Introduction to Economics
Module Code: EC1010
Module Name: Introduction to Economics
- ECTS Weighting: 10
- Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas + Hilary Term
- Contact Hours: 44 hours of lectures and 20 hours of tutorials
- Module Personnel: Lecturer - Tara Mitchell / Lecturer - Fadi Hassan
Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:
- explain and apply basic economic terminology;
- formulate and address economic and public policy issues using the language and approach of economics;
- set up and solve simple economic problems related to the technical topics in this module;
- articulate economic reasoning and results to others.
Module Learning Aims
This module provides students with a broad introduction to, and overview of, introductory economics, covering both microeconomics and macroeconomics. As such, this module is the core building block for degree programmes incorporating economics, such as BESS (TR081), TSM Economics and PPES
Module Content
The module focuses on the principles of economics, and provides a foundation for the more advanced modules in economics available in later years. The module does not assume any previous knowledge of economics and has no pre-requisites.
The first part of the module covers microeconomics, which is concerned with the allocation of scarce resources between competing uses at the disaggregated level of individuals, households and firms. The central issue concerns the respective roles of the price mechanism and of the government in resource allocation.
The second part of the module covers macroeconomics, which is concerned with economy-wide aggregates such as the overall scale of economic activity, the rate of inflation, the levels of employment and unemployment and the exchange rate. The central issue concerns the role of the government in tackling macroeconomic challenges such as reducing unemployment, promoting growth and maintaining price stability.
Recommended Reading List
Mankiw, N. G. and Taylor, M. P., 2011, Economics, Second Edition, Cengage Learning EMEA. Students are required to have access to, and interaction with, the software package Aplia, which accompanies the text.
Assessment Details
There will be a term test in week 8 of Michaelmas term and Hilary term each accounting for 15% of the overall grade. The annual exam accounts for 70% of the overall grade.