ECO1010F

Course Information Document First Semester 2023

Please make sure that you read this document very carefully.
It contains very important material.

The ECO1010F Team

eco1010f@uct.ac.za
Contents
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 2
OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 3
TEACHING STRATEGY ............................................................................................................................. 3
LECTURES ............................................................................................................................................ 3
WHITEBOARD SESSIONS...................................................................................................................... 4
TUTORIALS .......................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................... 5
TESTS ................................................................................................................................................... 5
ESSAY................................................................................................................................................... 6
EXAMINATIONS, SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS and DEFERRED EXAMINATIONS ....................... 7
CALCULATION OF YEAR MARK ............................................................................................................... 7
STUDY MATERIAL ................................................................................................................................... 8
Prescribed textbook ............................................................................................................................ 8
Prescribed readings............................................................................................................................. 8
DULY PERFORMED (DP) REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................. 8
STAFF CONTACT DETAILS ....................................................................................................................... 8
GENERAL INFORMATION ....................................................................................................................... 9
Consultation & queries ........................................................................................................................ 9
Communication with students ............................................................................................................ 9
Some Terms and Conditions for this course ........................................................................................ 9
SOME COMMENTS ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ................................................................................ 10
LECTURE SCHEDULE .............................................................................................................................. 12

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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the ECO1010F course. This is your first course in Economics at the University of Cape
Town. Some of you may be apprehensive about studying Economics, because you may have heard
stories from your friends, or because you may not have done Economics at school. Do not worry! You
are not alone. Many students have been in your position before, and most have passed the course.
That does not mean that it is a walk in the park. It will require lots of work, but anyone who can make
it into university can pass this course.

This course outline specifically refers to the ECO1010F (mainstream) course. Closely aligned to this
course is the ECO1110F (EDU) course. The content of the two courses are identical, but some extra
support is provided for the ECO1110F course. Please make sure that you look carefully at the
ECO1010F site on Amathuba and announcements.

This course is designed to help you understand the core principles of microeconomics. During Covid
everything was moved online and this placed extra demands on students. In the post-Covid period,
the lectures and tutorials will again be face-to-face. You can speak to your lecturers after the lecture
or in their office hours. You are strongly encouraged to engage with your tutors as well. Your lecturers
and tutors are here to help you make a success of this course and it is important that you also
communicate with us if you are struggling. We will try our best to assist you.

To maximise your chances of success, we suggest that you adhere to the following guidelines:

Attend lectures: At university, lectures form the backbone of the learning process. This is where the
lecturer will explain the concepts, and emphasise the important topics. If you follow the work in the
lecture, your studies will be so much easier. Nobody is going to check that you are attending lectures,
and the temptation to miss lectures, especially when you have tests, hand-ins, or other academic or
social commitments is strong. Do not fall for the temptation! Even if you may not follow everything in
the lectures, attending them is an important discipline and will help you stay up to date.

Put in the requisite hours: Nothing in life comes for free. The cost of doing well (or even just
adequately) in your academic studies, is time and effort. There are three (often four) lectures and one
tutorial each week. Over and above that, we expect you to spend at least 4-5 hours working through
the material, preparing your submissions and getting to understand the work. This time allocation
might increase before the tests and exams, but if you have worked consistently during the semester,
your preparation time for the tests and exam will be substantially reduced.

Ask questions: Do not be shy to ask questions. Feel free to put your hand up in the lecture (and
especially the whiteboard session) and ask the lecturer/tutor to explain the concept again. Do not
leave it till you study for the test. Many students will have similar questions as you but may be too shy
to ask. Most lecturers appreciate questions during the lecture. Asking questions at the whiteboard
sessions is particularly strongly encouraged.

Make use of the resources on Amathuba: Work through the resources even if they are not for marks.
They have been designed to assist you with understanding core concepts in each chapter. The tests
and exam tend to focus on your understanding (not just knowledge) of the work. The more you
practice, the more likely you build up a base of knowledge, so that you can tackle the understanding
questions with confidence.

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Make the best use of the whiteboard sessions and the tutorials: The whiteboard sessions, where you
and a small group of your fellow students sit/stand around a whiteboard and work through a set of
questions, offer you the opportunity to practice the theoretical concepts. Learning is an active process;
simply reading the material will not be enough to pass. You need to draw the diagrams and do the
calculations yourself. Practice, practice, practice! Experience has shown that students who work
diligently throughout the semester tend to perform much better in tests and the exam compared to
those who take a more casual approach.

Please note that ECO1010 will NOT be offered in the winter or the summer term. Should you fail the
course you will need to repeat it in the second semester of 2023 (ECO1010S) or the first semester of
2024 (ECO1010F).

OVERVIEW
This is an introductory course in microeconomics, which exposes you to a variety of microeconomic
concepts and theories as well as practical applications of these concepts. The course begins with a
brief discussion of economic systems and how they have changed over time. You are introduced to
topics within the utility-maximisation theory of consumption. You are exposed to game theoretical
frameworks to model social interactions amongst economic agents, before applying this framework
to wage-setting relationships. Finally, you are introduced to the neo-classical theories of supply and
demand as well as firms’ pricing decisions under differing levels of market competition.

TEACHING STRATEGY

LECTURES

Lectures take place four times a day, three or four days a week. The standard lecture days are
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Friday period will be used for different activities, including
normal lectures, guest lectures, tutorials or Question and Answer sessions. This will be announced on
the previous Thursday in class and/or on Amathuba.

The venues for the lectures are as follows. These venues may change, depending on the number of
students that have been allocated to the various classes.

Period Time Venue

2 9:00 – 9:45 Leslie Social Science Building 2A (LS2A)
3 10:00 – 10:45 Leslie Social Science Building 2D (LS2D)
4 11:00 – 11:45 RW James Building 4A
5 12:00 – 12:45 John Day Building Lecture Theatre 2 (JD2)

Unless there is a technical error (or loadshedding), one lecture per day will be recorded and the video
will be made available on Amathuba. The video is not meant to be a replacement for the lecture, but
is an additional resource that you can use to go over some of the work that you may not have followed
in the lecture.

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WHITEBOARD SESSIONS
In the lectures you are one of hundreds of students. It is most unlikely that the lecturer will know your
name or have meaningful interactions with you. In the lectures most of the course content is provided
by the lecturer. The sheer size of the class makes it impractical to have a lot of interaction between
students and lecturers.
The whiteboard sessions are different (some people call them tutorial sessions, but we prefer to call
them whiteboard sessions). You will need to sign yourself into a group of between 15 and 20 students
(see below). Your tutor will be a senior undergraduate student or postgraduate student, who has been
carefully selected in that role. The tutor is young enough to know what it was like to be a first-year
student, yet smart enough to be really knowledgeable of the subject matter. Your tutor is your closest
link between you and the School of Economics. Build a good relationship with him/her. They have no
insight into the content of tests and the exam, so don’t try your luck on that score.
The head tutor for ECO1010F is Matthew Field (email eco1010ht2023@gmail.com). He is in charge of
the 30-40 tutors that we have for this course. If you have any question about the whiteboard sessions,
or if your tutor is not performing (e.g. not coming to the whiteboard sessions, being late, or
incompetent), please take it up with Matthew first. Only approach your lecturer or the convener if
you have discussed the issue with Matthew, and it remains unresolved
WHITEBOARD SESSION SIGN-UP

Whiteboard sessions will take place every Monday between 9:00 and 13:00 in the Sarah Baartman
Hall and in two large rooms in the Computer Science Building. During the course of the first week of
lectures, you will be asked to allocate yourself to a whiteboard session on Amathuba. You will receive
an Amathuba announcement from Matthew in this regard. The allocation to the whiteboard sessions
will be on a first come, first served basis. If all feasible whiteboard session slots have been taken,
please contact Matthew at email eco1010ht2023@gmail.com, so that he can manually place you into
a group. Requests for tutorial changes will only be accepted until Wednesday, 22 February at 13h00.
The first tutorials will take place on Monday 27 February 2023.
WHITEBOARD SESSION ATTENDANCE

Attendance at whiteboard sessions is compulsory. Tutors will record attendance during each
whiteboard session. Whiteboard session attendance will count for 5% of your final mark. There are 9
whiteboard sessions planned for this semester (see the calendar). You have to attend at least 8 of the
9 whiteboard sessions. You will be awarded 0.625% for each of the whiteboard sessions that you
attend (up to a maximum of 5%).

