ECON1020 Introductory Macroeconomics
Question:
Using the models and theories of either (1) market structure, conduct and performance, (2) game theory or (3) the boundary of the firm, perform a microeconomic analysis of one appropriate economic issue or phenomenon of your choice. Clearly explain your chosen question, method and conclusions. Comment on the link between market structure and performance for your chosen issue.
your task is to conduct economic analysis of an issue that you select yourself, just as business people and policymakers do. You will be assessed on what you learnt in the course by correctly choosing and applying definitions, methods and theories from lectures and tutorials. As this is a microeconomics assignment you should not write a general or journalistic report or use concepts from other courses not discussed in this course.
• Look at the business and economics news for ideas for an appropriate issue. It needs to fit the purpose of microeconomics (lecture 1) - a topical, important example of resource allocation with questions you can answer by applying microeconomic methods. State the question, why it’s interesting and economically significant. Present facts or data to illustrate.
• Select the right method (i.e. microeconomic model, theory or tool from this course) to answer your question. Explain your method. Assume your reader needs to be explained every concept needed to follow your analysis.
• Apply the method to your issue. Report the steps of your analysis and your findings. Typical analysis discusses the economic agents, how they exchange, the equilibrium and factors that change it and finally welfare implications. Use diagrams or models as they answer the question better than only words.
• Your conclusion will directly answer the question and maybe look at the big picture - the significance and limitations of your work. Clearly structure your report (depending on topic), for instance using numbered sections for each of the parts of the task, e.g. introduction, model, analysis and conclusion. Introduction and conclusion will normally be shorter. Sample topics, questions relating to them and appropriate methods/analytical tools are given in the table below. They are taken from lectures and the tutorial questions you tackled in class. Please do not use these or indeed any examples from classes as choosing an original topic and analytic tool by yourself is part of the assessment. These and other cases discussed in lectures and tutorials give you an idea of how to complete this assignment.
