Syllabus

Course objective :

The goal of this course is to deepen students' understanding of microeconomic theory and introduce them to the techniques used by economists to analyze and solve economic problems. It will cover the fundamental principles of economics and provide students with the ability to apply these concepts in different situations. Additionally, this course aims to help students become proficient in the tools and techniques used by leading economists. The focus is not only on the end results, but also on the process of economic analysis.

Course Description :

The first part of this course covers the basics of microeconomics, including the concepts of consumer theory and producer theory. The next section looks at different types of market competition, such as monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Throughout the course, the main focus is on topics such as supply and demand, consumer preferences and decision making, production and cost functions, and the various market structures. Additionally, the course also covers the topic of distribution theory.

Course Outcomes :

Upon completing this course, students should be able to:

• Clearly and effectively explain fundamental economic concepts such as opportunity costs, marginal utility, and consumer equilibrium.
• Describe and defend the assumptions behind various economic models, including demand and supply, perfect competition, and monopoly.
• Create diagrams to illustrate these models and demonstrate how policy changes can impact them.
• Calculate economic tools like price elasticity and profit maximization, and apply them in practice.
• Use algebraic methods to solve simple microeconomic models and analyze the resulting equilibrium variables with a critical perspective.

Course Contents :

Unit I: Introduction to Microeconomics     8 Hours

Introduction to Economic Theory: Problem of Scarcity, Introduction to Microeconomics and Macroeconomics,  Function  of  Microeconomic  Theory,  Comparative  Statics  and  Dynamics, Positive and Normative Economics, and Fundamental Principles of Economics.

Unit II: Theory of Consumer Behavior     12 Hours

Meaning  and  Concept  of Demand,  Meaning and  Concept  of Supply,  Law  of Demand  and Supply, Shifts in Demand and Supply,   Price Elasticity of Demand, Income Elasticity, Cross Price Elasticity and Price Elasticity of Supply, Determinants of Elasticity, Uses and Importance of Elasticity. Cardinal Approach of Utility, Consumer Equilibrium, Ordinal Approach of Utility, Indifference  Curve,  Marginal  Rate  of  Substitution,  Budget  Line,  Consumer’s    Equilibrium,

 Application of Ordinal Analysis- Separation of Substitution and Income Effect from Price Effect for Normal, Inferior and Giffen Good.

Unit III: Production and Cost     9 Hours

Short Run and Long Run Production Functions: Law of Variable Proportions, Law of Returns; Optimal Input Combination; Classification of Costs; Short Run and Long Run Cost Curves and Interrelationships. Economies of Scale: Internal and External. Revenue Curves: Optimum Size of the Firm, Factors Affecting the Optimum Size. 

Unit IV: Market Structures and Pricing    9 Hours

Equilibrium   of   the   Firm   and   Industry:   Perfect   Competition,   Monopoly,   Monopolistic Competition, Monopoly Power, Discriminating Monopoly, Aspects of Non‐price Competition; Meaning of an Oligopolistic Behavior. 

Unit V: Theory of Distribution        10 hours 

Input Price and Employment under Perfect Competition and Imperfect Competition. Demand and Supply Curve of a Firm for an Input. Input Pricing under Bilateral Monopoly. Concepts of Wage Differential, Minimum Wage and Brain Drain.

Basic Texts

1.   Mankiw, N. G. Principles of Microeconomics, Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
2. Salvatore, D. Theory and Problems of Microeconomics Theory, Schaum's Outline Series. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.

References

1.   Salvatore, D. Principles of Microeconomics. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
2.   Koutsoyiannis, A. Modern Microeconomics. London: Macmillan Education Ltd.
3.   Dwivedi, D. N. Principles of Microeconomics. New Delhi: Pearson Education.
4.   Cowell, F. A. Microeconomics Principles and Analysis. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
5.   Watson, D. S. & Getz, M. Price Theory and its Uses. New Delhi: AITBS Publishers and Distributors. 

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