Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory and 15 hours of exercises.

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This course will be taught in English. Reading material will also be in English.

This course has as objective to introduce the principles of economics and to build the student's basic understanding of the functioning of market economies.

Economics I will be devoted to understanding the general principles of economics and the basics of microeconomics, or the study of the behavior of consumers and firms in perfect competition and imperfect competition.

The principles of macroeconomics will be covered in Economics II. The course is expected to provide students with the capacity to understand economic concepts and logic used in business and economics press publications such as The Economist and The Financial Times.
By the end of the course students should be able to explain the intuition underlying simple graphical and algebraic economic models representing a number of microeconomic topics, the supply and demand of a good, consumers' choices in purchasing goods and services, and a firm's decision how much to produce. Students should be able to apply each model to solve relevant numerical problems and to answer pertinent theoretical and policy questions.

None at the university level, although student are assumed to have good command of high-school math.

Economics I is the first of a two-course sequence on the principles of economics taught in English. It is a required course in the curriculum for students enrolled in the bilingual French-English or trilingual French-English-Dutch baccalauréat. Students who are not enrolled in the bilingual or trilingual baccalauréat but who wish to take an economics course in English may substitute Economics I for the course Economie I.

Course outline with reference to the corresponding chapters in the textbook:
1. Introduction (Chapters 1 and 2)
2. Supply and Demand Analysis (Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
3. Consumer Theory, Producer Theory and Equilibrium (Chapters 13, 14 and 21)
4. Market Imperfections: Externalities and Public Goods (Chapters 10 and 11)
5. Market Imperfections: Imperfect Market Structures (Chapters 15, 16 and 17)

Some Further Reading: The Economist, The Financial Times, Trends/Tendances …

The course objectives are achieved via weekly theoretical lectures and via smaller, group sessions where the teaching assistant works with students on problem sets. During lectures emphasis will be placed on theoretical exposition as well as examples taken from business and economics press and from current events.

A written examination made up of problems similar to those seen in problem sessions as well as questions relating to course material, will be used to determine each student's course grade. Although students are not formally graded on solutions to problem sets distributed by the teaching assistant, students are strongly encouraged to work on these problem sets prior to attending the session in which they are discussed. The teaching assistant will make available, prior to the end of the semester, solutions to the problem sets.

Economics, 2011, N. Gregory Mankiw, Mark P. Taylor, South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 978-1-8448-0870-0

The slides used during the lectures will be provided to the students.

Students are strongly encouraged to consult the textbook for additional explanation, numerical examples, and discussion of topics covered in the course. The textbook is intended to provide a complement to course lectures and problem sessions. Students will not be responsible for textbook material addressing topics not covered in course lectures or problem sessions.