The course is aimed to provide basics of economics (micro and macro) useful to understand the real world and the economy. At the end of the course, students will be able to: O1) understand and use both the main microeconomics concepts (consumer, firm, market and competitive equilibrium, welfare, market failures) and the macroeconomics ones (GDP, inflation, employment, AD-AS, fiscal and monetary policies); O2) use simple models to understand economic decisions and their impact; O3) understand main economic indicators and simple economic evidence.
Course Prerequisites
Formally, none. Basics of math are required (four operations, representation of simple functions on the plane, understanding of graphs).
Teaching Methods
Lectures, tutorials and a couple of sessions of experimental economics. Class slides will be available at KIRO. Inclusive teaching is ensured to specific categories of students (https://portale.unipv.it/it/didattica/servizi-lo-studente/modalita-didattiche-inclusive): online reception, tutoring, concept maps can be used by students with learning disorders.
Assessment Methods
Written exam (approx.1 hours) including both open questions and multiple-choice questions. Oral examination is elective. The exam is aimed at verifying the achievement of educational objectives O1-O3 as described above.
Texts
The CORE team - The Economy available at: www.core-econ.org/the-economy. Students can use the textbook in English.
Contents
* The capitalist system * Technology, population, and growth * Scarcity and choice * Basics of game theory * The firm * Consumer theory * Supply and demand in competitive markets * Banks, money, and the credit market * Markets and efficiency * Market failures, and public policy * Economic fluctuations, inflation, and unemployment * Fiscal policy and monetary policy * Agenda 2030 (Goals 8 and 10): A brief overview
Course Language
Italian
More information
The detailed syllabus and the lecture slides will be uploaded on the course website at KIRO: https://elearning.unipv.it/course/index.php?categoryid=856 To access the KIRO page, an access-key is required; it is communicated at the beginning of the course and can be requested to the teacher via email.
