University of Galway

Course Module Information

Course Modules

Semester 1 | Credits: 5

This module is intended as an introduction to the principles of microeconomics. Microeconomics studies how rational people makes choices in the face of scarcity and how these choices are coordinated by markets. We study how markets work to promote economic efficiency, and why markets sometimes fail. We explore the behaviour of consumers and producers in the market, and explain how interference in the market can lower economic surplus. Critical to the study of microeconomics is the role played by incentives. We will study how rational agents respond to incentives. The module will consider the appropriate role for government in the economy, the importance of competition in the market, and the behaviour of markets that exchange factors of production like labour. The aim throughout will be to introduce students to the “economic way of thinking”.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Understand the concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost and the cost/benefit principle and rational behaviour.
  2. Understand Pareto efficiency and Adam Smith’s idea of the “invisible hand” and the the principle of comparative advantage.
  3. Understand the concepts of consumer surplus and producer surplus.
  4. Understand how supply and demand determine equilibrium prices and quantities.
  5. Understand the theory of consumer choice.
  6. Understand producer theory.
  7. Understand the determinants of demand and supply.
  8. Employ the method of comparative statics.
  9. Understand the behavior of producers who operate in different competitive environments.
  10. Understand why perfect markets lead to a Pareto efficient allocation of resources.
  11. Understand why markets sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently and explain why this justifes a role for government in the economy.
  12. Understand information economics and behavioural economics.
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (70%)
  • Continuous Assessment (30%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "Economics" by N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor
    Publisher: Cengage
The above information outlines module EC142: "Principles of Microeconomics" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.