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Economics I

Module description

This module provides the introduction to economics for undergraduates in the Department of Economics. It puts the student at the centre of pedagogy using learning materials and experiences attuned both to the societal problems that students care about and to how students acquire facility and confidence in using and communicating economics. Digital technology and interactive teaching methods will introduce students to an empirical discipline. Students will learn to use evidence from history, experiments and other data sources to test competing explanations and policies. It introduces the characteristics of economies using historical and cross-country comparisons across the major dimensions of economic performance (growth, inequality, stability). By taking the main economic actors and showing how they make decisions, the module covers behaviour in goods, labour and credit markets, highlighting the role of the rules of the game (institutions), and showing the sources of market successes and market failures. Behaviour of households and firms is analysed in the economy, along with that of fiscal and monetary policy makers.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to provide students with a basic understanding of Economics, and to apply this way of thinking to real world problems. It aims to help students understand the world around them, become more astute participants in the economy and society and help them understand economic policy so that they can better judge the decisions affecting the allocation of their society’s resources.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Outline and apply the main topics in introductory economic theory
• 2. Explain any basic problem in economics using diagrams and to some extent basic algebra

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Identify, present and explain standard theoretical economic models and apply them to analyses of economic questions and policy issues

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Effectively communicate economic concepts/definitions/arguments in written and/or presentation format
• 5. Plan own workloads effectively to meet strict deadlines
• 6. Develop data analytical skills for application in the workplace
• 7. Work positively and collaboratively in groups, managing any conflict arising

Syllabus plan

CORE’S THE ECONOMY 2.0 MICROECONOMICS TEXT (Units 1 – 10):

• Prosperity, Inequality and Planetary Limits
• Technology and Incentives
• Doing the Best you can: Scarcity, Wellbeing and Working hours
• Strategic Interactions and Social Dilemmas
• The Rules of the Game
• The Firm and its Employees
• The Firm and its Customers
• Supply and Demand: Markets with many Buyers and Sellers
• Lenders and Borrowers and Differences in Wealth
• Market Successes and Failures: The Societal Effects of Private Decisions

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

• CORE’s The Economy 2.0 Microeconomics, available (for free) at: https://www.core-econ.org/
• Doing Economics, available (for free) at: https://www.core-econ.org/doing-economics/index.html

ELE

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

None

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

None

Key words search

Economics, Markets, Principles,  Inequality, Empirical Evidence, Economic Behaviour