《微观经济学（双语）》课程教学大纲

《微观经济学》（双语）课程教学大纲

一、课程基本信息

课程代码:18060013

课程名称：《微观经济学》（双语）

英文名称：Microeconomics

课程类别：学科基础课

学时：48

学分：3

适用对象：经济管理类

考核方式：考试

先修课程：高中数学

二、课程简介

中文简介

作为微观经济学的第一门课，本课程将向学生遑供这一领域的基本观点、基本概

念和分析工具。学生将学习市场如何运做，各个经济主体如何做出决策，以及他们对

资源配置的含义。本课程将包括：对一些基本经济原理的介绍，供给和需求，市场与

福利，公共部门经济学，企业行为与产业组织等。本课程将更多地侧重应用与政策。

英文简介

Asthefirstcourseofmicroeconomics,thiscoursewillprovidestudentswiththe

fundamentalideas,basicconceptsandtechniquesinthisfield.Studentswillstudyhowthe

marketswork,howtheeconomicagentsmakedecisions,andtheirimplicationsforthe

allocationofresources.Thiscoursewillincludes:IntroductiontoSomePrinciplesof

Economics,DemandandSupply,MarketsandWelfare.theEconomicsofthePublicSector,

FirmBehaviorandtheOrganizationofIndustry,etc.Moreofthiscourseisdevotedto

applicationandpolicy.

三、课程性质与教学目的

微观经济学是经济管理类专业的基础课，揭示了关于现代化大生产、市场经济运

行和资源配置机制、政府宏观调控和企业管理的基本规律，也反映了发达资本主义国

家特殊的阶级利益、制度属性和意识形态。学习该课程，需要以马克思主义理论为指

导并从中国实际出发，遵循理论移植规律，紧密联系当代中国特色社会主义丰富实践，

客观认识西方经济学，取其之精华、去之糟粕。

四、教学内容及要求

第一章TenPrinciplesofEconomics

（一）目的与要求

Bytheendofthischapter,studentsshouldunderstand:

I.thateconomicsisabouttheallocationofscarceresources

2.someofthetradeoffthatpeopleface

3.themeaningofopportunitycost

4.howtousemarginalreasoningwhenmakingdecisions

5.howincentiveaffectpeople'sbehavior

6.whytradeamongpeopleornationscanbegoodfoeeveryone

7.whymarketsareagood,butnotperfect,waytoallocateresources

8.whatdeterminessometrendsintheoveralleconomy

9.HowtostudyandtreatmicroeconomicsfromthestandpointofMarxism?

（二）教学内容

I.Introduction

A.ThewordAeconomy@comesfromtheGreekwordmeaningAonewho

managesahousehold.

B.Fundamentaleconomicproblem:resourcesarescarce.

C.DefinitionofScarcity:thelimitednatureofsociety'sresources.

D.DefinitionofEconomics:thestudyofhowsocietymanagesitsscarce

resources.

II.HowPeopleMakeDecisions

A.Principle#1;PeopleFaceTradeoffs

1.Makingdecisionsrequirestradingoffonegoalforanother.

2.Aspecialexampleofatradeoffisthetradeoffbetweenefficiencyand

equity.

a.DefinitionofEfficiency:thepropertyofsocietygettingthe

mostitcanfromitsscarceresources.

b.DefinitionofEquity:thepropertyofdistributingeconomic

prosperityfairlyamongthemembersofsociety.

B.Principle#2:TheCostofSomethingIsWhatYouGiveUptoGetIt

1.Makingdecisionsrequiresindividualstoconsiderthebenefitsand

costsofsomeaction.

2.DefinitionofOpportunityCost:whatevermustbegivenuptoobtain

someitem.

C.Principle#3:RationalPeopleThinkattheMargin

1.Manydecisionsinlifeinvolveincrementaldecisions.

2.DefinitionofMarginalChanges:smallincrementaladjustmentstoa

planofaction.

D.Principle#4:PeopleRespondtoIncentives

Becausepeoplemakedecisionsbyweighingcostsandbenefits,their

decisionsmaychangeinresponsetochangesincostsandbenefits.

