20110465 - Introduction to Economics

The purpose of the course is to provide students with an introduction to the analytical tools and the basic knowledge necessary to understand and interpret the economy. Starting from the microeconomic analysis of individual behavior of consumers and firms, the course will then study the effect of interactions among economic agents and the market equilibrium. The course will also introduce the main analytical tools for understanding the complexity of public sector intervention in the economy (e.g., among other topics we will focus on the role of taxes in market equilibrium as well as the role of public goods and public remedies to externalities, with emphasis on the public role in tackling environmental and climate crisis). Ultimately, the course will aim at making graduates in legal disciplines able to understand the economic impact of laws and institutions through a comprehensive understanding of the basic mechanisms driving economic systems.
teacher profile | teaching materials

Programme

Prosperity, inequality, and planetary limits.
Technology and incentives.
Doing the best of what you can: Scarcity, wellbeing, and working hours.
Strategic interactions and social dilemmas.
The firm and its customers.
Supply and Demand: Markets with many buyers and sellers.
Market successes and failures.


Core Documentation

The CORE Econ Team 2023. The Economy 2.0: Microeconomics. Oxford University Press
Open access e-text https://core-econ.org/the-economy/

Attendance

Compulsory.

Type of evaluation

For the final evaluation, students will attend a written exam composed by 10 multiple-choice questions (with four alternative answers, of which only one is correct), 2 true-or-false questions with a brief motivation of the answer, and 2 exercises.