03576 - Economics

Learning outcomes

Il corso fornisce le conoscenze e i metodi di base dell'analisi economica. Sono oggetto di studio i fondamenti della microeconomia, quali il funzionamento dei mercati, il comportamento degli operatori economici (individui e imprese), i casi di fallimento del mercato, e della macroeconomia, quali la conoscenza delle principali variabili macroeconomiche, le determinanti della domanda aggregata e dell’offerta aggregata, la caratterizzazione dell’equilibrio economico di breve e di lungo periodo, e il ruolo delle politiche fiscali e monetarie. Al termine del corso lo studente ha acquisito padronanza della terminologia tecnica e dei metodi di analisi economica ed è quindi in grado di elaborare le principali questioni al centro del dibattito economico con spirito critico.

Course contents

MICROECONOMICS

• Introduction: individual decisions and interactions.
  
• Market demand and supply. Elasticities.
• The theory of consumer choice.
  
• Firms in competitive markets.
  
• Markets, efficiency, and welfare.
  
• Market inefficiency: public goods, externalities and asymmetric information.
• Non-competitive markets: monopoly and oligopoly
  
• Interdependence and gains from trade.
  

MACROECONOMICS:

• The data of macroeconomics. Measuring GDP, the price level and inflation, employment and unemployment.
• LONG RUN
• Economic growth and productivity.
  
• Saving and investment.
• SHORT RUN
• Economic fluctuations.
• Expenditure and production in the short run.
• Money, interest rates and banks.
• IS-LM.
  
• Fiscal policy and monetary policy.
• AD-AS.
• Inflation-unemployment trade-off.
  

Contents of the course are identical for students who attend lectures and those who do not.

Readings/Bibliography

The following book is the reference one for the course. Alternative books can be suggested upon request.

Frank, R. H., B. S. Bernanke, K. Antonovics, O. Heffetz, Principles of Economics, fifth edition, 2022, Mc Graw Hill.

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures with slides. For each topic, theoretical lectures will be followed by examples from the real world.

Exercises and tests.

Four exercise sessions with the course tutor are scheduled in addition to standard lectures.

Assessment methods

The exam is aimed at assessing whether students have understood basic economic concepts and whether they can apply them to simple economic cases. Assessment is by written exam and it includes multiple choice questions, questions testing knowledge of definitions, open questions and simple exercises in line with those covered in the lectures. The number of questions depends on their difficulty.

Final marks are out of 30, with equal weight given to micro and to macro. The total mark is the sum of marks for each section; marks available are indicated on the exam sheet as appropriate. The minimum score assigned to each answer is zero: there is no negative mark for wrong answers. The maximum score that students can receive for answers that are correct and complete is 30 with distinction. The minimum pass grade is 18/30. 

Students are not allowed to bring support material (textbooks, notes, internet enabled devices etc.).

First-year students can take two partial exams: the first on microeconomics and the second on macroeconomics. These partial exams are scheduled, after week five and ten of lectures, respectively. Those who wish to refuse their mark for the partial exams will take the overall exam during the standard exam sessions.

Students may refuse the grade only once. The grade has to be considered for the whole exam; it is not possible to maintain the grade for just one of the two parts of the exam.

First-year students attending the course can take a total of 6 multiple choice tests, on a weekly basis during the course and according to an agreed calendar, for a maximum overall score of 6/30. This can replace the corresponding multiple choice section of the exam whenever the student is happy with the grade, and provided that the exam is taken by the end of February.

Each of the two partial exams lasts 45 minutes. The overall exam lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes.

In case exams have to be administered online in relation to the health emergency, course assessment will include an oral exam.

For any additional information please see the course web page within Virtuale.

Teaching tools

Students can find the detailed program, lecture slides, any additional material, exercises given in the classes, exam results and any other information in Virtuale.

 

Office hours

See the website of Renata Bottazzi