Teaching code

4S00239

Academic staff

Giam Pietro Cipriani, Simona Fiore

Coordinatore

Giam Pietro Cipriani

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

SECS-P/01 - ECONOMICS

Period

Primo semestre (lauree) dal Sep 25, 2023 al Jan 19, 2024.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars

Learning objectives

This unit should enable students to understand how firms and consumers take their decisions and how markets are organized. Recent developments in economic theory, useful to prepare students for applied economic courses, will also be presented. The teaching methods adopted consist of lectures and exercise classes. By the end of this course, students will know how to apply the toolbox of microeconomics to analyze markets and consumers’ and firms’ behavior.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There is no mandatory requirement. However, knowledge of basic mathematical concepts is required.

Program

Consumer choice
Production and costs
Perfect competition
Monopoly
Imperfect competition and strategic behaviour
General economic equilibrium
Decision-making with risk
Asymmetric information
Textbooks
either
H.R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach
or
D.A. Besanko & R.R. Braeutigam, Microeconomics
Exercises can be found in many textbooks. An Italian textbook is: G.P. Cipriani & T. Fioroni, Esercizi di Microeconomia, Giappichelli, 2020.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

There will be a total of 56 hours dedicated to lessons and an additional 24 hours allocated for practice sessions. Furthermore, we will be organizing tutoring sessions to provide students with guidance and support in completing their exercises. All presentation slides utilized during the classes, teaching materials employed in the exercises and tutoring, along with links to any recorded lessons, will be made available on the university's e-learning platform. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to actively engage by completing and submitting exercises directly through the e-learning platform.

Learning assessment procedures

The examination methods are identical for attendees, non-attendees, and Erasmus students.
The final exam is exclusively in written form and comprises exercises and theory questions, which are also formulated through a multiple-choice test. The purpose of the test is to assess knowledge across various program topics, while the exercises are intended to evaluate the methodological application of acquired knowledge. In the evaluation of the multiple-choice test, a negative score is assigned for each incorrect answer, which nullifies the expected score from random responses. The exam is considered not passed if the test score is below 10/30. If it exceeds 10/30, the test score accounts for 30% of the overall assessment, while exercise scores and any open-ended questions contribute to the remaining 70%.
Students attending the course will have the opportunity to take part in 6 interim assessments. Those who participate in at least 4 of these assessments will have the chance to add up to 3 bonus points to their final grade (even if below 18). Specifically, considering only the best 4 assessments for each student, those in the top decile of the score distribution will receive 3 bonus points, those in the second-highest decile will receive 2 points, and those in the third decile will receive 1 point.
Furthermore, additional exercises may be proposed during lectures and practice sessions, either to be completed in class or at home. Performance in these exercises will also be taken into account for the potential allocation of an additional bonus point, for a maximum of 4 bonus points.

Evaluation criteria

In the multiple choice test the wrong answers are penalized and a null score is given for those not given. The penalty is such that the expected score from random answers is null. In the exercises carried out, the correctness of the procedure and the accuracy of the explanations (when requested) are also assessed.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Final written exam: 30% multiple choice test and 70% exercises. Up to 4 possible additional bonus points for ongoing tests and exercises carried out during the term.

Exam language

Italiano