If you are unable to attend a whiteboard session because you are ill or for any other reason, a make-
up whiteboard session will be held on the Friday afternoon in the same week (i.e. four days after the
whiteboard sessions were held on the Monday). If the Friday is a public holiday, the make-up
whiteboard session will be held the previous day (i.e. the Thursday). At this whiteboard session, the
tutor (who is unlikely to be your regular tutor) will record your attendance and this will be uploaded
to Amathuba. The venue of the make-up whiteboard session will be announced on Amathuba in due
course.

Please note that the make-up sessions are the exception, rather than the rule. You will be allowed to
attend a maximum of two make-up sessions during the course of the semester.

We expect you to actively participate at the whiteboard sessions. If you are disengaged the tutor has
the authority to mark you as absent.

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The tutor will upload your attendance onto Amathuba. Please check the whiteboard attendance
register regularly. If you disagree with your tutor (you are marked absent, but you actually attended
the session), please take it up immediately with your tutor. We will not entertain claims that refer to
attendance more than two weeks ago.

TUTORIALS

In the past we expected students to submit their answer to tutorials, which would be marked by
tutors. This system has changed. Unfortunately, because of large-scale cheating, this method of
assessment has lost credibility as an indicator of students’ efforts and ability. We do not expect you
to submit any tutorials. They will also not count towards your final mark. However, they are still very
important.

The lecturers on the course will release tutorials on a regular basis (mostly weekly). The aim of these
tutorials is to help you to practice some graphs and calculations, and to generally support you to
understand the work. While some of the questions in the tutorials may be similar to test and exam
questions, the tutorials do not necessarily look like test or exam questions. The aim of the tutorial is
to help you understand the principles of the work better. If you know and understand the principles,
then it will be much easier for you to apply those principles in the test and exam.

On some Fridays, the tutors will work through the tutorial during the standard lecture period.
Attendance of this tutorial session is not compulsory, but this is an opportunity for you to engage with
the work and the tutor. The tutorial session will be recorded and will be released on Amathuba, subject
to technological constraints and loadshedding.

Please note that, because of timetable constraints, we do not offer a Friday tutorial session for each
tutorial session that is published on Amathuba.

Sometime after the tutorial is published, we will release a marking guide on Amathuba. You can use
this to mark your own work.

If you are unsure of your own answers, or still don’t understand something after you have worked
through the marking guide, please engage with your tutor.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

TESTS

There are three tests for the course. Tests will be written in-person and the venue will be confirmed
closer to the test date. The tests are written in the early evening, usually 18:00. Please monitor
Amathuba and your UCT emails for further details closer to the test dates.

The tests are provisionally set for the following dates:

Tuesday, 14 March 2023

Monday, 17 April 2023

Monday, 15 May 2023

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Tests 1 and 2 will consist of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and written questions. Test 3, because
it is written so late in the semester, will consist of only MCQs.

If you have a test clash with another test, we typically will allow you to write earlier. You will have to
register for this with Zama Ngubane, the course administrator. The details will be communicated on
Amathuba well before the test.

If you are ill, or have a legitimate reason that makes you unable to write the test (e.g. a death in the
family), please read the following section carefully. The rules regarding the missing of tests are as
follows:

Failure to write the test:

a) Students who do not write all three tests will have the DP (duly performed requirement)
refused, may not write the exam, and must repeat the course.
b) Students who are unable to complete the tests due to illness must upload a valid medical
certificate on Amathuba.
a. Medical certificates must be handed in between three days before or four days after
the test date.
b. Medical certificates will be accepted at the discretion of the course convenor.
c. If a medical certificate is accepted, the weight of the test will be added to the weight
of the exam.
d. If a medical certificate is rejected by the course convenor, then you will receive zero
for the test.
c) DP certificates will be refused to students who miss two or more of the three tests
(irrespective of whether you have legitimate reasons for not writing), since you are not
sufficiently “part of the academic process”. You may only obtain a medical certificate or other
concession for ONE test.
d) If you legitimately miss a test, the weight of the test will be added to the weight of the exam.
e) The department undertakes random tests on the validity of medical certificates. If medical
certificates are found to be either fraudulent or altered, they are referred to the university
court.

