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 are no mandatory prerequisites. However, knowledge of basic mathematics concepts is required.

Program

- Consumer theory: budget constraint, preferences, utility, choice, demand, revealed preferences, Slutsky equation with a given initial income and initial endowment of goods, intertemporal choice, uncertainty, consumer surplus, market demand, equilibrium
- Production and cost theory: technology, profit maximization, cost minimization, cost curves
- Perfect competition
- Monopolistic markets
- Imperfect competition and strategic behavior
- Auctions
- Risk and information.
Textbooks: The recommended textbooks are (alternatively): HR Varian, Microeconomia, Cafoscarina 2022; DA Besanko & RR Braeutigam, Microeconomia, McGraw-Hill, 2024. For the exercises, we recommend: GP Cipriani & T. Fioroni, Esercizi di Microeconomia, Giappichelli, 2025.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course includes 7 credits of lectures (56 hours) and 2 credits of exercises (24 hours). Lectures are designed to impart theoretical knowledge, while exercises are dedicated to the guided solution of numerical problems and theoretical questions. Additionally, weekly tutoring will be organized to assist students with exercises and support individual study. All slides used in lectures, teaching materials used in exercises and tutoring, and links to any recorded lectures will be published on the university e-learning platform. Students will also be encouraged to complete and submit exercises directly on the e-learning platform.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam procedures are identical for attending, non-attending, and Erasmus students. The final exam is written and consists of exercises and theory questions, including a multiple-choice test. The test is designed to test knowledge of the various topics covered in the program, while the exercises are designed to test the methodological application of the acquired knowledge. In the multiple-choice test, a negative score is assigned for each incorrect answer, nullifying the expected score for random answers. A test score lower than 10/30 is considered a fail. If the score is higher than 10/30, the test score accounts for 30% of the exam's grade, while the exercise scores and any open-ended questions account for the remaining 70%. If the exam commission deems it necessary, the learning assessment may be further enhanced through an additional oral exam. Students who attend the course will have the opportunity to sit for the midterm exam. Those who pass the midterm exam will be able to complete the exam with a test that will focus only on the second part in the first session of the winter session. Furthermore, during lectures and exercises, additional exercises may be proposed to be completed in the classroom or at home, and these will also be taken into account for any bonus points awarded.

Evaluation criteria

In the multiple-choice test, incorrect answers are penalized, and zero points are awarded for unanswered questions. The penalty is such that the expected score for random answers is nullified. The exercises also evaluate the correctness of the procedure and the accuracy of the explanations (when requested).

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Midterm and final written exam: 30% multiple-choice tests and 70% exercises. Final grade: simple arithmetic mean of the two tests. Additional bonus points may be awarded for exercises completed during the course.

Exam language

Italiano