2. Professors
  3. Teaching

ECONOMICS FUNDAMENTALS

Anna PAPACCIO ECONOMICS FUNDAMENTALS

0312200096
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
EQF6
COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
2022/2023



YEAR OF COURSE 1
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2019
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
1FONDAMENTI DI ECONOMIA - M1
640LESSONS
2FONDAMENTI DI ECONOMIA - M2
320LESSONS
ANNA PAPACCIO21 Curriculum
Objectives
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE IS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND MODELS RELATING TO THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES OF CONSUMERS AND FIRMS AND THE MECHANISMS OF MARKET FUNCTIONING. STUDENTS WILL HAVE ACQUIRED THE MAIN KNOWLEDGE OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS USEFUL FOR UNDERSTANDING BOTH THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES OF INDIVIDUALS AND FIRMS AND THE MECHANISMS OF MARKET FUNCTIONING. IN ADDITION, SOME BASIC ISSUES OF MACROECONOMICS ARE ADDRESSED. IN THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY MICROECONOMIC PRINCIPLES AND MODELS TO THE DESCRIPTION OF REAL-WORLD PHENOMENA RELATING BOTH TO THE BEHAVIOUR OF INDIVIDUALS AND FIRMS AND TO THE MECHANISMS OF MARKET FUNCTIONING.
AT THE END OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT:
- WILL KNOW THE FUNDAMENTALS AND PRINCIPLES GOVERNING MICROECONOMIC CHOICES;
- UNDERSTAND MACROECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS;
- ACQUIRE AN AWARENESS OF THE FUNCTIONING MECHANISM OF AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MICROECONOMIC AND MACROECONOMIC CHOICES.
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO
- APPLY THE ACQUIRED THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO CORRECTLY INTERPRET THE MAIN MICROECONOMIC AND MACROECONOMIC ISSUES;
- ELABORATE SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED REGARDING THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS.
- THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY AND CRITICALLY EVALUATE CONSUMER ECONOMIC BEHAVIOUR, BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN DIFFERENT MARKETS AND ECONOMIC POLICY CHOICES AND PROVIDE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO REAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- ADEQUATELY ARGUE AND DISCUSS (BY MEANS OF GRAPHICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE LEARNED THEORETICAL MODELS) WHEN CALLED UPON TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES ON HYPOTHETICAL AND REAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, HAVING MASTERED THE TECHNICAL LANGUAGE.
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO
- ILLUSTRATE AND DISCUSS, AT THE MICROECONOMIC LEVEL, CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION CHOICES, MARKET EQUILIBRIUM, THE MAIN MARKET FORMS AND POSSIBLE MARKET FAILURES; AT THE MACROECONOMIC LEVEL, PRODUCTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, PROBLEMS RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT, INFLATION.
Prerequisites
PREREQUISITES ARE NOT MANDATORY BUT FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS AND GEOMETRY AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL CAN BE USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS PRESENTED IN THIS COURSE. THE ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS USED ARE ELEMENTARY (GRAPHICS IN A SYSTEM OF CARTESIAN AXES, SIMPLE ARITHMETIC AND ALGEBRIC EXPRESSIONS, ELEMENTARY EQUATIONS) AND WILL BE RECALLED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE.
Contents
REFERENCE TEXTS:
MICROECONOMIA DI DAVID A. BESANKO, RONALD R. BRAEUTIGAM
SCOPRIRE LA MACROECONOMIA. I. QUELLO CHE NON SI PUÒ NON SAPERE. OLIVIER BLANCHARD, ALESSIA AMIGHINI, FRANCESCO GIAVAZZI

1. INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS
MICROECONOMICS AND MACROECONOMICS. THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM.
2. DEMAND, SUPPLY, MARKET BALANCE
ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS VARIABLES, MOVEMENTS ALONG THE CURVE AND TRANSPOSITIONS OF THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY CURVE
3. ELASTICITY OF THE DEMAND AND THE SUPPLY
THE CONCEPT OF ELASTICITY IN RELATION WITH THE SLOPE OF THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY CURVE. ELASTICITY ALONG THE LINEAR DEMAND CURVE.
4. THE CONSUMER THEORY
THE BUDGET CONSTRAINT. UTILITY FUNCTION, INDIFFERENCE CURVES AND PREFERENCES PROPERTIES. CONSUMER CHOICE, EQUILIBRIUM VARIATIONS, INCOME EFFECT AND SUBSTITUTION EFFECT.
5. THE THEORY OF THE FIRM
ISOQUANTS AND ISOCOSTS, COST MINIMIZATION, PRODUCTION COSTS.
6. FIRM’S BEHAVIOR AND MARKET STRUCTURES
PERFECT COMPETITION, MONOPOLY, OLIGOPOLY
7. AGGREGATE PRODUCTION
ANALYSIS OF GDP AND ITS COMPONENTS.
8. THE GOODS MARKET
THE DETERMINATION OF THE EQUILIBRIUM PRODUCTION
9. THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
MONEY DEMAND, MONEY SUPPLY AND EQUILIBRIUM INTEREST RATE
10. THE GOODS MARKET AND FINANCIAL MARKETS: THE IS-LM MODEL
11. THE LABOR MARKET
THE DETERMINATION OF WAGES, THE DETERMINATION OF PRICES, THE NATURAL RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
12. THE PHILLIPS CURVE, THE NATURAL RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION
Teaching Methods
FRONT LESSONS AND TUTORIALS. LECTURES (46 HOURS), TUTORIALS (14 HOURS).
THEORETICAL LESSONS ARE SUPPORTED BY GRAPHIC EXPLANATIONS AND BASIC MATHEMATICS REFERENCES THAT CAN SIMPLIFY THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOST COMPLEX CONCEPTS. THE ECONOMIC CONCEPTS ARE PRESENTED BY OPENING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE STUDENTS IN ORDER TO MAKE BOTH THE ECONOMIC TERMINOLOGY AND THE ECONOMIC REASONING CLEAR. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO THE ECONOMICS INTENDED AS A DECISION-MAKING METHOD FOR THE MICROECONOMICS AND CRITICAL-EVALUATION PART IN TERMS OF RESOLUTION OF PROBLEMS SUCH AS UNEMPLOYMENT, INFLATION AND GROWTH FOR THE MACROECONOMIC ASPECT. THE TUTORIALS INCLUDE BOTH RESOLUTIONS OF EXERCISES IN WHICH THE TECHNIQUES PRESENTED IN THE THEORETICAL LESSONS ARE USED AND THE GRAPHICAL RESOLUTION OF MACROECONOMIC PROBLEMS THROUGH THE USE OF MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICIES.
Verification of learning
ATTAINMENT OF THE TEACHING OBJECTIVES IS CERTIFIED BY PASSING AN EXAMINATION WITH A GRADE IN THIRTIETHS. THE EXAMINATION COMPRISES A COMPULSORY WRITTEN TEST AND AN ORAL TEST (OPTIONAL ONLY FOR STUDENTS WHO OBTAINED A MARK BETWEEN 18 AND 26 IN THE WRITTEN TEST). THE WRITTEN TEST, WHICH LASTS TWO HOURS, CONSISTS OF THEORETICAL QUESTIONS (MULTIPLE-CHOICE AND OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS) AND EXERCISES; THE ORAL TEST (WHERE APPLICABLE) CONSISTS OF AN INTERVIEW LASTING APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES, AIMED AT ASCERTAINING BOTH THE STUDENT'S LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND EXPOUND ON THE TOPICS COVERED. AN INTERMEDIATE TEST ON THE FIRST PART OF THE PROGRAMME (50%) IS SCHEDULED. FOR THOSE WHO PASS THE MID-TERM TEST, THE FINAL EXAMINATION WILL FOCUS ONLY ON THE SECOND PART OF THE PROGRAMME.
Texts
REFERENCE TEXTS:
MICROECONOMIA DI DAVID A. BESANKO, RONALD R. BRAEUTIGAM
SCOPRIRE LA MACROECONOMIA. I. QUELLO CHE NON SI PUÒ NON SAPERE. OLIVIER BLANCHARD, ALESSIA AMIGHINI, FRANCESCO GIAVAZZI

  BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2024-08-21]