INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS

The purpose of the course is to illustrate the way in which economists view, think, and analyze the world. The course provides an introduction to a broad range of economic concepts, theories, and analytical techniques. It considers both microeconomics—the analysis of choices made by individual decision-making units (households and firms) under partial equilibrium—and macroeconomics—the general equilibrium analysis of the economy as a whole. The use of the supply and demand model will be the fundamental setting in which trade-offs and choices will be considered through a comparison of the costs and benefits of actions.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Describe and explain how partial equilibrium models of markets can be used to consider fundamental economic choices of households and firms.
2. Describe and explain how general equilibrium models of competitive markets can be used to analyze the economy as a whole.
3. Describe and explain how both the government policies and the market structure influence microeconomic choices and macroeconomic outcomes.
4. Interpret and use economic models to analyze economic situations.

Students are required to have excellent knowledge and training in secondary-school level mathematics:
1. Arithmetic: (a) Natural and real numbers, and fractions; (b) Computation and properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and roots.
2. Elementary algebra: (a) Manipulation of variables as if they were numbers; (b) Simplification of algebraic expressions; (c) Properties of equalities and inequalities; (d) Resolution of systems of two linear equations with two unknowns; (e) Graphic representation of linear equations (of two variables) in the real plane.
3. Geometry: (a) Computation of length and area of traditional two-dimensional geometric figures—square, triangle, circumference; (b) Angles; (c) Congruency of geometric figures; (d) Pythagorean theorem.
4. Graphs analysis: Basic identification, visualization, and analysis of the relationships between entities in a graph.

PART 1: MICROECONOMICS
1. Competitive markets
1.1. Supply and demand
1.2. Elasticity
1.3. Production and costs
1.4. Competitive equilibrium
1.5. Welfare analysis: Consumer and producer surplus
2. Taxes
2.1. Per-unit sales tax
3. International trade
3.1. Imports and exports
3.2. Trade protection
4. Imperfect competition
4.1. Monopoly
4.2. Duopoly
5. Uncertainty, risk, and asymmetric information
5.1. Adverse selection problem
5.2. Signaling

PART 2: MACROECONOMICS
1. Macroeconomic aggregates and concepts
1.1. Measuring the national output and national income
1.2. Unemployment and inflation
2. Markets of goods
3. Financial markets
4. The IS-LM Model: Equilibrium in both the goods and money markets
5. Labor market
6. The AS-AD Model: Putting all markets together

1. Economics by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells. McMillan Publisher.
2. Principle of Economics by Karl E. Case, Ray C. Fair, and Sharon E. Oster. Pearson Publisher.
3. OpenStax Economics, Principles of Economics. OpenStax CNX. May 18, 2016. http://cnx.org/contents/69619d2b-68f0-44b0-b074-a9b2bf90b2c6@11.330

The examination will take the form of a 90-minutes comprehensive written exam.
• It is a closed-notes and closed-book test.
• All topics covered during the course are eligible for evaluation.
• It is worth 100% of the final grade.
• The exam will be marked on a scale ranging from 0 to 30. The minimum passing grade is 18.

Seven home assignments will be given in the form of problem sets to be solved in groups of maximum 3 people.
• Submitting the home assignments is not mandatory.
• Home assignments can earn you up to 5 points that will be added to your final exam grade in the first and/or second exam sessions. Homework points will NOT be included in your exam grade for the 3rd and 4th exam sessions.
• Homework points will be granted as follows:
- You need to submit at least five of the problem sets solved to be eligible for the homework points.
- At the end of the course, one problem set is randomly chosen (the same for all students) and marked on a scale ranging from 1 to 5.
• Homework assignments will be handed out through the Moodle platform. Similarly, you will need to submit your solutions through the Moodle platform. Submission through email will NOT be accepted under any circumstances.
• The responsibility of submitting the homework falls on only one group member.
• Ensure that the submission paper includes the names of all group members. No additions of names will be accepted retroactively under any circumstances.
• Homework assignments will be solved uniquely during the exercise lessons. Solutions to the problem sets will not be available on Moodle. Therefore, it is recommended that you attend the exercise lessons.

Teaching will be supported by lectures on the subjects of the course. The purpose of the lectures is to give an overview of the curriculum and facilitate its understanding. The language of instruction will be English. In addition, students will have the opportunity to attend exercise lessons aimed at solving problem sets and preparing for the final written exam.

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