Course teacher(s)
Ruben Savelkoul (Coordinator) and Glenn MAGERMANECTS credits
5
Language(s) of instruction
english
Course content
This course consists of 12 weekly theory sessions of 2h each, and 6 sessions of practice sessions of 2h each. Both theory and practice sessions are integral part of this course, and build on each other. All course content is in English.
The following topics are covered:
1. Choice and demand
2. Estimating demand
3. Production
4. Costs
5. Profit maximization
6. Monopoly
7. Oligopoly
8. Price setting mechanisms: price discrimination
9. Price setting mechanisms: bundling
10. Asymmetric information
11. Risk and uncertainty
12. Closure and Q&A
Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)
This course is one of the mandatory core courses in the Master in Management Science curriculum at Solvay Brussels School, ULB. The course objectives are: (i) to train students to be business practitioners with a strong background in standard economic models with a focus on price setting mechanisms; (ii) to learn theoretical concepts and to transpose these to applied work situations; and (iii) to guide evidence-based and data-driven decision making as managers in real businesses. The course largely draws from micro-economic theory, industrial organization and quantitative analysis, but with applications from an applied and data-drive perspective. The generality of the frameworks we study, combined with exercises and case studies will help students think about the kinds of markets they will encounter throughout their careers as managers, and how to develop pricing and production strategies in different competitive environments.
Prerequisites and Corequisites
Required and Corequired knowledge and skills
BA level micro and econometrics courses.
Teaching methods and learning activities
Class lectures + exercise sessions with calculus exercises and business cases.
References, bibliography, and recommended reading
Lectures draw from several sources, including
Nicholson, W. and Snyder, C.(2016). Microeconomic theory: basic principles and extensions, Cengage Learning.
We aim to make the online content on UV contingent so that this textbook is not necessary.
Contribution to the teaching profile
- Master and apply key economic and management concepts, frameworks and theories in a professional context to identify a business opportunity and build a relevant innovative solution to it.
- Adopt a scientific approach to data collection, research and analysis and communicate results with clear, structured and sophisticated arguments.
- Display critical thinking and develop autonomous learning strategies and techniques.
- Apply quantitative and qualitative techniques to support data analysis using standard office and statistical software.
Other information
Contacts
glenn.magerman@ulb.ac.be
ruben.savelkoul@ulb.ac.be
Campus
Solbosch
Evaluation
Method(s) of evaluation
- Other
Other
There is a midterm exam and a final exam, both which contribute to the final grade.
Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)
In order to pass this course, you must get a final grade of at least 10 out of 20 points. The final grade is allocated as follows:
- 25% on mid-term exam
- 75% on final exam.
Language(s) of evaluation
- english