ACE2012 : Consumer and Business Economics
- Offered for Year: 2020/21
- Module Leader(s): Dr Francisco Areal
- Other Staff: Dr Luca Panzone
- Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
To enable students to understand how economic theory and numerical analysis can be used to aid marketing and management decision-making in businesses. The module builds upon introductory economics and examines applications in business economics at an intermediate level. The course is divided into two. The first semester considers consumer and behaviour economics and provides some empirical applications from a marketing perspective. The second considers focus on the economics of business strategy and covers models to understand firm business decisions. It will also provide empirical applications and introduce decision on different market structures. Throughout, concepts and applications are made relevant to real world examples.
Outline Of Syllabus
Indicative module content
Consumer Demand
* Consumer Demand Theory
* Principles of behaviour economics
* Demand Curve Estimation and Forecasting
* Welfare economics
Firm Supply and Market Structure
* Production and Cost Analysis
* Costs of doing business (Sunk costs & Transaction costs)
* Pricing Practices
* Risk management
* Market Structure: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 9:30 | 9:30 | preparation and completion of Semester 2 assessment |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 9:30 | 9:30 | preparation and completion for Semester 1 examination |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 16 | 2:00 | 32:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 71:00 | 71:00 | research and reading using recommended materials |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | The PC lab session will cover applied numerical analysis |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 30:00 | 30:00 | research and reading beyond the taught material |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 44:00 | 44:00 | Lecture and workshop preparation and follow up |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures build on, and extend economics in Stage 1. The aim is to improve awareness and understanding of marketing and managerial decision-making. In particular, the lectures provide an economic framework within which marketing and managerial decision-making is undertaken. Diagrammatical exposition is used to examine economic behaviours of the consumer and firm, and to examine how markets behave. Statistical regression analysis and numerical problem-solving methods are examined as important aids to decision-making. A key focus is on the interpretation of data analysis to aid decision-making, especially the ability to interpret and present results to non-specialists.
Lectures provide a skeletal framework and students are expected to review and supplement lecture material from textbooks and material from Blackboard. Independent study and formative essays consolidate learning and improve both generic and economics-specific writing and presentational skills.
PC lab sessions will offer the students to apply the knowledge in class to a practical example. These sessions are designed to give students a chance to learn by doing and discussing with their peers. The PC lab sessions will be capped to a maximum of 40 students per session, so there may be multiple sessions in a week and these need to be timetabled.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 90 | 1 | A | 50 | This exam covers the material in the first semester |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | 50 | 1000 word report |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Semester 1 Examinations test student learning. In particular, examinations assess the awareness, appreciation and capacity to employ findings, research methods and principles of consumer economics.
The Semester 2 will be entirely coursework based. The students will have one piece of assessment, that contribute 50% to the overall module mark. Students will have a to write a 1000 word reflection reflecting on newspaper article relevant to the material covered in class.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- ACE2012's Timetable