NIFK14027U Consumer Economics and Policy
The aim of the course is to give an introduction to the concepts
of microeconomic theory, and thereby give a deeper understanding of
consumer and producer behaviour in relation to economic decision
making. Particularly the theory behind demand for certain goods and
possible regulation of this demand is of importance to the course.
During the course the aims and arguments for regulation in a
broader perspective and in particular in relation to public food
policy will be discussed.
The course consists of three main parts:
1. The economic part.
This is the theoretical part of the course. It focuses on consumer
and producer behaviour. A central theme of the course is the
behaviour of consumers and their decision making. The underlying
assumptions about the consumers decision making are discussed
thoroughly including the importance of the concepts of utility
maximization, budget constraints, demand functions, prices and
income. The firms’ production decisions are also discussed
thoroughly during the course and concepts such as profit
maximization and the equimarginal principle are introduced. In
order to obtain a comprehensive picture of how different markets
work, we include markets characterized by perfect competition,
monopoly and oligopoly. Initially, demand and supply of goods and
services are introduced together with the conditions for market
equilibrium. Effects of taxes are studied and how they affect the
behaviour of consumers and producers. Also, the distributional
effects of taxes on consumers and producers are studied. The theory
of comparative advantage and gains form trade is discussed, and
shows that everybody benefits when each specializes in his area of
comparative advantage and then engages in trade.
2. The welfare economic part.
The economic rationale for regulation is discussed and some of the
mostly used policy instruments are examined. These instruments
include:
- Change in prices through taxes, which change the behaviour of the
consumers and producers.
- Information as a policy instruemnt. In basic economics it is
often assumed that people possess perfect information, and that all
available information is used in the utility maximizing process.
This is of course not always the case, which is why information is
another strong policy instrument.
- Other instruments such as direct regulation, public support and
public control will also be discussed during the course.
3. Case studies. Relevant cases will be examined concernng food
policy, food safety, food security, obesity, optimal nutrition etc.
Consumer or producer behaviour in different cases will be examined
using an economic appraoach and the optimal choice of policy
instrument will be discussed.
The aim of the course is to give an introduction to the concepts
of microeconomic theory, and thereby give a deeper understanding of
consumer behaviour in relation to economic decision making and of
economic policy instruments that can be used to affect the market.
After completing the course the students should be able to:
Knowledge:
Describe the demand and supply of goods.
Describe the effects of different policy instruments aimed at
affecting the demand and supply of goods.
Reflect about the welfare and distributional effects from different
policy instruments.
Define central concepts within the area of microeconomics and
consumer behaviour.
Skills:
Apply microeconomic theory to analyse elementary economic problems.
Communicate and discuss concrete economic problems and solutions
with different target groups.
Competences:
Cooperate with fellow students in analysing and solving different
economic problems in a broader perspective and also in relation to
public food policy.
Independently work with economic problems related to the food
market.
Text book supplemented with relevant articles
Steven E, Landsburg (2008), Price Theory and Applications, 7e, Thomson South-Western.
- Category
- Hours
- Exam
- 4
- Guidance
- 10
- Lectures
- 42
- Practical exercises
- 40
- Preparation
- 54
- Project work
- 20
- Theory exercises
- 36
- Total
- 206
As
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- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written examination, 4 hours under invigilationwritten exam in lecturehall
- Exam registration requirements
- Submitted project report
- Aid
- Without aids
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
One internal examiner
- Re-exam
- If 10 or fewer register for the reexamination the examination form will be oral.
Criteria for exam assesment
To obtain the grade 12 the student has to fulfill the Learning outcom
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- NIFK14027U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- 1 block
- Placement
- Block 2
- Schedule
- B (Mon 8-12 + Tues 13-17 + Fri 8-12)
- Course capacity
- no restrictions
- Continuing and further education
- Study board
- Study Board of Food, Human Nutrition and Sports
Contracting department
- Department of Food and Resource Economics
Course responsibles
- Jørgen Dejgård Jensen (6-6c7174696770426b687471306d7730666d)
Lecturers
Sigrid Denver (lcz647)