Master in Engineering and Management of Technology MEGT – 9 th edition Course: Microeconomics Margarida Catalão – DEG, IST

Syllabus The course provides students with Microeconomics as a tool for analysing and understanding real-world phenomena. It covers the basics of the theory of consumer and producer choices, market structures, regulation, information and market failures. A collection of more advanced topics in oligopoly and firm interaction closes the course. Link to Course Plan

Grading Home Assignment (15%): In groups of 3 to 4 students. Writing and presenting in class a lecture on one of the course topics. The presentation is intended to last 60 minutes, followed by a 20 minutes discussion. Other students are highly encouraged to pose questions and participate in the discussion. The written piece must be handed-in prior to the class. Exam at the end of the term (40%).

Term-paper (45%): Again in groups of 3 to 4 students. Detailed description and analysis of a case study involving public policies designed to overcome market failures. Examples of these are Government interventions in cases of market-dominance (e.g. the Microsoft case), regulation of the energy sector, environmental policies, public incentives to R&D and innovation, among others. The choice of the topic should take into account the student’s interests and be made with a view towards the future development of the Master thesis. A note on possible extensions should be present. The paper must be handed-in until the end of the term and should not exceed 7000 words.

Guidelines to Evaluation Items Home Assignment The companion written piece to the class presentation must contain some essential features: Introduction: put the topic in the context of the course’s structure and objectives. Clearly state the objectives of the lecture and the structure of the exposition. Main body: the material covered should be clearly and rigorously presented. This involves a balanced combination of algebra, well-structured text and graphical illustrations. Examples that provide extra intuition and suggest practical applications should also be present. Summary and possible extensions. List of recommended readings: provide supplementary bibliographic references, with a brief description of their contents, in order to allow a deeper approach to the subject.

Guidelines to Evaluation Items (cont´d) Term-paper It is upon the students to choose the topic, bibliography, expositional approach, etc. The written piece must contain some essential features: Introduction: motivation of the paper, aims of the paper and contribution to the solution of real-life problems/issues. Also include a brief sketch of the main results/conclusions. Main body: clear and rigorous description of the research undertaken, duly organized in sections and subsections. The most important results in the literature should be cited in the proper context. Conclusion: summary of the results/conclusions that can be inferred from the research undertaken. Elements for further research. List of bibliographic references.

Bibliography Main Varian, H. (2003), Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 6 th ed., W. W. Norton & Co. For specific topics Cabral, L. (2000), Introduction to Industrial Organization, MIT Press. Laffont, J.-J. and J. Tirole (1993), A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation, MIT Press. Macho-Stadler, I. and J. D. Pérez-Castrillo (2001), An Introduction to the Economics of Information: Incentives and Contracts, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press. Tirole, J. (1988), The Theory of Industrial Organization, MIT Press.