ESSAY

Being able to write coherent reports and papers is a skill that you will need to perform your work one
day. The School of Economics thus places a lot of emphasis on developing this ability. We are aware
of chatbots like ChatGPT that can greatly simplify the writing process. We cannot stop you to use
ChatGPT. However, even if you do use ChatGPT, we want you to critically engage with the prescribed
literature.

The essay is due on Tuesday 11 April 2023 at 16h00. Details of the essay will be provided by the essay
coordinator, Samuel Manu. Please use the resources available to work on your essay.
a) Students who do not submit the essay in the stipulated time frame will receive late penalties
(as stipulated in the essay handout). Essays submitted after the absolute deadline (as
indicated in the essay handout) will receive zero and students will not be awarded their DP.

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 b) Students who are unable to submit the essay due to illness must submit a copy of the medical
certificate on Amathuba.
a. Medical certificates must be handed in within 2 working days of the essay date.
b. Medical certificates will be accepted at the discretion of the course convenor.
c. If a medical certificate is accepted, you will be given an alternative date to submit the
essay. Students who do not submit the essay on the alternate date will receive zero
and will not be awarded their DP.
d. If a medical certificate is rejected by the course convenor, then you will receive zero
and will not be awarded DP.

The department undertakes random tests on the validity of medical certificates. If medical
certificates are found to be either fraudulent or altered, they are referred to the university court.

EXAMINATIONS, SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS and DEFERRED

EXAMINATIONS

The final Examination will comprise of MCQs and a written section. It will cover Units 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and
8 (i.e., all content covered in the course). The examination will be written in-person. The date and
venue will be confirmed by the Exams Office.

Students who are unable to write the final examination must apply to write a deferred exam. Students
must submit the ACA44 form up to 7 calendar days after the exam. The course convenor is unable to
assist with Deferred Exams process or queries.

A Student who receives a mark between 45% and 50% will be eligible to write a supplementary
examination.

The ECO1010F and ECO1110F supplementary/deferred exam will be scheduled during July vacation
2023. This is usually the week before second semester starts. If students do not write this exam, they
will be marked as AB and will have to retake the course.

CALCULATION OF YEAR MARK

% of Dates Length of paper

final mark
Test 1 16% Tuesday 14 March 2023 90 minutes
Test 2 16% Monday 17 April 2023 90 minutes
Test 3 13% Monday 15 May 2023 60 minutes
Essay 10% Tuesday 11 April 2023 1000 words
Whiteboard sessions 5% Continuous
Exam 40% June 2023 180 minutes
Final mark 100%
Supplementary Exam July 2023 180 Minutes
Please diarise these dates.

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STUDY MATERIAL

Prescribed textbook
The prescribed textbook is The Economy: Economics for a Changing World, by The
CORE team. The book is a free online resource and available on: https://www.core-
econ.org/. You must register on the site as a student before you can access the
resources. Once you have registered, you can download the APP on your device so that
you can use the resources offline. You do not have to buy the book. You may wish to
purchase a hard copy of the book, but this is not required. It can be purchased from
various outlets or second hand. This book is used for a number of first- and second-
year core economics courses (ECO1010F/S, ECO1110F/S, ECO1011F/S, and ECO2003F).

Prescribed readings
Additional readings provided to you via Amathuba on the relevant course page.

DULY PERFORMED (DP) REQUIREMENTS

In order to be allowed to write the ECO1010F exam, you need to have been adequately part of the
academic process in ECO1010F. To write the exam, you need to be coded as “duly performed” (DP). If
you have not been adequately part of the academic process, you are coded as “duly performed
refused” (DPR). In the latter case, you may not write the exam, and you fail the course.

The DP requirements are as follows:

a) write all three class tests, except in cases where an exemption has been granted,
b) achieve a year mark of 40%.

Please note that in order to pass the course you need to obtain a final mark of 50%. Other than the
40% year mark requirement, there are no subminimums. For example, if your year mark is 70% (i.e.
42/60) you require only 8/40, i.e. 20%, in the exam to pass the course. This also goes the other way.
If your year mark is only 40% (i.e. 24/60), then you require 26/40, i.e. 65%, in the exam to pass the
course.

If you work hard during the semester and obtain a good year mark, you remove a lot of pressure in
the exam. Sadly, the reverse is also true.

