General information


Subject type: Basic

Coordinator: Monica Juliana Oviedo León

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Ivette Fuentes Molina
Alexander Kucel 

Teaching languages


Check the schedules of the different groups to know the language of teaching classes. Although the material can be in any of the three languages.

 

 

 

Skills


Basic skills
  • B3_Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of ​​study), to make judgments that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues

     

  • B5_That students have developed those learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy

     

Specific skills
  • E1_Interpret basic economic concepts and economic reasoning, as well as microeconomic and macroeconomic functioning

     

  • E9_Use mathematical tools and advanced statistical tools for decision making and contrasting various economic assumptions

     

General competencies
  • G1_ Be able to work in a team, actively participating in tasks and negotiating dissenting opinions to reach consensus positions, thus acquiring the ability to learn together with other team members and create new knowledge

Transversal competences
  • T5_Develop tasks applying, with flexibility and creativity, the knowledge acquired and adapting it to new contexts and situations

     

Description


The aim of this course is to introduce the basic concepts and principles to understand the functioning of contemporary economies, emphasizing the study of markets, their agents: companies, consumers and public administrations and the interrelationships established between they.

Learning outcomes


  • Understand and apply the fundamental concepts and laws that govern the market economy: market demand and supply, price and quantity of equilibrium, elasticity, etc.

Working methodology


Theoretical sessions

MD1. Master class: Expository class sessions based on the teacher's explanation attended by all students enrolled in the subject

Guided learning

MD5. Seminars: Face-to-face format in small work groups (between 14 and 40). These are sessions linked to the face-to-face sessions of the subject that allow to offer a practical perspective of the subject and in which the participation of the student is key.

Autonomous learning

MD9. Solving exercises and problems: Non-contact activity dedicated to the resolution of practical exercises based on the data provided by the teacher.

MD10. Research and critical reading of articles: Students start from a working hypothesis that they are developing, following the fairies of the research methodology, including the critical reading of articles.

MD11. Non-contact tutorials: for which the student will have telematic resources such as e-mail and ESCSET intranet resources.

In chronological terms, the appropriate follow-up of a student's course generally involves the following stages:

Attendance at school sessions

Class attendance is mandatory, although, all teaching materials will be provided through Moodle and the required textbook. However, class attendance is not part of the assessment and does not influence the final grade of the subject. It should be noted that the student who does not participate in the classes is faced with a very important volume of teaching material and therefore may have significant difficulties in understanding all this material by studying it alone.

Individual work

The learning of the subject involves the study of the material explained in each session, the realization of practical works and the participation in workshops and seminars aimed at reading, commenting and critical discussion of cases, reports, videos, presentations and articles of character. macroeconomic. In any case, the syllabus hung in the virtual classroom (Moodle) explains in detail all the course content.

Moodle

Moodle is a virtual environment that brings together all the most important features of a virtual classroom. Moodle is the place where all teaching materials (slides, notes, videos, press articles, RSS news feeds, etc.) are posted. Moodle also contains all the exercises that each student must submit during the course. Most of the exercises are automated and self-assessable questionnaires, the fact that it helps to practice the knowledge on the part of the student.

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

The Tecnocampus will make available to teachers and students the digital tools needed to carry out the course, as well as guides and recommendations that facilitate adaptation to the non-contact mode.

 

