ECO-30047 - Module Specification
Keele Business School
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

This module requires students to complete Intermediate Microeconomics (ECO20046) in the second year.

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

The purpose of this module is to enable students to understand - and apply to real world issues - some advanced microeconomic models of market failures. The module will start with an analysis of the main models of market structure. Welfare economics will subsequently be developed to enable students to assess the impact of imperfect competition on social welfare. The module will examine the role of information in microeconomics, showing the consequence of incomplete and asymmetric information on the nature of equilibrium.

Continue the analysis of microeconomic models started in level 5 by focusing on market structure and market failures, i.e. on situations where private markets fail to achieve a socially optimal allocation of resources.

Intended Learning Outcomes

identify the different types of market failures and critically evaluate their impact on social welfare: 2
critically analyse the theory of expected utility: 2
analyse models of information economics: 2
evaluate measures of economic welfare: 2
explain and evaluate the individual attitudes towards risk and calculate risk premia: 2
analyse the main models of market structure and explain the rationale for competition law and regulation: 1,2

Study hours

18 hours lectures
12 hours discussion
4 hours tutorials
1 hour online mid-term test
2 hour exam
40 hours lectures/tutorials preparation
73 hours independent study

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment