Ateneo - UPO

The module introduces students to several key concepts of modern economics, like the phenomenon of economic growth, the production choice of firms, the consumer choices, the modus operandi of markets the business cycle, the labour market and unemployment, aggregate demand (AD) and national production (GDP), and the impact of fiscal and monetary policies on output and prices.

The Core The Economy Italian edition edited by Il Mulino 2018 freely available at https://www.core-econ.org/the-economy/it/

To get hold of the key concepts of both micro and macroeconomics.

None.

As many as 60 hours of face to face lectures (didattica erogative) and seminars (didattica interattiva). Students are expected to attend all classes and seminars.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/students-physical-or-learning- Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

One 90-minute unseen written exam to be held at the end of the course. The exam paper consists of two parts, Part A and Part B. Part A consists of as many as 16 MCQs (8 for Micro and 8 for Macro) while Part B proposes as many as 8 essay-type questions (4 on Micro and 4 on Macro). Students must answer in full both parts. The two parts carry equal weight of 16 marks each. The minimum score for part A is of 8 (=4+4) marks. A sample of mock and past exam papers are available on DIR.

Labour productivity, consumer preferences and utility maximisation, firm profit maximisation, demand elasticity, equilibrium in a perfectly competitive market, consumer and producer surplus, social welfare, long-run equilibrium in perfect competition, market for capital goods, The labour market, the Phillips Curve: Inflation and unemployment, banks and money, the credit market, economic fluctuations and unemployment, issues of the business cycle: unemployment and inflation, unemployment and fiscal policy, employment rate and gender gap, active labour market policies, aggregate consumption, public spending, business investment, aggregate demand (AD), output (Y), the income–expenditure model (Y=AD), prices and inflation, Phillips curve: unemployment and inflation, types of fiscal policy, types of monetary policy, the central bank and its official discount rate, effects of fiscal and monetary policies on output, unemployment and inflation, counter-cyclical fiscal and monetary policies.

After completion of the module, students will be able to make sense of the modus operandi of modern market economies, both from the micro and macro perspective.