III.HowPeopleInteract

A.Principle#5:TradeCanMakeEveryoneBetterOff

B.Principle#6:MarketsArcUsuallyaGoodWaytoOrganizeEconomic

Activity

1.DefinitionofMarketEconomy:aneconomythatallocatesresources

throughthedecentralizeddecisionsofmanyfirmsandhouseholdsas

theyinteractinmarketsforgoodsandservices.

C.Principle#7:GovernmentsCanSometimesImproveMarketOutcomes

1.Goalsofmostgovernmentpolicies:promotionofefficiencyand

equity.

2.Governmentpolicycanbemostusefulwhenthereismarketfailure.

DefinitionofMarketFailure:asituationinwhichamarket

leftonitsownfailstoallocateresourcesefficiently.

3.ExamplesofMarkelFailure

a.DefinitionofExternality:theimpactofoneperson'sactions

onthewell-beingofabystander.

b.DefinitionofMarketPower:theabilityofasingleeconomic

actor(orsmallgroupofactors)tohaveasubstantialinfluence

onmarketprices.

4.Notethattheprinciplestatesthatthegovernmentcanimprove

marketoutcomes.Thisisnotsayingthatthegovernmentalways

doesimprovemarketoutcomes.

IV.HowtheEconomyasaWholeWorks

A.Principle#8:ACountry'sStandardofLivingDependsonItsAbilityto

ProduceGoodsandServices

1.DefinitionofProductivity:thequantityofgoodsandservices

producedfromeachhourofaworker'stime.

2.Highproductivityimpliesahighstandardofliving.

B.Principle#9:PricesRiseWhentheGovernmentPrintsTooMuchMoney

1.DefinitionofInflation:anincreaseintheoveralllevelofpricesinthe

economy.

2.Whenthegovernmentcreatesalargeamountofmoney,thevalueof

moneyfalls.

C.Principle#10:SocietyFacesaShort-RunTradeoffbetweenInflationand

Unemployment

DefinitionofPhillipsCurve:theshort-runtradeoffbetweeninflation

andunemployment.

VI.HowtolearnMicroeconomics

1.InsistonanalyzingwithMarxiststandpoint,viewpointandmethod

2.Deeplyunderstandthehistoryofcapitalistdevelopment

3.CloselylinkedwiththepracticeofsocialismwithChinesecharacteristics

4.TreatcorrectlyonthemethodologyofWesternEconomics

（三）课后练习

1.YouwereplanningtospendSaturdayworkingatyourpart-timejob,butafriend

asksyoutogoskiing.Whatisthetruecostofgoingskiing?Nowsupposethatyouhad

beenplanningtospendthedaystudyingatthelibrary.Whatisthecostofgoingskiingin

thiscase?Explain.

2.Yourroommateisabettercookthanyouare,butyoucancleanmorequickly

thanyourroommatecan.Ifyourroommatedidallofthecookingandyoudidallofthe

cleaning,wouldyourchorestakeyoumoreorlesstimethanifyoudividedeachtask

evenly?Giveasimilarexampleofhowspecializationandtradecanmaketwocountries

bothbetteroff.

（四）教学方法与手段

课堂讲授。

第二章ThinkingLikeAnEconomist

（一）目的与要求

Bytheendofthischapter,studentsshouldunderstand:

1.howeconomicsapplythemethodsofscience

2.howassumptionsandmodelscanshedlightontheworld

3.twosimplemodels-thecircularflowandtheproductionpossibilitiesfrontier

4.thedistinguishbetweenmicroeconomicsandmacroeconomics

5.thedifferencebetweenpositiveandnormativestatement

6.theroleofeconomicsinmakingpolicy

7.whyeconomistssometimesdisagreewithoneanother

（二）教学内容

I.TheEconomistasScientist

A.Economistsfollowthescientificmethod.

1.Observationshelpustodeveloptheory.

2.Datacanbecollectedandanalyzedtoevaluatetheories.

3.Experimentsaremoredifficultineconomicsthaninphysicalscience

becausecontrolledexperimentscannotbeused.

B.Assumptionsmaketheworldeasiertounderstand.

Mostassumptionswillbesomewhatunrealisticbutwillhavesmall

effectsontheactualoutcomeof:heanswer.

C.Economistsuseeconomicmodelstoexplaintheworldaroundus.

1.Mosteconomicmodelsarecomposedofdiagramsandequations.

2.Thegoalofamodelistosimplifyrealityinordertoincreaseour

understanding.Thisiswheretheuseofassumptionsishelpful.

D.OurFirstModel:TheCircularFlowDiagram

DefinitionofCircular-FlowDiagram:avisualmodeloftheeconomy

thatshowshowdollarsflowthroughmarketsamonghouseholdsand

firms.

E.OurSecondModel:TheProductionPossibilitiesFrontier

DefinitionofProductionPossibilitiesFrontier:agraphthatshows

thecombinationsofoutputthattheeconomycanpossiblyproduce

giventheavailablefactorsofprcductionandtheavailableproduction

technology.

F.MicroeconomicsandMacroeconomics

1.DefinitionofMicroeconomics:thestudyofhowhouseholdsand

firmsmakedecisionsandhowtheyinteractinmarkets.

2.DefinitionofMacroeconomics:thestudyofeconomy-wide

phenomena,includinginflation,unemployment,andeconomic

growth.

ILTheEconomistasPolicyAdviser

A.PositiveVersusNormativeAnalysis

1.DefinitionofPositiveStatements:claimsthatattempttodescribethe

worldasitis.

2.DefinitionofNormativeStatements:claimsthatattempttoprescribe

howtheworldshouldbe.

3.Positivestatementscanbeevaluatedusingdata,whilenormative

statementsinvolvepersonalviewpoints.

B.EconomistsinWashington

III.WhyEconomistsDisagree

A.DifferencesinScientificJudgments

B.DifferencesinValues

C.PerceptionVersusReality

IV.Appendix一Graphing:ABriefReview

A.GraphsofaSingleVariable

B.GraphsofTwoVariables:TheCoordinateSystem

C.CurvesintheCoordinateSystem

D.SlopeandElasticity

E.CauseandEffect

F.OmittedVariables

G.ReverseCausality

（三）课后练习

1.ThefirstprincipleofeconomicsdiscussedinChapter1isthatpeopleface

tradeoffs.Useaproductionpossibilitiesfrontiertoillustratesociety^tradeoffbetweena

cleanenvironmentandhighincomes.Whatdoyousupposedeterminestheshapeand

positionofthefrontier?Showwhathappenstothefrontierifengineersdevelopan

automobileenginewithalmostnoemissions.

（四）教学方法与手段

课堂讲授。

第三章InterdependenceandTheGainsfromTrade

（一）目的与要求

Bytheendofthischapter,studentsshouldunderstand:

1.howeveryonecanbenefitwhenpeopletradewithoneanother

2.themeaningofabsoluteadvantageandcomparativeadvantage

3.howcomparativeadvantageexplainsthegainsfromtrade

4.howtoapplythetheoryofcomparativeadvantagetoeverylifeandnationpolicy.

（二）教学内容

I.AParablefortheModernEconomy

A.Example:twogoods—meatandpotatoesandtwopeople—acattle

rancherandapotatofarmer（bothofwhomliketoconsumebothpotatoes

andmeat）.

B.ProductionPossibilities

C.SpecializationandTrade

II.ThePrincipleofComparativeAdvantage

A.AbsoluteAdvantage

DefinitionofAbsoluteAdvantage:thecomparisonamongproducers

ofagoodaccordingtotheirproductivity.

B.OpportunityCostandComparativeAdvantage

1.DefinitionofOpportunityCost:whatevermustbegivenuptoobtain

someitem.

2.DefinitionofComparativeAdvantage:thecomparisonamong

producersofagoodaccordingtotheiropportunitycost.

3.Becausetheopportunitycostofproducingonegoodistheinverseof

theopportunitycostofproducingtheother,itisimpossiblefora

persontohaveacomparativeadvantageintheproductionofboth

goods.

C.ComparativeAdvantageandTrade

1.Whenspecializationinagoodoccurs（assumingthereisa

comparativeadvantage）,totaloutputwillgrow.

2.Aslongastheopportunitycostofproducingthegoodsdiffersacross

thetwoindividuals,bothcangainfromspecializationandtrade.

