Sectoral Economics
Code: 102302 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501572 Business Administration and Management | OT | 4 |
| 2501573 Economics | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Fco. Javier Asensio Ruiz De Alda
- Email:
- javier.asensio@uab.cat
Teachers
- Angel Hermosilla Pérez
- Anna Matas Prat
- Fco. Javier Asensio Ruiz De Alda
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Students are recommended to have taken courses in Introduction to Economics and Spanish Economy.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This is a third-year (second semester) subject, compulsory for students in the grade of Economics (ECO), optional for those in Business Administration (ADE).
The topics cover the different sectors of economic activity and the drivers of their evolution, taking as main object of analysis the productive structure of the Spanish economy and putting it into the context of international trends that affect the behaviour of firms and industries. The subject thus provides students with applied tools to study competitiveness in a microeconomic sense and the main regulatory policies that have an influence on certain sectors.
The aims of the subject can be summarised as follows:
1. To apply theoretical knowledge of microeconomics and business economics.
2. To learn to use analytical and computational techniques to case studies.
3. To foster the interest towards professional economists' practice and business' and organizations' management.
4. To develop the ability to communicate aquired knowledge in writing and orally, both individually and as a group.
Competences
- Business Administration and Management
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Capacity for oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which enables synthesis and oral and written presentation of the work carried out.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the structure of institutions and the state, their evolution and the consequences of possible changes, to be able to make a positive contribution to the debate about the role they play in current society.
- Know how to handle the analytical framework and empirical knowledge that is offered by the economy on international relations and the most important economic areas.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
- Economics
- Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the structure of institutions and the state, their evolution and the consequences of possible changes, to be able to make a positive contribution to the debate about the role they play in current society.
- Know how to handle the analytical framework and empirical knowledge that is offered by the economy on international relations and the most important economic areas.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Show motivation for carrying out quality work and sensitivity to the consequences for the environment and society.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Value ethical commitment in professional practice.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
Learning Outcomes
- A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
- Assess ethical commitment in professional activity.
- Assess the functioning of industrial policy and its effects on the Spanish economy.
- Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
- Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
- Compare the patterns of development of the Spanish economy over the past two decades, its institutional framework and the evolution of its markets.
- Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
- Demonstrate motivation regarding the quality of the work performed and sensitivity regarding the consequences on the environment and society.
- Identify the fundamentals of competitive advantages in different sectors of the economy.
- Identify the main institutions linked to the financial world, in Spain and at an international level.
- Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
- Propose projects and actions in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
- Propose viable projects and actions that promote social, economic and environmental benefits.
- Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Suggest productive restructuring processes.
- Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
Content
A. Competitiveness drivers
Topic 1. Competitiveness Indicators and drivers of competitiveness.
Topic 2. Labor productivity and total factor productivity. Labor costs and unit labor cost.
Topic 3. Technology factor and innovation. The stock of capital. The human capital.
Topic 4. Dimension and business concentration. Firms’ financing
B. Policies.
Topic 5. Competition policy
Topic 6. Industrial policy.
Topic 7. Regulation policy and the liberalization of the network sectors.
C. Sectors
Topic 8. Manufacturing sectors.
Topic 9. Energy. The electric subsector.
Topic 10. Services and their expansion.
Topic 11. The financial system and the banking sector.
Topic 12. Transport and infrastructure.
Topic 13. Telecommunications.
Topic 14. Agriculture and the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Case studies and problems | 17 | 0.68 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 21 |
| Lectures | 32.5 | 1.3 | 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 20 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Classes | 2 | 0.08 | 5, 7, 14 |
| Practice on current issues | 13.5 | 0.54 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 21 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study | 79.5 | 3.18 | 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14 |
This course is taught on-campus.
The course is based on three types of activities:
Lectures
Case studies and problem sets
Autonomous work
The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercises, recommended activities and class participation | 25 | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 |
| Two written exams | 75 | 3.5 | 0.14 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 |
Assessment will be carried out continuously throughout the course, in accordance with the following criteria:
1. Two written tests: 75%.
2. Practice and exercices, recommended activities and class participation: 25%.
The evaluation of the theoretical content of the subject will be carried out through two written tests. The first one will take place in the middle of the term and the second in the date set by the Faculty for the final exam. Each of the tests has the same weight in the final assessment (37.5%).
In order to pass the subject, any student should meet the following two criteria:
1. the average grade of the subject is equal to or greater than 5 and,
2. The average grade obtained at the two partial exams is equal to or greater than 4.
Therefore:
• If a student meets the first requirement but not the second, he/she will have an average grade of the subject of 4.5 and will be attend the retake test, as explained below in the section “Retake process”.
• If a student meets the second requirement but not the first, or doesn’t meet any of them,, he/she will obtain an average grade of the subject that arises from the direct application of the previous weightings, and will be able to attend the retake test (see “Retake process” below).
Non-assessable
Students who do not attend both retake exams will be considered as 'non-assessable'
Calendar of evaluation activities
The dates of the evaluation activities (midterm exams,exercises in the classroom, assignments, ...) will be announced well in advance during the semester.
The date of the final exam is scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty.
"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 264. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB).
Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedule: e-Formulari per a la reprogramació de proves.
Grade revision process
After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.
Retake Process
"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject greater than or equal to 3.5 and less than 5.
The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the Faculty. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the subject. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the course.
Irregularities in evaluation activities
In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 11 of Article 266. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).
Comprehensive evaluation
By requesting the comprehensive evaluation the student waives the option of continuous evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation must be requested at the Academic Management (Gestió acadèmica) of the Campus where the degree is taught. The request must be filed according to the procedure and the deadline established by the administrative calendar of the Faculty of Economics and Business.
Student attendance is mandatory on the day of the comprehensive evaluation. The date will be the same as that of the final exam of the semester as per the evaluation calendar published by the Faculty of Economics and Business and approved by the Faculty's Teaching and Academic Affairs Committee
The comprehensive assessment will consist of a single in-person two-hours exam, onthe content of the entire course, which will therefore weigh 100% of the final grade.
No distinction is made between students who have taken continuous assessment and those who have opted for the comprehensive evaluation in terms of the retake exam. They are all assessed with the same test or evidence of assessment. The review of the final qualification follows the same procedure as for the continuous assessment.
Bibliography
Banco de España (2005), The analysis of the Spanish Economy. Available
at: http://www.bde.es/f/webbde/SES/Secciones/Publicaciones/OtrasPublicaciones/Fich/analysis_spanish_economy.pdf
Mas, M and R. Stehrer (eds.) Industrial Productivity in Europe. Growth and Crisis, Edward Elgar, 2012.
Motta, M. Competition Policy. Theory and Practice, Cambridge University Press, 2004
Additional bibliography will be provided in each topic.
Software
Spreadsheets, text editors, open coding software (R)
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 8 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 8 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 51 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 8 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |