial endowment).
10. Measures of welfare change (reservation price, consumer surplus, compensating variation and equivalent variation).
11. Intertemporal choice (interest rate, the value of money over time, the intertemporal choice model, cash income versus endowment income, inflation, the real interest rate).
12. Risk and uncertainty (distribution of random variable, expected value, variance, standard deviation, degree of risk aversion, risk spreading, certainty equivalent, expected utility function, von Neumann–Morgenstern utility function, fair insurance, diversification).
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to introduce students to consumer theory within the framework of microeconomic theory at an intermediate level. Completion of the course makes it possible to analyse market phenomena at an intermediate level, both in theoretical and practical terms.
Learning outcomes: KW01, KW02, KW03, KU01, KU02, KU03 and KU04.
Upon completion of the course, the student:
KNOWLEDGE
Has a structured knowledge of the basic concepts and tools of microeconomics, in particular the theory of consumer choice.
Knows the assumptions of classical consumer theory: rationality, utility maximisation and preference stability.
Understands the meaning of concepts such as budget constraint, consumer preferences, utility function, demand curve, price and income elasticity of demand, as well as consumer surplus.
Has a basic knowledge of issues related to risk, uncertainty and intertemporal choice.
SKILLS
Is able to apply models of consumer choice theory to the analysis of various decision-making problems.
Is able to carry out an analysis of optimal consumer choice under a budget constraint.
Is able to interpret the effects of income and price changes (income and substitution effects) and analyse the consequences of these changes on consumer welfare.
Is able to analyse consumer behaviour using mathematical equations and graphs.
SOCIAL COMPETENCES
Understands the limitations of classical economic models when describing real human behaviour.
Is aware of the importance of psychological and social context in economic decision-making.
Is able to critically evaluate the usefulness of economic models in the analysis of social and economic problems.
Is ready to further develop knowledge and analytical skills in microeconomics.
Assessment criteria
Course credit rules:
The final grade depends on the results of the tutorial classes (30%) and the final exam (70%).
To pass the exam, student needs to achieve a minimum of 50% of the total possible points.
The exam takes the form of a written test with multiple-choice questions and is held on a single date for all students.
A resit examination will be held in the same format.
There are no other deadlines or methods of passing the course.
Rules for passing tutorial classes:
The necessary condition for passing the tutorial classes is to pass the colloquium. Other prerequisites will be determined during the first class (e.g. tests, homework, participation in activities and experiments).
Colloquium rectification will take place after the first examination date and before the second.
There are no other deadlines for passing the colloquium.
There is zero tolerance of cheating.
Applicable grading scale for the course and the tutorial classes:
points (%) grade
<0,50) 2
<50,60) 3
<60,70) 3,5
<70,80) 4
<80,90) 4,5
<90,100> 5
Bibliography
Varian, H. R., Mikroekonomia, kurs średni – ujęcie nowoczesne, PWN 2013
Bergstrom, T. C., H. R. Varian, Mikroekonomia, ćwiczenia, PWN 2003
Czarny, E., E. Nojszewska, Mikroekonomia: zbiór zadań, PWE 2000
Laidler, D., S. Estrin, Wstęp do mikroekonomii: zadania i problemy, Gebethner 1992
Pindyck, R. S., D. L. Rubinfeld, Microeconomics, Pearson Education, 2005
Perloff, J. M., Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus, Addison-Wesley, 2017
Nicholson, W., Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, South-Western College Pub, 2008
Mas-Colell, A., M. D. Whinston, J. R. Green, Microeconomic Theory, Oxford University Press, 1995
Jehle, G. A., P. J. Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Addison Wesley, 2000
Varian, H. R., Microeconomic Analysis, W. W. Norton & Co.
Sydsæter, K., P. Hammond, Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis, Prentice Hall, 2008
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: