MODULE:

Economic Principles II: Microeconomics

MODULE CODE: ECON 2021

Module Handbook

2022/2023

PLEASE RETAIN THIS HANDBOOK FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. IT

MAY BE REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION TO PROFESSIONAL BODIES
WHEN APPLYING FOR EXEMPTION FROM EXAMINATIONS.
 Contents

Contents ..................................................................................................................... 1
Teaching Staff ............................................................................................................ 2
Module Information..................................................................................................... 2
Teaching Methods and Contact Hours ....................................................................... 3
Formative Assessment ............................................................................................... 3
Summative Assessment ............................................................................................. 4
Assessment Criteria ................................................................................................... 4
Seeking Help .............................................................................................................. 4
Detailed Syllabus and Reading List ............................................................................ 5
• Lecture Topics ..................................................................................................... 7
• Seminar Topics .................................................................................................... 9
Student Centred Learning .......................................................................................... 9
Other Information ....................................................................................................... 9

NB This handbook is intended for the guidance of students taking this module in
2021/2022. Whilst the details contained in this handbook represent the intentions of
the module teaching staff at the time of writing, it is in the nature of higher education
that some module information, such as syllabus, reading lists and formative
assessments, may be subject to modifications throughout the academic year.
Teaching staff reserve the right to make such minor changes in the matters covered
by this publication and will endeavour to publicise any such changes as widely, and
as much in advance, as possible.

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 Teaching Staff
Ayse Yazici (Module leader and Term 2 lecturer)
e-mail: ayse.yazici@durham.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 334 45498
Anastasiia Parakhoniak (Term 1 lecturer and seminar leader)
e-mail: anastasiia.parakhoniak@durham.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 334 49294
Daniel Li (Term 1 seminar leader)
e-mail: daniel.li@durham.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 334 46335
Ibrahim Inal (Term 1 and Term 2 seminar leader)
e-mail: ibrahim.inal@durham.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 334 45496
Anil Yildizparlak (Term 2 seminar leader)
e-mail: anil.yildizparlak@durham.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 334 47251

Lecturers and seminar leaders may be contacted during their scheduled consultation
hours for which no prior appointment is required. The schedule for consultation
hours and how to access them will be posted on Learn Ultra.
On urgent matters outside these times, you can arrange an appointment, preferably
by email. Should you have an urgent problem and the module leader is not
available, please contact the Learning and Teaching Office
business.ug.econfin@durham.ac.uk
Staff will communicate announcements via classes, as well as announcements and
messages on Learn Ultra. You should check your e-mail and Learn Ultra regularly,
possibly once a day, but at least every 2 days to check for messages and
announcements.
If you wish to communicate with fellow students on matters relating to the module,
you may ask your lecturer/tutor to make an announcement at the beginning/end of a
class. Alternatively, you may send messages via the discussion boards or the class
register of the module’s Learn Ultra site.
You will have an opportunity to comment on the module via a student module
evaluation questionnaire, which will be made available towards the end of the module

Module Information
Details of the Module Outline, Prerequisites, Co-requisites, Overall Aim(s) of the
module, Learning Objectives, including details of key skills this module will help
students to acquire are available at the link given below:

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http://www.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/module_description/?year=2021&module_code=ECO
N2021

Teaching Methods and Contact Hours

This module requires 200 hours of study. This includes a combination of lectures,
seminars and independent study as follows:

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total

Hours

Lectures 40 2 per week 1 hour 40

Revision Lectures 2 2 per week in term 3 1 hour 2
Seminars 8 4 in term 1. 1 hour 8
4 in term 2
Preparation and Reading 150
Total 200
The hours of study include all formal contact hours (lectures and seminars), the time
devoted to background reading, and all preparation and reading time associated
both with the formal contact hours and the formative and summative assessments
(including essays and examinations).
Please note that attendance of seminars is compulsory and is monitored.
Students will be allocated to seminar groups at the start of term.

