| Unit name | Economic Principles |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIM10010 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Chondrogianni |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
A-level Mathematics (or equivalent) |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit aims to equip students with the basic understanding of the core of economic theory, concepts and models, with applications, where appropriate, to accounting, business and finance.
On the microeconomic side, the unit covers topics such as: demand, supply, elasticity, competition, game theory, risk, externalities, welfare etc.
On the macroeconomic side, the unit covers GDP, CPI, aggregate demand and aggregate supply, monetary and fiscal policy etc.
Students will be able to:
1. Make appropriate use of core microeconomic concepts such as opportunity cost; elasticities; and marginal/average relationships in analysing economic behaviour.
2. Explain the role and limits of markets and the public sector in the organisation of economic activity, showing an awareness of the relevance of imperfect competition, strategic behaviour, informational constraints, regulation and externalities in economic activity.
3. Analyse the behaviour of firms in a variety of forms of industrial organisation.
4. Explain the contributions that economic analysis can make to addressing some problems of current concern such as pollution and unemployment.
5. Explain important macroeconomic concepts such as Gross Domestic Product, money supply, inflation, natural rate of unemployment, aggregate supply and exchange rates.
6. Analyse the behaviour of major macroeconomic variables such as aggregate output and the interest rate using models of aggregate economic behaviour.
7. Recognise some of the causes of aggregate economic fluctuations using simple models.
8. Appraise the scope and limitations of both fiscal and monetary policy.
36 hours of lectures
9 hours of classes
Summative Assessment:
2.5 hour examination worth 100% at the end of the relevant teaching block. This tests all the learning outcomes.
Formative Assessment:
Students will complete 4 pieces of formative assessment during the unit each consisting of a combination of short (1000-word) essays and analytical questions. Students will also work in groups to produce a video on an economic topic. All the learning outcomes will be assessed.
There are a number of textbooks that are relevant. Some examples are given below:
Mark P. Taylor and N. Gregory Mankiw (4th edition), Economics
K. Chrystal and Richard Lipsey (13tg edition), Economics
Paul Krugman and Robin Wells (5th edition), Economics
Dean Garratt, John Sloman, and Jon Guest (10th edition), Economics
