Introduction to Economics
Code: 102277 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500786 Law | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Francesc Assis Trillas Jane
- Email:
- francesc.trillas@uab.cat
Teachers
- Jaime Amoroso Miranda
- Francesc Xavier López Andrés
- Aurora Trigo Catalina
- Antoni Buira Guillamet
- (External) per determinar
- (External) per determinar
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
None.
The teaching of this subject will take into account the Objectives of Sustainable Development.
NOTE: Catalan language will be used in lectures of group 1, unless first-time students from other universities in Spain, where the catalan language is not one of the official languages, or students from other countries, enrol in this course. In any of these two cases, Spanish (castilian) will be used in lectures in theory classes. All students in these situations will join Group 1.
The final allocation of teaching staff to groups and seminars is to be determined.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This is a first-year, first semester subject. The course content may be considered as basic and fundamental. It will provide the main tools of economic analysis needed to understand and analyze the socio-economic performance of a society. Within this framework, this course aims at enabling students to use the basic concepts and analytical graphs developed by current economic analysis to understand the main facts that characterize an economy.
The training objectives of the subject can be summarized as follows:
1. Acquiring the basic conceptual knowledge of microeconomics and macroeconomics
2. Knowledge of the fundamental economic institutions
3. Ability to produce a reasoned, autonomous and critical analysis of current economic facts
4. Demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge through written and oral expression, both individually and in groups
The content of the course will explicitly consider issues related to gender.
Competences
- Efficiently managing information, being capable of assimilating a considerable volume of data in a limited amount of time.
- Identifying and solving problems.
- Identifying the underlying conflicts of interest in disputes and real cases.
- Integrating the importance of Law as a regulatory system of social relations.
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
- Students must be capable of perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions taken.
- Use different information and communication technologies.
- Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.
Learning Outcomes
- Efficiently managing information, being capable of assimilating a considerable volume of data in a limited amount of time.
- Identifying and solving problems.
- Knowing the nature of the conflicts underlying in a market economy.
- Knowing the ways of assessing conflicts that might inform the legal standards.
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Possessing basic economic knowledge.
- Relating the role of regulations in the functioning of the economic activity.
- Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
- Students must be capable of perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions taken.
- Use different information and communication technologies.
- Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.
Content
1. Economics: basic issues.
What economic analysis is about. Markets and governments: mixed economies. A model: The circular flow of income. Fundamental concepts: production possibility frontier; opportunity cost. The PPF and economic growth. Trade and gains from trade; absolute and comparative advantage.
2. Markets: demand and supply.
Types of markets. Individual and col·lective demand and supply in competitive markets. Equilibrium. Shifts of supply and demand. Changes in equilibrium. Elasticity and its consequences.
3. Markets, efficiency and public intervention.
Markets, welfare and efficiency: consumer and producer surplus. Changes. Some public interventions: minimum prices, maximum prices, indirect taxation.
4. Supply: firms and costs.
Technology and the production function; marginal and average productivity. Cost functions: total cost, marginal cost, average cost; variable and fixed costs; long term and short term costs. Factor prices, productivity and costs.
5. Markets in perfect competition.
Definition of perfect competition. Production and hiring decisions: profit maximization and the supply curve in a competitive market. Changes in costs and profits. Firm closure. Shifts of the supply curve. Elasticity of supply.
6. Non-competitive markets and public policy.
Imperfect competition: monopoly, oligopoly and cartels. Equilibrium with monopoly. Effects of monopoly on welfare: loss of efficiency. Market failures: private vs common interest. Public policies towards monopolies and oligopolies. Competition policy in the European Union.
7. Market failures and public policy.
Externalities: positive and negative. Current problems: Pollution, Climate change, Pandemics. Public policies: environmental taxes, emission permits, subsidies. Public goods.
8. Fairness, Inequality and Poverty. Income redistribution.
Personal income: market and disposable. Measuring income inequality: the Lorenz curve.Absolute and relative poverty: definition and measurement. The labor market: labor demand, labor supply and wages. Capital markets. Gender, discrimination,education. Monopsony. The Tax system and redistribution: income tax and inheritance taxation. Public expenditure and redistribution.
