INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

VNU-HCM

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

(BA117IU)

INTRODUCTION TO
MICROECONOMICS

Spring 2024

Instructor: Nguyen Van Phuong, PhD

E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: 8:30-10:30 AM on Monday at Room A2.304
Class sites: IU Blackboard

Teaching Assistants:

TBA

Should you wish to meet me outside the office hours, please meet after classes or send an email
to arrange an appointment. I will not reply your email if you do not introduce your full name
and class.

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1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE
1.1. Units of Credit: 3

1.2. Perquisite and Parallel courses

Not applicable

1.3. Relationship of this course to other course offerings

This is core required course for all majors in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).
It focuses on the basic principles of market economy.

1.4. Approach to learning and teaching

The teaching and learning adopted in this course is learner-center, and consequently, requires
active student participation and contribution. Through a range of interactive activities and
teaching strategies, it seeks to engage students in the learning. It also seeks to facilitate
independent learning through individual tasks and research, and fosters collaborative learning
through a range of group activities. It considers prior learning through a range of group
activities.

2. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

2.1 COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Microeconomics is the introductory course in economics. The course is designed to teach you
the basic tools of microeconomic analysis. Microeconomics is the branch of economics that
deals with the interaction of households and firms in individual markets. Some of the issues we
will study include how prices and output levels are determined, what happens when
governments intervene in markets, when do markets “fail”, how do markets produce an
“efficient” use of a society’s scarce resources and are market outcomes equitable. Learning “to
think like an economist” should make you a more informed student, consumer, worker and
voter.

This course does not assume any prior knowledge of economics. However, if you have
enrolled Macroeconomics, it enables you to get better understanding Microeconomics.

2.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES and Outcomes

At the completion of this course students will be able to:

Recognize the importance that economic models play in economic analysis.
Understand opportunity cost and how this concept can be applied in all facets of life.
Use supply and demand analysis to predict changes in price/quantities in markets,
including when government policies play essential roles in these markets.
Determine how elasticity affects consumer demand and firms’ production decisions.
Recognize the role that utility plays in consumer consumption choices.

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 Apply the relationship between production and costs to determine the profit-maximizing
output of firms in different market types.
Understand a body of social science knowledge and its disciplinary perspective.
Understand markets characterized by monopoly and imperfect competition.

2.3 Teaching Strategies

The learning system in this course consists of lectures and scheduled

presentations/discussions. Lectures elaborate the appropriate theoretical content in the
textbook and readings. Classes provide a more detailed and refined analysis of both
concepts and applied materials. Classes are strongly oriented towards interactive discussion
of the text and cases. In order to gain the most from the lectures and class activities, the
assigned text/reading should be read before the lecture to participate in the discussions.

3. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT

3.1. Workload
It is expected that you will spend at least 10 hours per week studying this course. This time
should be made up of reading, working on exercises and problem, group assignment and
attending class lectures and tutorials. In periods where you need to complete assignment or
prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater.

3.2. Attendance
Your regular and punctual attendance at lectures and related seminar (if any) is expected in this
course. University regulations indicate that if students attend less than 80% of scheduled
classes they may be refused final assessment. Regular attendance is essential for successful
performance and learning in this course, particular in view of the interactive teaching and
learning approach adopted. Please inform your lecture if you are unable to attend the class, and
arrange for a classmate to collect any handouts.

3.3. General Conduct and Behavior

You are expected to conduct yourself with considerable and respect for the needs of your
fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct that unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such
as ringing, talking on mobile phones, or chatting on the internet, is not acceptable, and students
may be asked to leave the class.

Most classes will begin with a “cold call” to one specific student that will open the case, which
is selected from the textbook, reference materials, and business news, and provoke class
discussion. In the course of a semester, every student will receive a cold call at least once.
After the opening question, the class will collectively analyze, argue, approach, and persuade
polite society (the class). The instructor’s role is one of orchestration and additional
stimulation of discussion.

3.4. Keeping informed

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course website.
From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your through website,
course website and/ or Announcement Board (of School of Business and/ or Academic Affair)

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without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this
information.

3.5 Class Policies

You may use a laptop during class, but it should be used to further concepts and not for
other things such as…, as well as…

Please make every effort to arrive in class on time. Turn all pagers, cell phones, and
PDAs off prior to entering class. They are a disruption to the learning process. You may be
asked to leave the classroom if this policy is violated.

Extra credits will be assigned to an individual who either raises a good question or has
a good answer in class.

4. LEARNING ASSESSMENT
4.1. Assessment details
To pass this course, student must:
attempt ALL FOUR assessment tasks
submit/complete all assessment tasks on time
attain an overall pass mark of 50% in the course

Assessment Tasks:

Tasks Marks Date/ Notes

1. Quizzes 10%
2. Individual presentation (Oral) 20% Weekly working and oral report
in section 14 & 15
3. Mid-term Test 30% Following the school
4. Final Test 40% Following the school

Please note that there is no make-up quiz, midterm exam and final one. I will not reply
any email asking for being absent.

1. Quizzes
The quizzes are usually in the form of multiple-choice questions or essay questions that take 15
– 20 minutes each. Students are allowed to use notes in the quizzes.

2. Individual presentation:

Each person will be assigned a case study and work on it for 10 weeks. Please check the
Blackboard to know your case.
Each student must present the assigned case in front of the lecturer during 14 &15.

3. Mid-term Test

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The midterm test will be 90 minutes or 120 minutes in length and will be in the form of
multiple-choice, problem-solving questions, and essay questions.

4. Final Test

The final test will be 120 minutes in length and will be in the form of multiple choices,
problem-solving questions, and essay questions.

Grading
The letter grade will be followed by the University.

5. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM

The following activities are not permitted in the course:

“1/ Plagiarism: copying or receiving material from a source or sources and submitting
this material as one’s own without acknowledging the particular debts to the source
(quotations, paraphrases, basic ideas), or otherwise representing the work of another as one’s
own;

2/ Cheating: receiving information, or soliciting information, from another student or

other unauthorized source, or giving information to another student, with the intention to
deceive while completing an examination or individual assignment.

3/ Falsification of academic materials: fabricating laboratory materials, notes, reports, or

any forms of computer data; forcing an instructor’s name or initials; resubmitting an
examination or assignment for reevaluation which has been altered without the instructor’s
authorization, or submitting a report, paper, materials, computer data, or examination (or any
considerable part thereof) prepared by any person other than the student responsible for the
assignment;”

This is a good style guide for references: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/turabian.pdf

A plagiarism checker will be used on all papers turned in. Papers that do not give correct
credit for intellectual property will receive a grade of F. Be honest!

6. STUDENT RESOURCES

Course Resources
The following text and references are essential for the course.

Textbook:

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Principles of Microeconomics, 9th Edition, 2021, by N. Gregory Mankiw.
Or the older version.

Other materials:
 Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 1st Edition, 2009, by Andrew Schotter.
 Microeconomics, 9th Edition, 2010, by Roger A. Amold
 You are encouraged to read the Wall Street Journal.

e-RESOURCES

This course is dedicated to a paperless course. Copies of the syllabus, lecture notes,
other materials, and assignments will be posted on the Blackboard.

7. COURSE SCHEDULE
Section Topic
s
1 Course Introduction
Basic Concepts of the Economics (Chapter 1)
2 Thinking like an Economist (Chapter 2)
Interdependence and the Gains from Trade (Chapter 3)
3 Supply – Demand (Chapter 4)
4 Elasticity and Its Applications (Chapter 5)
5 Supply – Demand & Government (Chapter 6)
6 Consumers_Producers (Chapter 7)
7 Cost of production (Chapter 13)
8 Midterm exam
9 Theories of Consumer Choice (Chapter 21)
10 Perfect competitive market (Chapter 14)
11 Monopoly (Chapter 15)
12 Monopolistic competition (Chapter 16)
13 Oligopoly (Chapter 17)
14 Oral presentation
15 Oral presentation
Final Exam
This schedule is able changed when necessary.