Microeconomics of Public Policy

Module overview

This module will familiarise students with the central concepts of microeconomics, building on the foundations laid in the first-year Microeconomics module. Students will gain a clear understanding of the role of the price mechanism in organising economic activity and of choice in strategic situations. The module offers a rigorous treatment of supply and demand in markets, individual choice and strategic behaviour, concepts of market equilibrium, and sources of market failure. Students will evaluate economic outcomes in terms of social desirability (efficiency, equity and other concepts) and will learn to assess the potential benefits and limitations of policy interventions. Throughout the module will focus on examples and real-world applications of the theory such as the free rider problem.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

Applying central microeconomic concepts to specific topics and questions, including policy evaluation
The central theoretical and practical concepts of microeconomics
Core analytical methods in microeconomics and fundamental concepts in game theory

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Apply microeconomic models of price determination and equilibrium behaviour
Abstract essential features of markets and economic behaviour and assess the likely consequences of different policy interventions
Evaluate the efficiency and distributional implications of different policy interventions
Recognise informational and political economy constraints on policy implementation

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Collaborate with others and work effectively as part of a team

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and tutorials

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	122
Tutorial	8
Lecture	20
Total study time	150

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Referral and external repeat assessment are through 100% final exam

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Group presentation	20%
Final Exam	80%