Master in Engineering and Management of Technology

MEGT – 9th edition

Course: Microeconomics

Margarida Catalão – DEG, IST

mcatalao@ist.utl.pt   

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 AssignmentThe 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-paperIt 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

•MainVarian, H. (2003), Intermediate Microeconomics: A

Modern Approach, 6th ed., W. W. Norton & Co.

•For specific topicsCabral, 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.