MASENO UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
COURSE OUTLINE
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2024/2025 YEAR: 2 SEMESTER 1
COURSE CODE: BEC 201: INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMICS
COURSE LECTURER: DR. YASIN K. GHABON CONTACT: 0715197347
Prerequisite: BEC 101
Course Purpose:
The course seeks to examine the theories of production and costs, price and output in various
market structures, demand for and supply of factors of production, economics of inter-temporal
choice, welfare economics.
Expected Learning Outcome:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
i. Describe the theories of consumer behavior
ii. Explain the various forms of market structures
iii. Describe the theory of costs and theory of production
iv. Explain the welfare economics theories
COURSE CONTENT
Week Topic/Subtopic Content
Introduction to intermediate -Equilibrium, Elasticity, consumer surplus,
1. microeconomics: Demand and producer surplus, price controls and taxes
Supply Review
2. Consumer Demand Theory Theories of Consumer Behaviour:
1. Cardinal Utility
- Law of diminishing marginal utility
- Principal of Equi-marginal utility
1
- Consumer Equilibrium
- Derivation of Demand curve and the Law
of demand
2. Ordinal Utility
- Indifference Curve Analysis
- Consumer Equilibrium
- Income and Substitution Effects
3 & 4 Consumer Demand Theory - Income-Consumption Curve and Engel
Curve
- Price-Consumption Curve and Consumer
Demand curve
- Derivation of Demand curve under
Ordinal theory
- Consumer Surplus
3. Revealed Preference Theory
5 Theory of Production and Cost Theory of Production
-Production functions
- Returns to a Factor
-Production with two variable factors
-Optimum factor combination
6 Theory of Production and Cost Theory of Costs
-Concepts of production costs
-Properties of cost functions
-Relationship between short run and long
run costs
-Economies of Scope
- External Economies and Diseconomies of
Scale
- Numerical examples of Costs estimation
7 CAT I
8 Theory of Firms and Pricing Markets and Revenue
-Concepts of average revenue and marginal
Revenue
-Average revenue, marginal revenue and
price elasticity of demand
-Mathematical treatment of AR and MR
Curves
-Equilibrium of the firm
9 Theory of Firms and Pricing Market structures
1. Perfect Competitive Markets
2. Imperfect Markets
-Monopoly
-Monopolistic competition
- Oligopolies
2
3. Introduction to game theory
10 General Equilibrium Analysis General equilibrium analysis
-Introduction to general equilibrium
Concept
-General equilibrium of exchange and
consumption: distribution of goods
between individuals
-General equilibrium of production
-General equilibrium of production and
exchange
11 Introduction to welfare economics -Introduction to welfare Economics
-Perfect competition and Economic
efficiency
-Externalities and market failure
12& END OF SEMESTER EXAMS
13
Teaching Methodology
Group discussions and presentations, lectures, exercises and tutorials, Lectures, class
demonstration and problem-solving.
Instructional Materials
Lecture notes, Encyclopedias, Textbooks, Journals, Group exercises, Class handouts, Computers
and projectors, Blackboard, Whiteboard.
Assessment
Continuous Assessments Tests 20%
Assignments 10 %
End of Semester Examination 70%
Total 100%
3
Reference Materials
1. Nechyba, T.J. (2018). Intermediate Microeconomics; An Intuitive Approach with
Calculus. 2nd edition. Cengage Learning.
2. Mudida, R. (2015). Modern Economics. Revised Edition. Focus Publishers Ltd.
3. Koutsoyiannis, A. (1979) Modern Microeconomics. The Macmillan press Ltd. Latest
edition
4. Ruffin, R.J. (1992) Intermediate Microeconomics. 2 nd Edition. Harper Collins Publishers,
University of Houston
5. Nicholson W. (2011) Microeconomic Theory, Basic Principles and Extensions. Latest
edition.
6. Dwivedi, D.N. (2006). Microeconomics; Theory & Applications. Pearson Education
(Singapore) Ltd
Lecturer…………………………………………………..Sign……………….. Date……………
C.O.D……………………………………………………..Sign………………..Date…………….
