Teaching plan for the course unit

 

 
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General information

 

Course unit name: Microeconomics I

Course unit code: 366705

Academic year: 2025-2026

Coordinator: Monica Pigem Vigo

Department: Department of Economics

Credits: 6

Single program: S

 

 

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 150

 

Face-to-face and/or online activities

60
 

-  Lecture with practical component

Face-to-face

  

30
 

-  Problem-solving class

Face-to-face

  

30

Supervised project

40

Independent learning

50

 

 

Recommendations

 

Students should have previously taken and passed the following subjects:
— Introduction to Economics
— Mathematics I


Further recommendations

This course uses mathematical formalisation in presenting the subject matter, so to be able to follow it properly students must understand the mathematical concepts covered in PAU tests and the Mathematics I syllabus, which is taught in the first semester of first-year studies. Students are responsible for acquiring this basic knowledge before taking this subject.

 

 

Competences / Learning outcomes to be gained during study

 

   -

Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis, synthesis, to adopt global perspectives and to apply knowledge in practice, and capacity to take decisions and adapt to new situations).
   -

Concern for sustainability (capacity to assess the social and environmental impact of actions taken in a particular setting and capacity to adopt integrated and systemic approaches).
   -

Capacity to manage and allocate resources in the private and public sectors.
   -

Ability to produce critical analyses of economic theories and models.

Learning objectives

 

Referring to knowledge

  • Analyse consumer behaviour (demand) and corporate behaviour (supply) graphically and formally.
  • Identify the key components of consumer and corporate decision-making problems.
  • Understand the different decision-making approaches adopted by consumers and companies. 
  • Understand how a perfectly competitive market operates. 

 

Referring to abilities, skills

  • Apply the principles of consumer theory to determine how consumers make decisions in different situations. 
  • Determine consumer demand based on preferences and different types of utility functions. 
  • Analyse changes in welfare through consumer surplus, compensating variation and equivalent variation. 
  • Apply the general principles of business theory to determine how individual companies approach decision-making in competitive markets. 
  • Analyse how a perfectly competitive market operates. 

 

Referring to attitudes, values and norms

  • Develop a regular study pattern through continuous assessment. 
  • Delve more deeply into the concepts covered during the course through solving practical cases that simulate reality (PBL). 
  • Develop a critical perspective through which to determine the limitations of the models studied. 

 

 

Teaching blocks

 

1. Consumption theory

1.1. Consumer preferences and budget constraint

1.2. Consumer choice

1.3. Individual demand: comparative statics analysis; income–consumption curve and substitution effect; welfare measures

2. Business theory

2.1. Technology

2.2. Costs

2.3. Benefits

3. Perfectly competitive market

3.1. Competitive equilibrium: short and long term

3.2. Efficiency and social welfare

 

 

Teaching methods and general organization

 

The subject is taught according to the standard didactic model used at the Faculty of Economics and Business.

First, attendance at face-to-face classes of two different types:

a) Lectures with a practical component where the teaching staff describes the key concepts of each topic and explains the theoretical instruments with which to analyse them, including examples of how they can be applied.

b) Practical sessions to complete exercises and problem-solving activities related to the topics covered in class, which students should solve on their own prior to class.


Second, directed learning outside class hours, consisting of practical exercises and assignments set by the teaching staff.

Third, independent learning activities including reading and reviewing the recommended texts and material provided during the course, assimilating the content presented, reading complementary texts, and preparing for the continuous assessment tests and final examination.

Student work for this subject is divided in roughly equal parts for each type of activity, corresponding to a dedication of 3-4 hours per week for each of the three activities.

 

 

Official assessment of learning outcomes

 

The main method of evaluation for this subject is continuous assessment.

Details on how this continuous assessment works, the number of tests and examinations, the corresponding weightings, types of questions and content, etc., are explained in the course programme, available on the Virtual Campus from the beginning of the course.

Students who do not pass the subject through continuous assessment, as established in the course programme, may sit for the single assessment examination, which will take place on the date established by the Academic Council.

 

Examination-based assessment

Students who are unable to meet the requirements for continuous assessment are entitled to single assessment. Students who wish to register for single assessment can renounce continuous assessment at any time until the date established by the Academic Council for the single assessment examination. For these students, the final examination represents 100% of their final grade. The details of this examination will be published on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the academic year.

Students who do not pass the subject may sit for a repeat assessment examination, which will take place on the date fixed by the Academic Council, and which will be similar in nature to the final examination for single assessment.

 

 

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

VARIAN, Hal. (2015): Microeconomía intermedia: un enfoque actual. 9a ed. Barcelona: Antoni Bosch.

Versiķ en línia (9a ed., 2015)  Enllaç

GARCÍA, Patricio.; RIBÓ, A.; et al. (2015): 100 Problemas de Microeconomía que te harán pensar. Editorial Paraninfo.

Catāleg UB  Enllaç

HEY, John .D. (2004) : Microeconomía Intermedia. Madrid: McGrawHill.

Catāleg UB  Enllaç

NICHOLSON, Walter. (2004): Teoría microeconómica: principios básicos y aplicaciones. 8 ed., Thomson (Madrid).

Catāleg UB  Enllaç

SCHOTTER, Andrew. Microeconomics. A modern approach. Mason, OH : South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009

Catāleg UB  Enllaç