III.ApplicationsofComparativeAdvantage

A.ShouldTigerWoodsMowHisOwnLawn?

B.ShouldtheUnitedStatesTradewithOtherCountries?

1.Justasindividualscanbenefitfromspecializationandtrade,socan

thepopulationsofdifferentcountries.

2.DefinitionofImports:goodsproducedabroadandsolddomestically.

3.DefinitionofExports:goodsproduceddomesticallyandsoldabroad.

4.Theprincipleofcomparativeadvantagesuggeststhateachgood

shouldbeproducedbythecountrywithacomparativeadvantagein

producingthatgood（smalleropportunitycost）.

5.Throughspecializationandtrade,countriescanhavemoreofall

goodstoconsume.

（三）课后练习

1.AmericanandJapaneseworkerscaneachproduce4carsayear.AnAmerican

workercanproduce10tonsofgrainayear,whereasaJapaneseworkercanproduce5tons

ofgrainayear.Tokeepthingssimple,assumethateachcountryhas100millionworkers,

a.Forthissituation,constructatableanalogoustoTable3-1.

b.GraphtheproductionpossibilitiesfrontieroftheAmericanandJapaneseeconomics.

c.FortheUnitedStates,whatistheopportunitycostofacar?Ofgrain?ForJapan,whatis

theopportunitycostofacar?Ofgrain?PutthisinformationinatableanalogoustoTable

3-3.

d.Whichcountryhasanabsoluteadvantageinproducingcars?Inproducinggrain?

e.Whichcountryhasacomparativeadvantageinproducingcars?Inproducinggrain?

f.Withouttrade,halfofeachcountry*sworkersproducecarsandhalfproducegrain.What

quantitiesofcarsandgraindoeseachcountryproduce?

g.Startingfromapositionwithouttrade,giveanexampleinwhichtrademakeseach

countrybetteroff.

（四）教学方法与手段

课堂讲授。

第四章TheMarketForcesofSupplyandDemand

（一）目的与要求

Bytheendofthischapter,studentsshouldunderstand:

1.whatacompetitivemarketis

2.whatdeterminesthedemandforagoodinacompetitivemarket

3.whatdeterminesthesupplyofagoodinacompetitivemarket

4.howsupplyanddemandtogethersetthepriceofagoodandthequantitysold

5.thekeyroleofpricesinallocatingscarceresourcesinmarketeconomics

（二）教学内容

I.MarketsandCompetition

A.DefinitionofMarket:agroupofbuyersandsellersofaparticulargoodor

service.

B.DefinitionofCompetitiveMarket:amarketinwhichtherearemanybuyers

andmanysellerssothateachhasanegligibleimpactonthemarketprice.

C.Competition:PerfectandOtherwise

1.Characteristicsofaperfectlycompetitivemarket:

2.Becausebuyersandsellersmustacceptthemarketpriceasgiven,

theyareoftencalled"pricetakers.”

3.Agriculturalmarketsprovidegoodexamplesofperfectcompetition.

4.Amarketwithonlyoneselleriscalledamonopolymarket.

5.Amarketwithonlyafewsellersiscalledanoligopoly.

6.Amarketwithalargenumberofsellers,eachsellingaproductthatis

slightlydifferentfromitscompetitors?products,iscalled

monopolisticcompetition.

D.Wewillstartbyassumingperfectcompetition.

II.Demand

A.DefinitionofQuantityDemanded:theamountofagoodthatbuyersare

willingandabletopurchase.

B.WhatDeterminestheQuantityanIndividualDemands?

1.Price

a.DefinitionofLawofDemand:theclaimthat,otherthings

beingequal,thequantitydemandedofagoodfallswhenthe

priceofthegoodrises.

2.Income

a.DefinitionofNormalGood:agoodforwhich,otherthings

equal,anincreaseinincomeleadstoanincreaseindemand.

b.DefinitionofInferiorGood:agoodforwhich,otherthings

equal,anincreaseinincomeleadstoadecreaseindemand.

3.PricesofRelatedGoods

a.DefinitionofSubstitutes:twogoodsforwhichanincreasein

thepriceofonegoodleadstoanincreaseinthedemandfor

theothergood.

b.DefinitionofComplements:twogoodsforwhichanincrease

inthepriceofonegoodleadstoadecreaseinthedemandfor

theothergood.

4.Tastes

5.Expectations

C.TheDemandScheduleandtheDemandCurve

1.DefinitionofDemandSchedule:atablethatshowstherelationship

betweenthepriceofagoodandthequantitydemanded.

2.DefinitionofDemandCurve:agraphoftherelationshipbetweenthe

priceofagoodandthequantitydemanded.

D.CeterisParibus

DefinitionofCeterisParibus:aLatinphrase,translatedas“other

thingsbeingequal,“usedasareminderthatallvariablesotherthan

theonesbeingstudiedareassumedtobeconstant.

E.MarketDemandVersusIndividualDemand

Themarketdemandisthesumofalloftheindividualdemandsfora

particulargoodorservice.

F.ShiftsintheDemandCurve

Whenanydeterminantofdemandchanges(otherthanprice),the

demandcurvewillshift.

III.Supply

A.DefinitionofQuantitySupplied:(heamountofagoodthatsellersare

willingandabletosell.

B.WhatDeterminestheQuantityanIndividualSupplies?

1.Price

DefinitionofLawofSupply:theclaimthat,otherthingsequal,the

quantitysuppliedofagoodriseswhenthepriceofthegoodrises.

2.InputPrices

3.Technology

4.Expectations

C.TheSupplyScheduleandtheSupplyCurve

1.DefinitionofSupplySchedule:atablethatshowstherelationship

betweenthepriceofagoodandthequantitysupplied.

2.DefinitionofSupplyCurve:agraphoftherelationshipbetv/eenthe

priceofagoodandthequantitysupplied.

D.MarketSupplyVersusIndividualSupply

Themarketsupplycurvecanbefoundbysummingindividualsupply

curves.

E.ShiftsintheSupplyCurve

Whenanydeterminantofsupplychanges(otherthanprice),the

supplycurvewillshift.

IV.SupplyandDemandTogether

A.Equilibrium

1.Thepointwherethesupplyanddemandcurvesintersectiscalledthe

market'sequilibrium.

2.DefinitionofEquilibrium:asituationinwhichsupplyanddemand

havebeenbroughtintobalance.

3.DefinitionofEquilibriumPrice:thepricethatbalancessupplyand

demand.

4.Theequilibriumpriceisoftencalledthe“market-clearing”price

becausebothbuyersandsellersaresatisfiedatthisprice.

5.DefinitionofEquilibriumQuantity:thequantitysuppliedandthe

quantitydemandedwhenthepricehasadjustedtobalancesupply

anddemand.

6.Iftheactualmarketpriceishigherthantheequilibriumprice,there

willbeasurplusofthegood.

7.Iftheactualpriceislowerthantheequilibriumprice,therewillbea

shortageofthegood.

8.DefinitionoftheLawofSupplyandDemand:theclaimthatthe

priceofanygoodadjuststobringthesupplyanddemandforthat

goodintobalance.

B.ThreeStepstoAnalyzingChangesinEquilibrium

D.ShiftsinCurvesVersusMovementsAlongCurves

V.Conclusion:HowPricesAllocateResources

A.Themodelofsupplyanddemandisapowerfultoolforanalyzingmarkets.

B.Supplyanddemandtogetherdeterminethepriceoftheeconomy'sgoods

andservices.

1.Thesepricesserveassignalsthatguidetheallocationofscarce

resourcesintheeconomy.

2.Pricesdelerminewhoproduceseachgoodandhowmuchofeach

goodisproduced.

（三）课后练习

1.Supposethatthepriceofbasketballticketsatyourcollegeisdeterminedby

marketforces.Currently,thedemandandsupplyschedulesareasfollows:

PRICEQUANTITYDEMANDEDQUANTITYSUPPLIED

$410,0008,000

88,0008,000

126,0008,000

164,0008,000

202,0008,000

a.Drawthedemandandsupplycurves.Whatisunusualaboutthissupplycurve?Why

mightthisbetrue?

b.Whataretheequilibriumpriceandquantityoftickets?

c.Yourcollegeplanstoincreasetotalenrollmentnextyearby5,000students.The

additionalstudentswillhavethefollowingdemandschedule:

PRICEQUANTITYDEMANDED

$44,000

83,000

122,000

161,000

200

Nowaddtheolddemandscheduleandthedemandscheduleforthenewstudentsto

calculatethenewdemandschedulefortheentirecollege.Whatwillbethenewequilibrium

priceandquantity?