STAFF CONTACT DETAILS

Academic Convenor
Prof. Corné van Walbeek cwalbeek@gmail.com

Lecturers
Prof. Corné van Walbeek cwalbeek@gmail.com
(Weeks 1 – 4: units 1, 3 and parts of unit 8)

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Robert Hill robert.hill@uct.ac.za
(Weeks 5 – 9: units 4 and 6)

Geraint van der Rede Geraint.vanderrede@uct.ac.za

(Weeks 10 – 13: units 7 and 8)

Course Administrator
Zama Ngubane eco1010f@uct.ac.za

Head Tutor
Matthew Field eco1010ht2023@gmail.com.

Writing Co-ordinator:
Samuel Manu economics.writing@gmail.com

Course email: eco1010f@uct.ac.za

If you need assistance, please feel free to contact us, we are here to assist you. Make sure that you
contact the correct person and please DO NOT EMAIL the entire team. Specifically, if your query
concerns something about the whiteboard sessions, first approach your tutor. Only contact the head
tutor, the lecturers and the convener if you have contacted your tutor, but your query has not been
satisfactorily resolved.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Consultation & queries

• Academic: lecturers have consultation hours, which will be communicated in the lectures and on
Amathuba. Alternatively, you may email the lecturers if you need to speak to them.
• Tutors will be available at the whiteboard sessions. You may also email them to set up an
appointment. Remember, however, that tutors are also students and have to manage their own
studies as well.
• Course related questions or concessions: email the course convenor at cwalbeek@gmail.com,
with copy to the course administrator at eco1010f@uct.ac.za.

Communication with students

Course announcements and information relating to this course will be emailed (by using your UCT
student e-mail address) to all the students registered for the course using the Amathuba
announcements feature. Please check your e-mails regularly and ensure that your mailbox is not
overfull. We will assume that you read your e-mails on a regular basis.

Some Terms and Conditions for this course

When you engage with this course and its material, please remember the following:

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• All resources provided to you by the ECO1010F/ECO1110F team are for use by students in their
personal capacity while registered for the course.
• Documents and videos provided may not be downloaded for third parties and may not be
uploaded to any other social media platforms.
• There will be no slandering of lecturers, course staff or the course in general on social media. If
you have an issue, then please contact the relevant lecturer or course convenor
(cwalbeek@gmail.com) or head of department (reza.daniels@uct.ac.za) in order to attend to
your complaint.
• All interactions on the ECO1010F Amathuba site must be undertaken in a civil and polite
manner. Students may not use slanderous or otherwise inappropriate language when engaging
with this course and its participants.

SOME COMMENTS ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

The UCT School of Economics is aware of mental health issues among students and how they can
affect student performance and overall wellbeing. The academic environment is stressful and may
exacerbate stress and mental health. The following information and resources are intended to help
students navigate their coursework while managing their mental health.

- Common mental illnesses or neurodivergence we see in students can include depression,

anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders, eating
disorders, Autism spectrum disorder and others.
- UCT has a student mental health policy which outlines your rights to privacy, information on
deferred exams, concessions, University responsibilities and other important topics,
- Counselling services are available, as part of UCT Student Wellness services which can be
booked online.
- Student Wellness psychologists may also refer you to psychiatric services.
- Costs: all first time counselling consultations are free. Thereafter, the cost is R100 per session.
Payment may be added to the student fees account (reflected only as Student Wellness on the
fee statement), or done by EFT, or card. Students will not be denied services if they are unable
to pay. Students who are receiving financial aid from the National Student Financial Aid
Scheme (NSFAS) are not charged for consultations.
- All counselling is confidential and no information will be shared with fee payers.
- Counselling services at Student Wellness book up quickly - do not delay in booking an
appointment.
- There are specific issues which UCT students are affected by that are related to mental health,
including gender-based violence, trauma, discrimination, marginalisation and others. The UCT
Office for Inclusion and Change (OIC) offers support for these issues.
- The Disabilities Service, which is part of the OIC, offers help to students with any type of
physical or mental disability. You can email them on disabilityservice@uct.ac.za, and find
them at Level 6, Steve Biko Building, Upper Campus.
- Students with mental health issues are strongly encouraged to register with the disabilities
service as soon as possible. This is only done once, and will help to obtain the reasonable
accommodations from UCT that you may need to perform at your best.
- Communicate with your course convenors or lecturers in time if you are ill and require
extensions for written work or need to submit a medical certificate for a test.
- Do not feel shy approaching us - mental illness in students is unfortunately common, and we
have seen many students with similar conditions.

