2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS1950 Economic Theory and Applications 1

20 creditsClass Size: 445

Module manager: Professor Malcolm Sawyer
Email: mcs@lubs.leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

Pre-requisite qualifications

Mathematics of at least GCSE grade B standard.

This module is mutually exclusive with

LUBS1170	Introduction to Management 1
LUBS1220	Economics of Industry
LUBS1940	Economics for Management
LUBS1941	Economics for Management (Part-time)

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

The microeconomic part of the module considers how a competitive economy peopled by agents who consider only their own welfare operates. It is shown using concepts of supply and demand that such an economy need not be chaotic but may cohere. Whether such an economy works well or badly is examined using the concept of Pareto optimality. Causes of poor economic performance are then analysed under the heading of 'market failure'.The macroeconomic part of the module begins by considering the interconnections between different sectors of the economy, leading into analysis of the determination of the level of national income and employment. The impacts of fiscal and monetary policy on employment and inflation are considered. The determinants of consumer expenditure and investment are analysed, along with the causes of fluctuations in the level of economic activity. The role of the foreign sector and the determinants of the exchange rate complete this part.Further information about the Business School is available on the website: Business School

Objectives

On completion of this module, students will be able to: understand the basic microeconomic concepts of consumption, production, exchange and efficiency; macroeconomic concepts of output, employment, consumption, investment and national investment, and simple models of general equilibrium and welfare economics; use basic models in micro and macro economics to examine the partial equilibrium consequences of changes in the economy; and to apply these simple models to resolve economic problems.

Syllabus

Microeconomic analysis of a pure exchange economy using difference curve analysis and the Edgdeworth-Bowley box framework; Concepts of scarcity, preference and choice, demand, supply, exchange, equilibrium prices using these tools;roduction and supply in a production economy in partial equilibrium; Pareto optimality and market failure in a general equilibrium framework; The basic concepts and analytical procedures of macroeconomic theory: a simplified two-sector model of the economy, the autonomous expenditure multiplier, and conditions for equilibrium; Increasing the complexity of the model: the government and foreign trade sectors, and of money and the price-level.; inflation; and the role of expectations; and Fluctuations in the level of economic activity and the efficacy of fiscal and monetary policy.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	30	1.00	30.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			160.00
Total Contact hours			40.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Mock MCQ papers provided during the course of the module Completion of assignments for each class.

Methods of assessment

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	3 hr 00 mins	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 27/03/2009

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