Formative Assessment
The main aim of the formative assessment is to help you, in a structured way, to
understand the material and its applications, consolidate your knowledge and further
develop relevant skills. They do not count towards the overall mark for the module
but are compulsory.
The formative assessment for this module will consist of two:
in-class tests (one in each term).
For Term 1 it is on 24 November Thursday 13:00-14:00 at CLC013 (lecture hour)

For Term 2 it is on 3 March Friday 16:00-17:00 at CLC202 (not a lecture hour)

Further guidance can be found in the Programme Handbook on information such as

writing essays, the submission process, assessment criteria and grade descriptors.

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 Summative Assessment
The summative assessments constitute the formal assessment of a student’s
performance and count towards the overall mark for the module.
Summative assessment will take the form of an unseen written examination to be
taken in May/June and one summative assignment. The summative assignment
details will be made available by the Learning and Teaching Team via your Learn
Ultra Programme Site in due course.
Further guidance can be found on the Business School - Students
(https://durhamuniversity.sharepoint.com/teams/BUS-Students) SharePoint site,
including information on referencing, assessment criteria and grade descriptors.
Summative assignment for this module have to be a student’s individual piece of
work. Collaboration between students in writing summative assignment is not
permitted.
Past Examination Questions
Copies of the examination papers for recent years are available the University
library’s exam depository (at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/exampapers/) and in the
Assessment folder of this module’s Learn Ultra site.

Assessment Criteria
Performance in the formative and summative assessments for this module is judged
against the following criteria:
• Relevance to question(s)
• Organisation, structure and presentation
• Depth of understanding
• Analysis and discussion
• Use of sources and referencing
• Overall conclusions

Seeking Help
You should always feel welcome to talk to staff whenever you wish to discuss any
aspect of the module. Please do keep in touch with us. A small misunderstanding
can turn into a big problem if it is not dealt with in a timely manner.
The first port of call for any queries relating to your understanding of the of the
module material and readings should be the lecturer who taught the relevant !
session. Please direct questions about administrative issues, such as the module
outline, the exam structure and formative assessment etc. to the module leader.

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If you have problems that relate more generally to your studies across this and other
modules, please contact your academic adviser or year tutor without delay. In
serious cases you should normally also see the Programme Director. Full details of
the support mechanisms that are in place are available in the Programme Handbook.

Detailed Syllabus and Reading List

The following pages give details of the topics covered by the module. Further
information will be provided on Learn Ultra as the module progresses.
Private study of recommended reading material is an integral part of the module. The
list of recommended reading given for each topic in the module syllabus is divided
into ‘essential’ (ER) and ‘further’ reading. ‘Essential’ readings are primarily intended
to reinforce your understanding of the core lecture material. Where more than one
such item is listed, these should usually be regarded as alternatives. ‘Further’
reading is intended to promote greater depth and breadth of understanding.
Many sources listed will be available electronically via the University library or the
internet. To make it easier for you to access journal articles and books online, please
consider installing the bookmarklet viaDurham in your browser.
Many of the journal articles listed in this module are accessible directly or indirectly
via the EBSCO1 or the Science Direct2 database. If you cannot find the article there,
please look up the journal directly at:
https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/resources/online/ejournals/.
Recommended reading in the form of online books can be accessed via the Reading
List on Learn Ultra, which you will find under the “Start Here – Module Information”
link.
To ensure that all students can access the recommended reading at any time,
please download the recommended reading in online books as chapters if this is
possible, rather than read them online, as the latter limits the number of students
who can simultaneously access the source.
Additional references may be provided during the year. You should also undertake
your own search for additional relevant literature and follow up relevant references
contained in the literature identified below, if you have a specific interest in the
topics.