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- If you are struggling with this communication, get a friend or family member to help you - it
is very difficult to help you weeks after a missed assignment or test.
- Obtaining an appointment with a mental health professional, whether at Student Wellness
or otherwise, may take longer than the required 7 days for submitting a med note after a
test. Please submit a confirmation of appointment within 7 days of the test, and your MED
status for the test will be confirmed when you finally send through a note from the
professional you see.
- You are not required to share any private medical information with a UCT staff member (see
the mental health policy). Medical certificates should suffice to say you have a chronic health
condition, as diagnosed by a registered medical professional.
- Mental illness is a chronic condition that can flare up at any time. Obtaining a medical
certificate is not always necessary, especially with a letter from disabilities services.
- While staff care about your mental health and are aware of the mental health policy, we are
not trained counsellors. Our role is to be understanding and supportive, allow you reasonable
accommodations, and to direct you to the necessary professional services.
- If you encounter discrimination against you on the basis of mental health, please contact the
OIC or Disabilities Service.
- If you have a pre-existing diagnosed condition, please monitor yourself carefully throughout
the semester, take any medications as prescribed, and follow the instructions of your
treatment team.
- Mental health is not just about counselling and medication. There are many things you can
do immediately to support your mental health which are free, including: improving sleep,
exercise, outside time, connection with friends or family or other support, listening to music,
meditation, a good diet, following good productivity habits, and others. That said, when you
are ill, you may not be able to do these things, and you should always seek appropriate
medical care when ill.
- You may suspect you are suffering from symptoms of mental illness. If so:
- 1. Seek an appointment with a mental health professional, whether privately or through
student wellness.
2. Educate yourself with information from reputable websites, including:

- The South African Depression and Anxiety Group, which has information on many
conditions. https://www.sadag.org
- WebMD - this is an excellent description of the various mental illnesses, and WebMD
have many other mental health resources.
3. For all students who are struggling: speak to others, whether in person or online. Lived
experience is valuable and speaking about our experiences helps to normalise mental illness
and reduce stigma.

Finally, know you are not alone. An estimated 20% of South African students need mental
health care. You may hear that you are lazy, insane, or crazy, but in reality you have an
invisible illness that requires medical care and understanding.

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 If you or someone else is in a mental health emergency, phone 0800 24 25 26 (toll-free) or
text 31393 for a call-me-back (UCT Student Careline) or contact the UCT services at this link.

LECTURE SCHEDULE
LECTURER: Prof. Corne van Walbeek cwalbeek@gmail.com
WEEK 1 ACTIVITY IMPORTANT DATES CONTENT
Mon 13/02 No activities Unit 1 and parts of Unit 8 (sections
8.1 and 8.2)
Tues 14/02 Lecture 1 (CvW)
Academic content:
Wed 15/02 Lecture 2 (CvW) Introduction to economics;
Thurs 16/02 Lecture 3 (CvW) economic systems; measuring
Friday 17/02 Lecture 4 (CvW) economic output; gains from
specialisation and trade.
WEEK 2 ACTIVITY Demand, supply and equilibrium
Mon 20/02 No activities
Tues 21/02 Lecture 5 (CvW)
Wed 22/02 Lecture 6 (CvW)
Thurs 23/02 Lecture 7 (CvW)
Friday 24/02 Lecture 8 (CvW)
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY CONTENT
Mon 27/02 Whiteboard session 1 Unit 3
Academic content:
Tues 28/02 Lecture 9 (CvW)
Labour and production;
Wed 01/03 Lecture 10 (CvW) preferences and indifference
Thurs 02/03 Lecture 11 (CvW) curves; the production function
Friday 03/03 Tutorial session and the feasible frontier (budget
constraint); constrained
WEEK 4 ACTIVITY
optimisation; income and
Mon 06/03 Whiteboard session 2 substitution effects; application of
Tues 07/03 Lecture 12 (CvW) these concepts to the labour
Wed 08/03 Lecture 13 (CvW) market.
Thurs 09/03 Lecture 14 (CvW)
Friday 10/03 Lecture 15 (CvW) OR
Tutorial session
LECTURER: Robert Hill robert.hill@uct.ac.za
WEEK 5 ACTIVITY IMPORTANT DATES CONTENT
Mon 13/03 Whiteboard session 3 Unit 4
Academic content:
Tues 14/03 Lecture 1 (RH) TEST 1 (covering
Introduction to game theory; the
week 1-4 work) Nash Equilibrium; types of games;
Wed 15/03 Lecture 2 (RH) preferences and indifference
Thurs 16/03 Lecture 3 (RH) curves; experimental economics;
sequential move games; backward
Friday 17/03 Lecture 4 (RH)
induction; uncertainty and
WEEK 6 ACTIVITY expected payoffs
Mon 20/03 Whiteboard session 4
Tues 21/03 HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: NO LECTURE
Wed 22/03 Lecture 5 (RH)
Thurs 23/03 Lecture 6 (RH)
Friday 24/03 Tutorial session OR
guest lecture
VACATION 26/03 – 03/04
WEEK 7 ACTIVITY CONTENT