Contents


1. The concept and method in economics:

1.1. What is the economy. History of economic thought. 

1.2. Methodology of economics.

1.3. Normative economy and positive economy.

1.4. Applications.

1.5. Scarcity, choice and productive factors.

1.6. The frontier of production possibilities (FPP).

1.7. Opportunity cost.

1.8. Law of decreasing returns.

1.9. Microeconomics and macroeconomics.

1.10. Graphic representations in economics.

2. Specialization, exchange and money.

2.1. Specialization and exchange. Market efficiency.

2.2. Absolute and comparative advantage.

2.3. Economies of scale.

2.4. Exchange and monetary economy: the functions of money.

3. Market mechanisms: supply and demand.

3.1. The determinants of demand and its displacements.

3.2. The determinants of supply and their displacements.

3.3. The balance of the market.

3.4. The laws of supply and demand.

3.5. Applications of supply and demand analysis.

4. The elasticity of supply and demand.

4.1. The elasticity of demand: price, substitution and income.

4.2. The elasticity of supply.

4.3. The elasticity of producers' income and consumer spending.

5. The theory of consumer choice.

5.1. The budget constraint.

5.2. Consumer preferences.

5.3. Optimization in consumer choice.

5.4. Obtaining the demand curve.

6. The role of the state in the economy.

6.1. The diversity of economic activities and economic agents.

6.2. Maximum and minimum prices (effective and ineffective).

6.3. Externalities (usually).

7. The company in a perfectly competitive market.

7.1. Maximizing profits in a competitive company. 

7.2. Demand and marginal income of the company.

7.3. Optimal production and supply curve of the company in the short and long term.

7.4. Company response to variations in factor costs.

7.5. Answerable markets: entry and exit of companies; externalities.

8. Market power and pricing.

8.1. The monopoly: inefficiency and social cost of the monopoly.

8.2. Price discrimination.

8.3. Bilateral monopolies and monopsons.

8.4. Vertical integration and transfer pricing.

8.5. Regulation of monopolies.

8.6. Absence of strategic behaviors (simultaneity of actions): Cournot's solution and Bertrand's solution.

8.7. Strategic behaviors (sequential actions): Stackelberg solution.

8.8. Joint profit maximization: collusion and cartel.

8.9. Barriers to entry.

9. Game theory and competitive strategy.

9.1. Cooperation and conflict.

9.2. Alternative coordination mechanisms.

9.3. The institutional framework: property rights.

9.4. Nash equilibrium and Pareto optimums.

9.5. Nash's perfect balance in subplots.

10. The economic analysis of labor markets.

10.1. Factors markets.

10.2. Income and discrimination.

10.3. Income inequality and poverty.

Learning activities


Classes combine economic theory with empirical examples. Attendance at all sessions is essential to understand the material of the subject. Attendance means active participation in face-to-face sessions and independent study outside the classroom. During the term students will develop empirical work related to the microeconomic situation of a company, simulating a real situation where theoretical knowledge will serve to meet the challenges of group work. 

Evaluation system


The final mark of this course will consist of the following compulsory elements:

  • Final exam type test: 60% (RECOVERABLE ONLY IF THE FINAL EXAM IS PRESENTED)
  • Group work and exhibition: 30% (% OF PRESENTATION IS NOT RECOVERABLE)
  • Delivery of a set of exercises and participation: 10% (NOT RECOVERABLE)

It is essential to pass all parts of the course with a grade of 5 to pass the course. The final cut-off mark to pass the course will be a 5/10.

Students who do not take the final exam will not be able to take the resit exam.

The student will only be able to retake the final exam and not the parts of the continuous assessment.

Summary of evaluation weights:

Final exam

60%

Participation in activities proposed in the classroom

10%

Group work and exhibitions

30%

A student who has not applied for the first call CANNOT apply for recovery.

REFERENCES


Basic

MANKIW, G. (2012) “Principles of Economics”. Thompson-Paraninfo. Sixth edition. Madrid.

Complementary

PARKIN, M. (2008) “Economics”. Pearson. 8ª Editing. Mexico.

SAMUELSON, PA, NORDHAUS WD (2010) “Economics. With applications to Latin America ”. McGraw Hill. Nineteenth edition. Mexico.

PATRICIO GARCÍA MÍNGUEZ, AUSIAS RIBÓ ARGEMÍ, FERNANDO SÁNCHEZ LOSADA, MÓNICA SERRANO GUTIERREZ, ALEXANDRINA PETROVA STOYANOVA, MONTSERRAT VILALTA BUFÍ (2015). 100 Problems of microeconomics that will make you think.Ed Auditorium