（四）教学方法与手段

课堂讲授。

第五章ElasticityandItsApplication

（一）目的与要求

Bytheendofthischapter,studentsshouldunderstand:

1.themeaningoftheelasticityofdemand

2.whatdeterminestheelasticityofdemand

3.themeaningoftheelasticityofsupply

4.whatdeterminestheelasticityofsupply

5.howtoapplytheconceptofelasticityinthethreeverydifferentmarkets

（二）教学内容

1.TheElasticityofDemand

A.DefinitionofElasticity:ameasureoftheresponsivenessofquantity

demandedorquantitysuppliedtooneofitsdeterminants.

B.ThePriceElasticityofDemandandItsDeterminants

1.DefinitionofPriceElasticityofDemand:ameasureofhowmuchthe

quantitydemandedofagoodrespondstoachangeinthepriceof

thatgood,computedasthepercentagechangeinquantitydemanded

dividedbythepercentagechangeinprice.

2.DeterminantsofPriceElasticityofDemand

a.NecessitiesversusLuxuries:necessitiesaremoreprice

inelastic.

b.AvailabilityofCloseSubstitutes:themoresubstitutesagood

has,themoreelasticitsdemand.

c.DefinitionoftheMarket:narrowlydefinedmarkets（ice

cream）havemoreclasticdemandthanbroadlydefined

markets（food）.

d.TimeHorizon:goodstendtohavemoreelasticdemandover

longertimehorizons.

C.ComputingthePriceElasticityofDemand

D.TheMidpointMethod:ABetterWaytoCalculateElasticities

E.TheVarietyofDemandCurves

1.ClassificationofElasticity

a.Whentheelasticityisgreaterthanone,thedemandis

consideredtobeelastic.

b.Whentheelasticityislessthanone,thedemandisconsidered

tobeinelastic.

c.Whentheelasticityisequaltoone,thedemandiscalledunit

elastic.

2.SlopeofDemandCurve:ingeneral,theflatterthedemandcurvethe

moreelasticthedemand.

3.ExtremeCases

D.TotalRevenueandthePriceElasticityofDemand

E.OtherDemandElasticities

DefinitionofIncomeElasticityofDemand:ameasureofhowmuch

thequantitydemandedofagoodrespondstoachangeinconsumers"

income,computedas(hepercentagechangeinquantitydemanded

dividedbythepercentagechangeinincome.

II.TheElasticityofSupply

A.ThePriceElasticityofSupplyandItsDeterminants

1.DefinitionofPriceElasticityofSupply:ameasureofhowmuchthe

quantitysuppliedofagoodrespondstoachangeinthepriceofthat

good,computedasthepercentagechangeinquantitysupplied

dividedbythepercentagechangeinprice.

2.DeterminantsofthePriceElasticityofSupply

a.FlexibilityofSellers:goodswhicharesomewhatfixedin

supply(beachfrontproperty)haveinelasticsupplies.

b.TimeHorizon:supplyisusuallymoreinelasticintheshort

runthaninthelongrun.

B.ComputingthePriceElasticityofSupply

C.TheVarietyofSupplyCurves

1.SlopeofSupplyCurve:ingeneral,theflatterthesupplycurvethe

moreelasticthesupply.

2.ExtremeCases

III.ThreeApplicationsofSupply,Demand,andElasticity

A.CanGoodNewsforFarmingBeBadNewsforFarmers?

B.WhyDidOPECFailtoKeepthePriceofOilHigh?

C.DoesDrugInterdictionIncreaseorDecreaseDrug-RelatedCrime?

(三)课后练习

1.Supposethatbusinesstravelersandvacationershavethefollowingdemandfor

airlineticketsfromNewYorktoBoston:

QUANTITYDEMANDED