Student guide Faculty of Law A.Y. 2007/08

The aim of the course is to explain the basic concepts of economics using simple economic language together with examples drawn from everyday life and significant national and international economic events. The first part of the course will deal with “microeconomic” subjects, relating to the behaviour of individual economic agents: consumers, businesses and the public authorities. This part of the course will illustrate the logic of economic reasoning, namely the approach and method that must be used to deal with problems from the economic standpoint. The second part of the course will cover “macro­economic” subjects: unemployment, inflation, international trade and the environment. The course consequently aims to highlight some of the problems affecting contemporary society and to identify policies which could solve, or at least alleviate them.

·         Supply, demand and market

·         Consumer balance and elasticity

·         Production: income, expenditure and profits

·         Competition and monopolies

·         The oligopoly and other market forms

·         Market failures (Prof. Capri)

 Second part: Macroeconomics.

·         Macroeconomic variables

·         Aggregate supply and demand

·         Keynesian theory

·         Tax policies

·         Currency and monetary policies

·         Introduction to international economics

·         International trade

An intermediate written test will be held at the end of the first and second parts. Students who fail one of the two tests may take a supplementary test on the part failed. Students who do not attend lectures will be required to take a general written exam.

The main textbook is:

·         Sloman, J., Elementi di economia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004.

 Further reading will be suggested during the course