Ministry of Education & Training Socialist Republic of Vietnam

University of Economics Independence – Freedom - Happiness

Ho Chi Minh City

HIGHER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

(Bachelor degree)

MAJOR: ECONOMICS, INVESTMENT ECONOMICS, AGRIBUSINESS,

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, REAL ESTATE,
ECONOMIC MATHEMATICS, ECONOMIC STATISTICS.
MINOR: All minors

SYLLABUS
1. Course name: APPLIED MICROECONOMICS
2. Course code: ECO501101
3. Teaching Department: Economics Department, School of Economics
4. Level of competency: (apply for students at the 2nd academic year) Sophomore
students, intermediate level.
5. Credit number: 03
6. Time allocation: (in credit for each type of activitties)
+ Theories (credits): 3
+ Group works, practice, discussion (credits): 3
+ Self-study (credits): 6
7. Prequisite courses:
+ Principles of Microeconomics
+ Principles of Macroeconomics
+ Mathematics for Economics and Management
8. Course brief description:
This course is designed to improve analytical skills applied to microeconomic studies,
expand knowledge to modern topics as well as apply microeconomic knowledge in
evaluation and making decision. This course provides the foundation for further
intermediate and advanced courses in the field of economics.
The analysis and application of consumer theories, producer theories, market structure
and advanced pricing strategies will be enhanced and included.
Applied game theory will be introduced to learners to provide an analytical framework
for situations where economic agents no longer choose to choose individually, instead
economic agents will interact with each other.
A new topic to be presented is the economics of information, including asymmetric
information, the principle - agent problem, moral harzard and adverse selection. In
addition to this topic is the design to study the influence from the behavior of
economic agents.
Analysis of the welfare, equity and efficiency in commodity production and exchange
as well as general equilibrium analysis will be extended in this course.
Externalities and public goods are also among the topics covered in this course to help
learners understand the role of government and public sector decisions in correcting
market failures, supporting help the economy operate efficiently and equitably.
In addition, other topics in the field of microeconomics can also be introduced to
learners depending each major such as investment analysis, behavioral economics,
sharing economy or in-depth analysis of some public policy issues.
All the concepts, principles, and analytical tools in this course will be applied to real-
world problems through lecture, examples, homework assignments, group discussions,
and final essays.
9. Course Learning Outcomes - CLOs:
As completed the course, learners will obtained the following outcomes:
9.1 Knowledge
- CLO1.1: Comprehend the knowledge and skills to analyze consumer behavior,
producer decisions and corporate strategies.
- CLO1.2: Analyze equilibria in simple game-theoretic models involving
oligopoly and applications.
- CLO1.3: Understand the problems associated with asymmetric information in
many economic and management situations.
- CLO1.4: Explain market failures due to externalities and provision of public
goods.
 - CLO1.5: Expand the understanding about welfare, equity, and efficiency
measures in a general equilibrium analysis, the basics of behavioral economics,
risk preferences, and investor’s behavior, as well as new topics related to
microeconomics.
9.2 Skills
- CLO2.1: Develop critical thinking in analyzing, evaluating and solving
problems from different points of view
- CLO2.2: Develop quantitative skills
9.3. Autonomy and Responsibility
- CLO3.1: Construct own opinion in statements related to the economic field
- CLO3.2: Build up a solid foundation of knowledge and microeconomic analysis
skills to study subsequent subjects, or subjects at higher education level.
Course learning outcomes matrix

Course learning outcomes - CLOs Program learning outcomes (PLOs)

PLO1 PLO2 PLO3 PLO4 PLO5 PLO6 PLO7 PLO8 PLO9 PLO10

CLO1.1: Comprehend the knowledge and

skills to analyze consumer behavior, producer
decisions and corporate strategies.
CLO1.2: Analyze equilibria in simple game-
theoretic models involving oligopoly and
applications.
CLO1.3: Understand the problems associated
with asymmetric information in many
economic and management situations.
CLO1.4: Explain market failures due to
externalities and provision of public goods.
CLO1.5: Expand the understanding about
welfare, equity, and efficiency measures in a
general equilibrium analysis, the basics of
behavioral economics, risk preferences, and
investor’s behavior, as well as new topics
related to microeconomics.
CLO2.1: Develop critical thinking in
analyzing, evaluating and solving problems
from different points of view
CLO2.2: Develop quantitative skills
 Course learning outcomes - CLOs Program learning outcomes (PLOs)

PLO1 PLO2 PLO3 PLO4 PLO5 PLO6 PLO7 PLO8 PLO9 PLO10

CLO3.1: Construct own opinion in statements

related to the economic field
CLO3.2: Build up a solid foundation of
knowledge and microeconomic analysis skills
to study subsequent subjects, or subjects at
higher education level.
Note:
P: Partial supported
S: Supported
H: Highly supported
Empty: course has no any coressponding contribution to PLO(s)
10. Learning materials:
10.1 Text books:
Pindyck, R. S., & Rubinfeld, D. L. (2018). Microeconomics (9th ed.). Pearson [PR]
Varian, Hal R. (2014). Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach (9th
Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company [V]
10.2 Referrences:
Banerjee, Samiran (2014). Intermediate Microeconomics: A Tool-Building Approach.
Routledge
Baye, M., & Prince, J. (2016). Managerial Economics & Business Strategy (9th ed).
McGraw-Hill Education
Friedman, Lee (2002). The Microeconomics of Public Policy Analysis. Princeton
University Press
Krugman, P., & Wells, R. (2015). Economics. Worth Publishers
O’Sulllivan, Sheffin, Perez (2020). Microeconomics: Principles, Applications and
Tools (10th ed). Pearson
Penson, J. B., Capps, O., Rosson III, C. P., & Woodward, R. T. (2018). Introduction to
Agricultural Economics. Pearson
Øverby, Harald & Audestad, Jan A. (2018). Digital Economics: How Information and
Communication Technology is Shaping Markets, Businesses, and Innovation.
Create Space Independent.
10.3 Others: Selected papers and case-study.
Bebchuk, L. A., Cremers, K. J. M., & Peyer, U. C. (2011). The CEO pay slice.
Journal of Financial Economics, 102(1), 199–221.
Christensen, L. R., & Greene, W. H. (1976). Economies of Scale in U.S. Electric
Power Generation. Journal of Political Economy, 84(4, Part 1), 655–676.
Deere, D., Murphy, K. M., & Welch, F. (1995). Employment and the 1990-1991
Minimum-Wage Hike. The American Economic Review, 85(2), 232–237. JSTOR.
Della Vigna, S., & Malmendier, U. (2006). Paying Not to Go to the Gym. American
Economic Review, 96(3), 694–719.
Graham, D. R., Kaplan, D. P., & Sibley, D. S. (1983). Efficiency and Competition in
the Airline Industry. The Bell Journal of Economics, 14(1), 118.
Harrison, D., & Rubinfeld, D. L. (1978). Hedonic housing prices and the demand for
clean air. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 5(1), 81–102.
Hotelling, Harold. (1931). The Economics of Exhaustible Resources. Journal of
Political Economy, 39(2), 137–175.
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., & Thaler, R. (1986). Fairness as a Constraint on Profit
Seeking: Entitlements in the Market. The American Economic Review, 76(4),
728–741. JSTOR.
Kohlhase, J. E. (1986). Labor Supply and Housing Demand for One- and Two-Earner
Households. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 68(1), 48.
Krugman, P. R. (1987). Is Free Trade Passé? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1(2),
131–144.
Lieberman, M. B. (1984). The Learning Curve and Pricing in the Chemical Processing
Industries. The RAND Journal of Economics, 15(2), 213.
Milgrom, P. (1989). Auctions and Bidding: A Primer. Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 3(3), 3–22.
Nevo, A., & Wolfram, C. (2002). Why Do Manufacturers Issue Coupons? An
Empirical Analysis of Breakfast Cereals. The RAND Journal of Economics, 33(2),
319.
Polinsky, A. M., & Shavell, S. (1979). The Optimal Tradeoff between the Probability
and Magnitude of Fines. The American Economic Review, 69(5), 880–891.
JSTOR.
Quigley, J. M., & Raphael, S. (2004). Is Housing Unaffordable? Why Isn’t It More
Affordable? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(1), 191–214.
Rose, N. L. (1990). Profitability and Product Quality: Economic Determinants of
Airline Safety Performance. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5, Part 1), 944–
964.
Rotemberg, J. J., & Saloner, G. (1990). Collusive Price Leadership. The Journal of
Industrial Economics, 39(1), 93.
Tella, R. D., & MacCulloch, R. (2006). Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics.
Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 25–46.
11. Course teaching plan:
Day Delivered content Teaching method Learning materials Student works in detail Corresponding
(teaching (name of chapter, section) applied (name of chapter, (exercise, case study, CLO(s)
hour no.) section) presentation, etc.)
Day 1 Theory of Consumer Lecture and PR 3, 4 Mutiple Choice Quiz CLO 1.1
Group discussion V 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Quatitative Assignment CLO 2.2
(5 hr.) CLO 3.2
Day 2 Theory of Production Lecture and PR 6, 7, 8, 14 Quatitative Assignment CLO 1.1
Group discussion V 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 CLO 2.2
(5 hr.) CLO 3.2
Day 3 Market Structure Anlysis and Lecture and PR 8, 9, 10, 11 Case-study CLO 1.1
Pricing Strategies Group discussion V 24, 25, 26 CLO 2.1
(5 hr.) CLO 3.1, 3.2
Day 4 Game Theory and Lecture and PR 12, 13 Case-study CLO 1.2
Applications Group discussion V 28, 29, 30 CLO 2.1
(5 hr.) (or Simunlation) CLO 3.1, 3.2
Day 5 Asymmetric Information Lý thuyết PR 17 Case-study CLO 1.3
Thảo luận V 38 CLO 2.1
(5 hr.) CLO 3.1, 3.2
Day 6 Externality and Public Goods Lecture and PR 18 Case-study CLO 1.4
Group discussion V 35, 27 CLO 2.1
(5 hr.) (or Simunlation) CLO 3.1, 3.2
Day 7-9 Select 3 among following topics
(15 hr. total
5 hr./each)
 Day Delivered content Teaching method Learning materials Student works in detail Corresponding
(teaching (name of chapter, section) applied (name of chapter, (exercise, case study, CLO(s)
hour no.) section) presentation, etc.)
General Equilibrium and Lecture and PR 16 Quatitative Assignment CLO 1.5
Economic Efficiency Group discussion V 32, 33, 34 CLO 2.2
CLO 3.1, 3.2
Analysis of Risk Preferences Lecture and PR 5, 15 Quatitative Assignment CLO 1.5
and Investment Decision Group discussion V 10, 11, 12 CLO 2.2
CLO 3.1, 3.2
Introduction to Behavioral Lecture and PR 19 Case-study CLO 1.5
Economics Group discussion V 31 CLO 2.1
CLO 3.1, 3.2
Welfare Measurement Lecture and PR 4, 9, 16 Quatitative Assignment CLO 1.5
Group discussion V 7, 8, 14 CLO 2.1, 2.2
Case-study CLO 3.1, 3.2
Digital Economics Lecture and Øverby & Audestad Case-study CLO 1.5
Group discussion CLO 2.1
CLO 3.1, 3.2
Extended topics in Group discussion Selected papers Case-study CLO 1.5
Microeconomics CLO 2.1
CLO 3.1, 3.2
Sum: 45 hr.
Note: The structure of the lessons may be changed depending on the actual situation. Corresponding to each major or minor, there will be
advanced content related to the demand of the training program.
12. Student workload:
- Read lecture notes, slides, textbooks, additional readings and do assignment before
coming to class
- Attend lectures in class
- Participate in group discussions and do the tests.
13. Student assessment system:
- Attendance: 10%
- Quiz/ Assignment 30%
- Discussion / Presentation: 30%
- End-of-term essay/ project: 30%

Scoring guide and Rubrics

Rubric 1. Assessment of course attendance (an example)

Criteria Weight Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor

(%) (100%) (75%) (50%) y
(0%)

student student student barely student fails

actively participates participates to participate
Positive attitude 50
participates in- in-class in-class in-class
class activities activities) activities activities
student has student has student has
missed 20% missed 40% missed more
student has not
Sufficient or less of or less of than 40% of
50 missed any
attendance time overall overall overall
teaching hour
teaching teaching teaching
hours hours hours
Rubric 2. Assessment of group discussion (an example)
Criteria Weight Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor
(%) (100%) (75%) (50%) y
(0%)

student student student barely student fails

initiates and actively participates in to participate
Attitude 20
leads participates in discussions in discussions
discussions discussions
student shows student shows student shows student shows
excellent good a mix of good poor
analytical and analytical and and bad analytical and
Discussion skills 40 evaluation evaluation analytical evaluation
skills skills and skills
evaluation
skills
student student student student
produces produces produces a produces
creative and adequate mix of inadequate
Input quality 40
adequate inputs adequate and inputs
inputs inadequate
inputs

14. Student support:

- Encourage students' reading, self-study, and discovery.
- Teaching and discussion is supported through the LMS system
- If there are any questions or problems related to the course that need to be
discussed or asked for support from the lecturer (or teaching assistant, if any),
student can contact lecturer or teaching assistant by office hour and appointment.
HCMC, day month year

Dean Elaborator
(signature and full name) (signature and full name)