Introduction to Economics

2020/2021

Academic Year

RUS

Instruction in Russian

5

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Big Data and Information Retrieval School

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

1 year, 3, 4 module

Instructor

Векилян Армине Вагенаковна

Программа дисциплины

Аннотация

Introduction to Economics is a one-semester course delivered for the first-year DSBA students in the Spring semester. It is taught in English and Russian. First part of the course is based on online course on Coursera platform “Microeconomic Principles”. The second part of the course will be devoted to Macroeconomic Principles and will be taught in-class. This course is designed to develop students’ critical thinking and economic reasoning skills and focuses on the core micro- and macroeconomic models. Based on standard modelling framework, the course addresses problems of market structures, equilibrium and market failures. It also provides the basic toolkit for the analysis of business cycles, such as the IS-LM-BP and AD-AS models, and describes the real world phenomena such Central banks actions, social policy of the government etc in the framework of that models. PREREQUISITES: This is an introductory course and requires virtually no specific knowledge of the subject. Working knowledge of mathematics (i.e. elementary calculus) is a must.

Цель освоения дисциплины

• To introduce students to the main analytical tools which are used in economic analysis.
• To introduce students to the main conclusions derived from economic analysis, and develop their understanding of their organizational and policy implications.
• To explain the core concepts of economics.
• To provide an analysis of the behavior of economic agents, both at micro- and macro- levels.

Планируемые результаты обучения

• Students should be able to define the main concepts and describe the models and methods used in economic analysis
• Students should be able to assess the potential and limitations of the models and methods used in economic analysis
• Students should be able to formulate real world issues in the language of economic concepts and models
• Students should be able to apply and use economic concepts and models to analyze these issues

Содержание учебной дисциплины

• Introduction to Basic Principles
  What is economics?, Opportunity costs, Cost-benefit principle, The invisible hand principle, Trade
• Supply and Demand
  Equilibrium, supply shortage, supply surplus, difference between a change in quantity demanded/supplied and a change in demand/supply
• Market efficiency and Government policies
  Equilibrium, consumer surplus, producer surplus, total surplus, price ceilings, price floors
• Elasticities
  Own price elasticity of demand, Own price elasticity and total revenue, Other demand elasticities, Price elasticity of supply, An application: taxes
• Production and Costs
  Fixed input, variable input, marginal product, diminishing marginal returns to the variable input, marginal costs, efficient scale
• Competitive output
  Market structures, Short-run competitive output, Long-run competitive output
• Firms with market powers
  Monopoly, Monopolistic competition, Pricing with market power
• Public Goods, Common Resources and Externalities
  Rival good, excludable good, common resource, free-rider problem, externalities, public goods
• Introduction to Macroeconomics.
  The problem of aggregation, the circular flow of income, leakages and injections, national income accounting, value added, real and nominal gross domestic product (GDP).
• The goods market in the closed economy
  Actual and potential output, consumption, investment, government expenditure. Taxation and disposable income. Income determination, equilibrium, the multiplier, the paradox of thrift.
• Financial markets
  The role of money, real balances, the supply of money (banks and the various multipliers), central banks and monetary control, equilibrium in the money market. Deriving the LM (the liquid assets market)
• General equilibrium, employment and government policy.
  Using policy mix. How does IS-LM model fit the facts?
• The labour market. Phillips curve.
  Natural rate of unemployment. Movements in unemployment.
• The open economy.
  Trade balance, foreign exchange market, J curve.

Элементы контроля

• Weekly offline quizzes for the second part of the course
  In-class quizzes (typically written at the start of each class).
• Quizzes
• Open book Tests

Промежуточная аттестация

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.7 * Open book Tests + 0.3 * Quizzes

Список литературы

Рекомендуемая основная литература

• Blanchard, O., Amighini, A., & Giavazzi, F. (2013). Macroeconomics: A European Perspective (Vol. 2nd ed). Harlow: Pearson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1418008

Рекомендуемая дополнительная литература

• Lipsey, R., & Chrystal, A. (2015). Economics. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.b.oxp.obooks.9780199676835