9. Economic aggregates.
GDP: value added, national income, aggregate expenditure. Composition of the GDP. Real and nominal GDP. Price indices and cost of living. Unemployment: types and measurement. Inflation rate: definition and measurement. Public deficit and Public debt. Money.
10. Economic cycles and the economy in the long term.
Economic cycles. Economic growth in the long term. Policies. Aggregate demand and Aggregate supply. The short term: fiscal and monetary policies.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 22 | 0.88 | 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 |
| Seminar sessions, problem solving and case studies | 22 | 0.88 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Assessment | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
| Individual study, solving problems, preparation of essays and other recommended activities | 104 | 4.16 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Important Note: Teaching and assessment methods may be subject to change in case health authorities impose restrictions to the access to the Campus.
The course will consist of the following activities:
Lectures: The lecturer introduces and explains the basic concepts and graphs corresponding to each topic. Student attendance is essential.
Seminar sessions: these in-class sessions, of compulsory attendance, will be dedicated to concept development, problem solving, case studies and/or debates about current issues. They include class presentations by students.
Evaluation activities: There will be four activities (minimum) for that purpose. At least two of them will consist of written tests (a mid-term and a final exam).
Complementary activities: Lecturers may recommend attendance to conferences or other seminars.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of term test | 35% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
| Midterm test | 35% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
| Problem solving and cases | 30% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 |
Assessment will be on a continuous basis along the semester. It will consist of the following activities:
1. A midterm written test (35%)
2. An end of semestr written test (35%)
3. Problems, cases, practical exercises: 30%
Professors will provide the dates of each evaluation activities at the beginning of the semester.
To pass, a weighted average grade of 5 over 10 or higher is required, AND at least a grade of 3.5 in each written test.
Re-assessment: If the weighted mean of all assessment activities is equal or greater than 3.5 points but less than 5, the student may take an exam at the date determined by the Facultat.
Those not presented: Students who begin the continuous evaluation process will have a final grade of passing or failing the subject, in no case not being presented. The exception is if only one of the evaluable activities has been presented. In this case, the grade will be 'not evaluable'. Special cases: In cases where the students cannot attend the written tests, and duly justified, the teaching staff responsible for the group will establish the re-take mechanisms.
Misconduct: A student who cheats or tries to cheat an exam will have a 0 as a mark. A Student who submits a paper or practice in which there is evidence of plagiarism will have a 0 as a mark and will receive a warning. In case of repetition, the students will fail the subject.
Single assessment (for those students whose application has been accepted)
Theoretical exam (40%), Exercises (35%), and written review with possible oral exam of a book to be agreed with the instructor (25%).
The same re-assessment system will be applied as for the continuous assessment.
Bibliography
Mandatory Bibliography:
Each instructor will decide and communicate which parts of this text will be the basis of the evaluation:
CORE Project: "La Economía", free open e-book in Spanish. Link: https://www.core-econ.org/project/la-economia/
Recommended Bibliography:
-Krugman, Paul & Robin Wells (2022): Fundamentos de Economia, Editorial Reverté. 4th Edition (5th original)
free electronic version (access UAB): https://elibro.net/es/lc/uab/titulos/105547
-Acemoglu, Daron; David Laibson & John A. List (2017), "Economía", Antoni Bosch ed..
-Mankiw, Gregory N. (2012): Principios de economia, 6th ed., Ediciones Paraninfo, or later editions.
-Mochón, Francisco (2009): Economía. Teoría y Política. Ed. McGraw-Hill.
also available through UAB library: https://elibro.net/es/ereader/uab/50180
Other resources:
1) Economic Nobel Prizes (women scientists): 2009: Elinor Omstrom: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom; 2019: Esther Duflo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Duflo
Other women Nobel Prizes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Nobel_laureates
2) Data sources: INE www.ine.es; OCDE: www.oecd.org
Software
None is required
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |