Module ECON2261: Microeconomic applications and policy

Department: Economics

ECON2261: Microeconomic applications and policy

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Tied	2	20	Available in 2026/2027	None.	Durham

Tied To

Pre-requisites

Principles of Economics (ECON1011) and EITHER Economic Methods (ECON1021) OR Calculus I (MATH1061) AND Linear Algebra I (MATH1071) AND Probability I (MATH1597) AND Statistics I (MATH1617)

Corequisites

None

Excluded Combinations

None

Aims

To develop students' awareness and understanding of the contribution which economic analysis can make to discussions of issues in microeconomics
To provide an understanding of theories and methods used in the analysis of microeconomic problems
To provide students with a good grounding for undertaking a dissertation in applied microeconomics

Content

The content will be topics of contemporary interest such as:
Education
Health
Sport
Culture
Inequality/Poverty
Charity
Crime/Conflict

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Knowledge and understanding of the theories and methods used in the analysis of microeconomics issues
Knowledge and understanding of market failure and the limitations of government intervention to combat it.

Subject-specific Skills

The application of economic theories to microeconomic problems
The ability to critically evaluate microeconomic policies and their consequences

Key Skills

Critical and analytical thinking
Problem solving
Written communication
Own learning
Library skills
Information retrieval
Written communication - summative assessment is a written examination
Planning and Organisation and time management - students plan their work to meet set deadlines
Adaptability - students perform under the pressure of written examinations
Oral communication - presenting of papers and participating in tutorials.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

Teaching is by lectures and tutorials. Learning takes place through attendance at lectures, preparation for and participation in tutorials, and private study. Tutorial questions give students the opportunity to apply the theoretical analysis presented in lectures.
Formative assessment to help prepare for the examination. Summative assessment is by means of an in-person examination to test students' knowledge and understanding of the subject-matter worth 100% of the module mark.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours	Attendance Monitored
Lectures	20	1 per week	1 hour	20
Tutorials	8	4 in term 1 and 4 in term 2	1 hour	8	Yes
Revision Classes	2		1 hour	2
Preparation and Reading				170
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Examination	100%	On Campus Written Examination	2 hours	100%

Formative Assessment

One written piece of work to prepare students for the summative examination.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.