BSP1703 / BSP1005 Managerial Economics

Module: BSP1703 / BSP1005 Managerial Economics

Semester taken: AY 2018/19 Semester 2

Lecturer: Dr Xu Le

Tutor: Mr Tao Wu

Textbook: Microeconomics (Global Edition), 8th Ed, Robert S. Pindyck & Daniel L. Rubinfeld, 2015

What it is about

This module is basically microeconomics with some simple game theory concepts. You will learn about the economist’s way of operating a business and if you have taken H2 Economics before, this module should be a breeze. However, this module focuses more on the mathematics component of economics and will require you to calculate the exact value of many things during the tutorials and exams.

Assessment components

• Problem Sets: 20%

• Case Presentations: 10%

• Attendance/Participation in Lectures and Tutorials: 10%

• Final Exam: 60%

Comments

This module is quite easy for students with Economics background from A-Levels, because the content is mainly focused on microeconomics and with some simple concepts of game theory taught towards the end of the semester. However, the focus of the module is more on the mathematics behind the economics concepts and will require a lot more calculations than fluff as compared to A-Levels.

Tutorials

There are no tutorial questions for you to do. Instead, every 2 weeks, you will have to finish an assignment together with your group members. The assignments look like tutorial questions and tests you to apply the concepts you have learnt through lectures. My group had 6 members in total and I was blessed with 2 strong members and 3 other idiots (I would call them idiots because they hardly did the assignments, let alone open the Google Doc, especially the final assessment). The assignments are submitted online and your tutor will mark them to discuss during the immediate next tutorial.

The same group that you are blessed/cursed with will also work on a case presentation. Basically, you will be assigned a case study and some questions to answer. You just need to understand what is going on in the case study and answer the questions provided for the presentation. However, be prepared for the Q&A segment as your classmates might ask some questions that may throw you off guard if your group is not sufficiently prepared.

The tutorials are mostly very chill and it’s either a case presentation, or going through the assignment answers. Try to score as high as possible for the assignments.

Finals

The finals consisted of about 40-50 MCQs (cannot remember the exact number) and the majority of the questions are calculations-based. The final exam is also closed book, so you will have to memorise the relevant formulas to use inside the exam. If you do the exam diligently, you should have just nice enough time to finish the exams.

Of course there are certain tricks to go about doing the exams. Not every calculation questions need to be calculated. For example, you will learn about the marginal utility of two products and the budget line. The question will then ask you to calculate the best quantity combination of both products so as to maximise the utility of the consumer. However, you will realise that the quantity times price of each product for almost all the options will exceed the original budget that you have, which does not make sense at all. This will save you a lot of time compared to using the actual formula, which can be rather tedious to derive.

There are other types of questions that have their own shortcuts. Try to be creative and use common sense in answering the questions. Be careful about your time management as well.

Other information

Assignment workload: There are 4 assignments to complete in total, so it comes down to about 1 every 2/3 weeks.

Project workload: A case presentation as a group. If you are scheduled to present early in the semester, then you will be done with it earlier than the rest.

Readings: Light. The slides are comprehensive enough already. If you are interested to learn more or find practices, the textbook will be handy and is also available as a soft copy.

Recommended if: A compulsory module for business students and those taking a minor/major in management. Otherwise, you can take this module for a relatively light workload to balance your other cores.

Rating: 4.0/5. The module is a breeze, but although the lecturer is good, my tutor is as bad as he can be. If you get him as a tutor, all the best, and you will understand why.

Expected grade: A- (Finals was rather manageable but I think the bell curve might be steep)

Actual grade: A (blessed)