Markets and Policies

Code: ECN08387M

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Economy

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

The aim of this course is to provide students with the basis for allowing understand: the functioning of different types of market for products and for inputs and well-being generated by them, the distinction between open and closed markets and its impact on welfare of different countries, the criteria of economic, social and political efficiency, the policies used to improve the efficiency and welfare of societies.It is expected that students consolidate their capacities for analysis and management of markets and economic policies.

1 - Markets, Policy and State1.1 Market1.2 Policies1.3 State1.4 Government and State versus Market 2 - Perfect Competition 2.1 Competition 2.2 Characteristics of the markets The market equilibrium and the competitive individual demand curve 2.3 Short term profit maximization 2.4 Short term Competitive individual supply curve 2.5 Benefits, losses and termination condition of the competitive firm 2.6 The market supply curve 2.6.1 Short run 2.6.2 Long run 2.7 competitive markets and economic efficiency 3 - Monopoly: concept and characteristics 3.1 Monopoly 3.2 The general characteristics of profit maximization of the monopolist 3.3 Comparison between perfect competition and monopoly 3.4 Price discrimination 4 - Imperfect Market Competition 4.1 The oligopoly 4.1.1 Oligopoly: some models 4.2 Monopolistic Competition 5 - Closed Markets Closed versus Open Markets 5.1 Open market 5.2.1 Big Country - world price 5.2.2 Small country - world price 6 - policies and their Impacts 6.1 Objectives, constraints and instruments 6.2 concepts of the theory of social welfare 6.2.1 The criterion of Pareto 6.2.2 Compensation criterion 6.3 Producer and consumer surplus 6.3.1 Without intervention of government 6.3.2 With intervention from government 6.4 Some examples of policies and instruments 6.5 Impacts of Policies

Teaching Methods

The classroom sessions of the course include a piece of explanatory matter, another critical analysis of real and / or hypothetical situations and, where applicable, resolution of application problems.