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Mon 03/04 Whiteboard session 5
Tues 04/04 Lecture 7 (RH)
Wed 05/04 Lecture 8 (RH)
Thurs 06/04 Lecture 9 (RH)
Friday 07/04 GOOD FRIDAY: NO ACTIVITIES
WEEK 8 ACTIVITY Unit 6
Academic content:
Mon 10/04 FAMILY DAY: NO ACTIVITIES
Background to the firm; contracts
Tues 11/04 Lecture 10 (RH) ESSAY DUE at 16:00 and asymmetric information; the
Wed 12/04 Lecture 11 (RH) principal-agent problem;
Thurs 13/04 Lecture 12 (RH) incomplete contracts; incentives in
the workplace; employment rent
Friday 14/04 Lecture 13 (RH) model. The labour-discipline
WEEK 9 ACTIVITY model; Nash Equilibrium in the
Mon 17/04 Whiteboard session 6 TEST 2 (covering labour-discipline model; shocks
weeks 5-8 work) and examples in the labour-
discipline model
Tues 18/04 Lecture 14 (RH)
Wed 19/04 Lecture 1 (GvdR)
Thurs 20/04 Lecture 2 (GvdR)
Friday 21/04 Tutorial session
LECTURER: Geraint van de Rede Geraint.vanderrede@uct.ac.za
WEEK 10 ACTIVITY CONTENT
Mon 24/04 Whiteboard session 7 Unit 7 – Firms with market power
Academic content:
Tues 25/04 Lecture 3 (GvdR)
We begin considering the
Wed 26/04 Lecture 4 (GvdR) interactions between firms and
Thurs 27/04 FREEDOM DAY: NO ACTIVITIES customers when firms have market
Friday 28/04 Tutorial session power. We examine the effect of
this power dynamic on the
WEEK 11 ACTIVITY efficiency and welfare outcome in
Mon 01/05 WORKERS’ DAY: NO ACTIVITIES the market. This will be covered in
Tues 02/05 Lecture 5 (GvdR) c week 12 and 13.
Wed 03/05 Lecture 6 (GvdR)
Thurs 04/05 Lecture 7 (GvdR)
Friday 05/05 Tutorial session
WEEK 12 ACTIVITY Unit 8 – Firms without market
power
Mon 08/05 Whiteboard session 8
Academic Content:
Tues 09/05 Lecture 8 (GvdR) After discussing firms with power,
Wed 10/05 Lecture 9 (GvdR) we consider the case when firms
Thurs 11/05 Lecture 10 (GvdR) no longer have market power and
are thus unable to dictate the
Friday 12/05 Lecture 11 (GvdR) OR terms of trade. In this unit, we
Tutorial session discuss market demand and supply
WEEK 13 ACTIVITY while deriving the market
Mon 15/05 Whiteboard session 9 TEST 3 (MCQ only; equilibrium. In addition to this, we
consider government interventions
covering weeks 9-12
in the form of taxes and consider
work) the impact of these interventions
Tues 16/05 Lecture 12 (GvdR) on welfare in the market. We wrap
Wed 17/05 Lecture 13 (GvdR) up unit 8 by discussing the market
structure known as perfect
Thurs 18/05 Lecture 14 (GvdR) competition.
Friday 19/05 Tutorial session/Exam
preparation

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