ECONOMIC LITERACY

The importance of the economy for the mankind is lost in the mists of time, when from a barter economy until the introduction of the coin, minted former goods and then as a medium of exchange, economic agents have given rise to economic markets. The study of economic theories is therefore anticipated by the interactions between economic agents: households, producers, consumers, anyone with an interest in exchanging goods or services to enhance their utility.
From the fascinating birth of bartering, which according to various anthropological studies, has its origins in the exchange of gifts, which cements the life of the community or inter-communal relations, the financial markets have evolved due to increasingly complex needs up to outline the varied and interconnected economic system in which we live.

The course aims to provide non-economic area students the basic knowledge for the understanding of important aspects of economic activities:
1. Fundamentals of the economy Study: essentials, economic agents and the satisfaction of needs, utility maximization
2. The creation of markets and market structures: competition, monopoly and oligopoly. What is an equilibrium price?
3. Markets and their recent increasing interconnections. Outline the current transformation induced by the economic crisis.
During the course we will be introduced to several existing and applied examples.

No specific prerequisite given the nature of the course which is aimed at non-economic students

1. Introduction to the basic elements for the understanding of economic reasoning
2. By exchanging to the currency creation: notes on the emergence of the financial and goods markets
3. Types of market structures, pricing, economic utility
4. Welfare and economic activity
5. Outline of the current economic crisis and the decline of the aggregate demand. The GDP as a welfare measure.

Teacher material
Suggested readings:
Claudio Gnesutta
Introduzione all'economia
EDIZIONE: 2005
RISTAMPA: 3^, 2008
COLLANA: Manuali universitari
ISBN: 9788843035854
Elisabetta Croci Angelini, Francesco Farina
Macroeconomia dell'Unione europea
EDIZIONE: 2007
COLLANA: Università
ISBN: 9788843038572

Written test with multiple choice questions and open questions

Teacher's slides, class lectures available on the moodle teaching website

Italian

written