THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
ST. AUGUSTINE
Faculty of Social Sciences
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Course Outline
COURSE TITLE:
MICROECONOMIC THEORY
COURSE CODE:
ECON 6000
LEVEL:
Graduate
SEMESTER: 1 and 2 (Yearlong)
NO. OF CREDITS: 5
PRE-REQUISITE(S):
COURSE DESCRIPTION/RATIONALE
The aim of this year-long course is to deepen the students' understanding of
microeconomics and to introduce students to selected advanced topics. The course will
focus on those areas likely to be most useful to students in the design and evaluation of
economic policy as well as in future economic research.
The course assumes that students have taken undergraduate intermediate microeconomics
classes. It also assumes that students are comfortable with multivariable calculus and
linear algebra.
CONTENT
The course will be presented in three Parts.
Part I will include a revision of basic concepts including the determinants of economic
welfare, utility and profit maximization, and competitive and non-competitive markets.
Part II will seek to deepen the students' knowledge of utility theory and production
theory.
Part III will explore selected key concepts and topics of advanced microeconomics: game
theory, oligopoly, exchange/production, asymmetric information and externalities/public
goods.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
A combination of lectures, discussions and student-group presentations will be utilized.
COURSE OUTLINE: ECON 6000
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ASSESSMENT
Coursework // Final Exam :: 30% // 70%
Coursework assessment will take the form of three quizzes as follow:
Quiz 1 at the end of Part I : 7%
Quiz 2 at the end of Part II : 15%
Quiz 3 at midway of Part III : 8%
Dates for these quizzes will be determined by the lecturers.
The final exam will be for 3 hours during the Semester II Exams period. Students should
note that Summer re-sit of the final exam will not be granted for this year-long course.
REQUIRED READING
Essential Texts
Varian, Hal R. 1992. Microeconomic Analysis. 3rd Ed. W. W. Norton and Company.
Varian, Hal R. 2006. Intermediate Microeconomics. A Modern Approach 7th Ed. W. W.
Norton and Company.
Supporting Texts
Howard, Michael, Althea La Foucade and Ewan Scott, 2009. Public Sector Economics
for Developing Countries. 2nd Ed. University of the West Indies Press.
Jehle, Goeffrey A. and Philip J. Reny. 1998. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. Addison
Wesley Longman, Inc.
Mas-Colell, Andreu, Michael D. Whinston and Jerry R. Green. 1995. Microeconomic
Theory. Oxford University Press.
Detailed Readings by Topic
Part I: Revision of Basic Concepts
1. Economic welfare of the individual, the firm, and the society – intrinsic and extrinsic
determinants. Where does the plantation fit in? [2 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 334 - 343
Mark Blaug, Economic Theory in Retrospect, pp 570-585
Lloyd Best, "Outlines of a Model of Pure Plantation Economy" Marronage, 1998.
Karl Theodore, “Economics of Poverty” DOE Lecture Notes, 1999.
COURSE OUTLINE: ECON 6000
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2. Competitive and Non-competitive markets [2 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 423 -452
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analvsis, pp 215 -222
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 383 - 400
Jehle and Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, pp. 253 - 262
Part II: Foundations of Economic Theory
3. Foundations of Utility Theory [2 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 33 -94
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analvsis, pp 94 - 140
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 40 - 62
4. The Slutsky Equation [1 Session]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 136 -159
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 119 -122
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 71 - 73
5. Foundations of Production Theory [2 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 322 - 333, 353 - 382
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 1 - 21, 49 - 77
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 127 -143
Part III: Selected Topics in Advanced Microeconomics
6. Game Theory [3 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 504 - 547
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 260 -282
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 217 - 224
Jehle and Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, pp 363 – 371
COURSE OUTLINE: ECON 6000
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7. Oligopoly [1 Session]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 480 - 503
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 285 - 310
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 224 - 228
Jehle and Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, pp. 372 - 381
8. Asymmetric Information [2 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 694 - 715
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 441 - 472
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 436 - 501
Jehle and Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, pp. 425 - 466
9. Exchange and Production [3 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 564 - 625
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp-314 - 357
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 511 - 588
Jehle and Reny, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, pp. 280 - 316
10. Externalities and Public Goods [3 Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp 626 - 648, 670 – 693
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analysis, pp 415 - 440
Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green, Microeconomic Theory, pp 350 - 382
11. Introducing Econometrics of Special Cost Functions and Demand Systems [2
Sessions]
Hal R. Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics, pp
Hal R. Varian, Microeconomic Analvsis, pp 198 -214
COURSE OUTLINE: ECON 6000
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