NIFK14027U Consumer Economics and Policy: AFLYST
MSc Programme in Food Science and Technology
The aim of the course is to teach the fundamentals of
microeconomic theory, and thereby give an understanding of consumer
and producer behaviour in relation to economic decision making.
Introduction of demand and supply analysis enables us to use
economic theory to e.g. explain the consequences for the price of
organic apples if major levels of pesticide residues suddenly are
found in conventional apples. During the course the economic
approach to solving current challenges with e.g. obesity and poor
nutrition as well as aims and arguments for regulation in relation
to public food policy will also be discussed.
The course consists of three main parts:
1. The economic part.
This part of the course focuses on consumer and producer behaviour.
The underlying assumptions about the consumers’ decision making are
discussed, including the concepts of utility maximization, budget
constraints, demand functions, prices and income. The firms’
production decisions are also addressed and new concepts such as
profit maximization and the equimarginal principle are introduced.
In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of how different markets
work, we use real world examples to discuss markets characterized
by perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly. Demand and supply
of goods and services with the conditions for market equilibrium
are introduced.
2. The policy part.
The welfare economic rationale for policy regulation is
discussed and some of the mostly used policy instruments are
examined. These instruments include:
- Change in prices through taxes (e.g. a tax on sugar and fat,
which is introduced to induce people to eat less unhealthy
products) or subsidies.
- Information is a strong policy instrument which may affect the
behavior of the consumers (e.g. labelling or information about the
health benefit of eating fruits and vegetables)
- Other instruments such as direct regulation, public support
and public control will also be discussed
3. Case studies.
Throughout the course relevant cases concerning topics like food policy, food safety, obesity, local food, organic food will be examined. Consumer or producer behaviour in different cases will be addressed using an economic approach 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
- Lectures
- 42
- Preparation
- 100
- Project work
- 40
- Theory exercises
- 20
- 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.
If the student has not handed in the project report, then it must be handed in two weeks prior to the re-exam. It must be approved before the exam.
Criteria for exam assesment
To obtain the grade 12 the student has to fulfill the Learning outcomes
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- NIFK14027U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- 1 block
- Placement
- Block 2
- Schedule
- B
- 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 (6-7176796e6c7547706d797635727c356b72)
Lecturers
Sigrid Denver (lcz647)