ECONOMICS OF THE FIRM - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module is mainly aimed at providing an introductory course on the theory of the firm, with special emphasis on the industrial organisation aspect.  Students will find that this course complements the topics covered by the Intermediate Microeconomic course, and will serve as a starting base for the Industrial Organisation in the third year.

Module provider

Economics

Module Leader

VITIELLO Francesco (Economics)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The neo-classical theory of the firm


• Oligopoly, Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition


• The vertical and horizontal differentiation


• Advertising and marketing


• Strategic behaviour, entry and exit

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Not applicable

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

Their understanding of the complex nature of the firm, both statically and dynamically.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Class-test in the 6th week of technical and in-depth questions


• Final exam of two hours of written exams, which consists of questions covering all 11 weeks.

Formative assessment and feedback

Students receive verbal feedback during lectures (in which multiple questions and real-world examples of the use of economics are discussed). In addition to this, they receive guideline solutions to exam-test questions, prepared for them in the form of weekly problem sets.

Finally, after the mid-term test, written feedback is provided for all individual questions

Module aims

• help students understand the economic analysis of firms and the nature of the firm.
• introduce students with economic framework that explains how firms organise and co-ordinate their activities
• show students how different market structures and government policies influence firms' decision-making processes.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Enhance students knowledge and understanding of basic Industrial Organisation concepts and to apply this knowledge to regulation policies and regulation advising.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• 2 hour lecture x 9 weeks


• 2 hour tutorial x 1 week


• 2 hour mid-term test x 1 week

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECO2050

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.