Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
English
|

ESPO1170 - Economics I



Credits : 5

Lecturer :
Teaching assistants :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory and 15 hours of exercises.

Timetable :
First term
Tuesday from 09:00 to 11:00 at 109 Marais 300

Language of instruction :
English is the only language used during the course, in problem sessions and during the written exam.

Learning outcomes :
This course has as its 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, such as analyzing the evolution of supply and demand of a good and its impacts, consumers' choices in purchasing goods and services, and a firm's decision about the quantity of a good to produce. Students should be able to apply each model to solve relevant numerical problems and to answer pertinent theoretical and policy questions.



Prerequisites :
None

Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
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 baccalauréat. Students who are not enrolled in the bilingual 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 I: how markets work (Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6)
3. Markets, efficiency, welfare and the economics of the public sector (Chapters 7, 8 and 9)
4. Inefficient market allocation 1 : externalities, public goods and CPR (Chapters 10 and 11)
5. Inefficient market allocation 2 : monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly (Chapters 14, 15 and 16)



Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
The course objectives are achieved via weekly lectures in which the professor presents models relating to the different topics covered in the course and via smaller, group sessions where the teaching assistant works with students on problem sets. Emphasis will be placed in course lectures on theoretical exposition as well as examples taken from business and economics press and from current events in which the models under consideration may be applied so as to link theory and practice.

Two thirds of the course load (30 hours) will be devoted to formal lectures and one third (15 hours) to small group sessions for working on problem sets.



Assessment methods and criteria :
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. The teaching assistant will make available, prior to the end of the semester, solutions to the problem sets.


Recommended or required reading :
Reference material: Economics, N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor, third edition, 2014.

Students are strongly suggested 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.



Other information :
Additional material:
- A detailed course outline as well as the set of slides used during the lectures.
- Small course web site via eSaintLouis containing remarks, notes, forums and a previous exam.