Textbooks (ER)

The following textbook covers most of the module material and you are advised to
buy:

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at: http://library.dur.ac.uk/record=b2044180a&searchscope=1.
2
at: https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/

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• Hal R Varian. Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach,
International Student Edition, W W Norton, 2014 (ISBN-10: 0393920771,
ISBN-13: 978-0393920772)

For exercises the following accompanying book is very useful and you are strongly
advised to buy it:

Ted Bergstrom and Hal Varian, Workouts in Intermediate Microeconomics for

Intermediate Microeconomics and Intermediate Microeconomics with calculus,
NI NTH E DI TI O N , W W NO RTO N

Textbooks (Further Reading)

You may also consult any of the following as additional help on similar topics:

• Christopher Snyder, Walter Nicholson and Robert Stewart 2015. Microeconomic

Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, (Europe, Middle East & Africa Edition)
2015, CENGAGE Learning, ISBN 978-1-4737-0478-7

• Christopher Snyder and Walter Nicholson. Microeconomic Theory: Basic

Principles and Extensions, eleventh edition, Thomson South-Western, 2012
(international edition published in 2011).

• Frank Cowell, 2006. Microeconomics: Principles and Analysis, Oxford University

Press, ISBN 9780199267774

• Thomas J. Nechyba. Microeconomics: An Intuitive Approach with Calculus, third

edition, South-Western, 2011.

• Jeffrey Perloff, Microeconomics with Calculus, Global Edition 3/E, Pearson, 2013.

The following book is useful for consulting mathematical methods and tools of
analysis:

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• Malcolm Pemberton and Nicholas Rau, Mathematics for Economists: An
Introductory Textbook (Manchester University Press, 2011, Third Edition) ISBN-
10: 0719087058, ISBN-13: 978-0719087059

• Lecture Topics
The following is a suggestive sequence of topics to be covered over two
terms. Some changes to the sequence and the list of topics may occur.
Term I:

1. The Market
Varian, Chapter 1

2. Budget constraint
Varian, Chapter 2

3. Preferences and Utility

Varian, Chs. 3 and 4

4. Choice and Demand

Varian, Chs. 5 and 6

5. Effects of income and price change on demand and Slutsky Equation

Varian, Chapter 8

6. Revealed Preference
Varian, Chapter 7

7. Applications: Labour-leisure choice, Intertemporal Choice

Varian, Chapter 10

8. Uncertainty: Theory of choice and various applications

Varian, Chapter 12
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9. Market demand and consumer surplus
Varian, Chs. 14, 15

10. Behavioural Economics (if time permits)

Varian, Chapter 31

Term II

11. Game Theory and Applications

Varian, Chs. 29, 30

12. General Equilibrium and exchange economies

Varian, Chapter 32

13. Technology
Varian, Chs. 19

14. Cost Minimisation and Cost Curves

Varian, Chs. 21 and 22

15. Firm Supply

Varian, Chapter 23

16. Industry Supply

Varian, Chapter 24

17. Monopoly
Varian, Chapter 25

18. Monopoly Behaviour

Varian, Chapter 26

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19. Oligopoly
Varian, Chapter 28

20. Externality (if time permits)

Varian, Chapter 35

• Seminar Topics
It is expected that all students prepare for each seminar session. You might be
asked to explain solutions to exercises you have been given as homework and to
contribute actively to discussions during seminar sessions.
1. Budget constraint and Consumer preferences (Week 3/4)
Varian Chs. 2,3
2. Utility, Choice, Uncompensated and Compensated demand (Week 5/6)
Varian Chs. 4,5,6,8
3. Slutsky Equation, Revealed Preferences (Week 7/8)
Varian Chs. 7,8,10
4. Intertemporal choice, Uncertainty (Week 9/10)
Varian, Chs. 10, 12
5. Game Theory and Applications (Week 3/4)
Varian Chs. 29, 30
6. General equilibrium and Technology (Week 5/6)
Varian Chs. 32, 19
7. Cost minimisation, cost curves, Firm and Industry Supply
Varian Chs. 21, 22, 23, 24
8. Monopoly, Monopoly Behaviour, Oligopoly
Varian, Chs. 25, 26, 28

Student Centred Learning

N/A

Other Information