Module Identifier | MBM1010 | ||||||||||||||
Module Title | ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS | ||||||||||||||
Academic Year | 2003/2004 | ||||||||||||||
Co-ordinator | Professor John R Cable | ||||||||||||||
Semester | Semester 1 | ||||||||||||||
Course delivery | Lecture | Introduction plus 8 x 2 hour sessions | |||||||||||||
Other | Reading programme and group-based activities | ||||||||||||||
Assessment |
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Resource allocation and markets; Decision making involving choice; Strategic interaction.
Section I: Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium
Unit 1: Demand
Factors affecting demand. Elasticity. Anticipating revenue effects of price changes. Application: Cambrian Railways. Other elasticities. Example: Demand for cigarettes.
Unit 2: Supply
The firm and its objectives. Cost structure: fixed and variable costs; total, average and marginal costs; the cost of durable inputs; sunk costs; opportunity costs. Revenue structure: total, average and marginal revenue under competition and monopoly.
Unit 3: Market Equilibrium
Equilibrating mechanisms; Disturbances and Shifts in Equilibrium; Dynamically Unstable Markets; Asymmetric information.
Section II: Optimisation
Unit 4: Equating at the margin:
(i) Output determination: profit maximization and break-even analysis.
(ii) Making the most of a budget. Spending alternatives. Preferences and returns. The budget constraint. Optimising choice.
(iii) Producing at Minimum Cost. Balancing input proportions. Factor Utilisation. Technical efficiency. Economic efficiency.
Section III: Strategic Behaviour
Unit 5: Market Rivalry
Alternative market structures. Oligopoly: the rivals? dilemma. Dominant strategies and Nash Equilibrium. Co-operation in repeated plays. Cartels. Entry and entry deterrence.
Unit 6: Principals and Agents
Principal-agent relationships within the firm: owners and managers. Hidden information and hidden action. Moral hazard. Incentive contracts. Alternative contracts: wage contract; rent contract; profit related pay. Incentive contracts in practice.
Unit 7: Bidding, Contracting and Auctions
Bidding strategy. Auctions. The winner?s curse. Example: the UK 3G Mobile Licence Auctions.
Unit 8: Revision Session
This module is at CQFW Level 7