BS1547: Introduction to Economics

School Cardiff Business School
Department Code CARBS
Module Code BS1547
External Subject Code 100450
Number of Credits 20
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Professor Melanie Jones
Semester Double Semester
Academic Year 2015/6

Outline Description of Module

This module aims to equip students of business management and accounting with a basic toolkit of economic concepts and analytical techniques which should be of use to them in their further study of business and accounting.

This module aims to introduce students, many of whom will never have studied economics before, to the fundamentals of the subject. It will give a basic grounding firstly in microeconomics, then in aggregative macroeconomics, and show students how an understanding of the basics both of micro and of macroeconomics can be of considerable relevance to businesses and to business decision making.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

A    Knowledge and Understanding:

  • grasp the essence and the pervasive character of the economic choice problem in the face of scarcity.
  • have a precise understanding of the basic definitions, analytical constructs and theorems of basic microeconomics.
  • apply the concepts of economic supply and demand to a variety of practical issues and situations.
  • understand and be able to apply the concept of elasticity of demand to marketing and strategy problems.
  • show an awareness of the issues surrounding private sector firms’ motivation).
  • Understand, and be able to identify in practice, the various forms of market structure (perfect competition, oligopoly, monopoly etc).
  • grasp the distinction between macroeconomics and microeconomics.
  • understand the macroeconomic concepts of aggregate output, consumption, investment, savings and unemployment and how these are linked in a basic Keynesian model of macroeconomics.
  • understand the notions of money demand and supply, inflation and the role of interest rates in a macroeconomic setting.
  • understand the essentials of macroeconomic policy debates.

B    Intellectual Skills:

  • demonstrate the ability to make good use of theoretical concepts and formal hypothesis development as part of the lecture programme and through tutorial work.
  • develop analytical skills through the use of economic models throughout the syllabus.

C    Discipline Specific Skills:

  • develop problem solving and explanatory skills through tutorial work, coursework and examination questions.
  • be able to apply the economic notion of opportunity cost to practical business decisions.
  • appreciate how economic analysis might usefully contribute to reducing inefficiencies within firms and markets.
  • demonstrate an understanding of why and how governments might intervene in the economy to improve economic performance.

D    Transferable Skills:

  • learn to work independently on module material as part of the normal learning process.
  • acquire the intellectual technique and work ethic necessary to master new ideas and alternative intellectual approaches.
  • develop the ability and confidence to communicate with staff and students through the work in tutorials.
  • demonstrate clear, precise writing skills within module assessments.

How the module will be delivered

The formal core timetable consists of 36 lectures and eight hours of tutorials per year. This module is taught to a very large number of students, a number of which have no prior knowledge of economics, whilst others have studied to secondary school level. Taking account of this disparity, the module offers both an initial schooling on basic economic concepts and theories, and new material, insights and developments that will interest those who have studied economics previously. The assessment and tutorial programme is the same for all students.

Students will be provided with detailed readings from a selection of introductory texts. This material, together with the lecture handouts will provide the context for the tutorials, which concentrate on exploring the importance of the studied concepts and theories in the ‘real world’, and upon readying the students for their eventual tests and examinations by problem solving and in depth discussions of the course materials.

How the module will be assessed

Assessment consists of three components:

  1. Coursework of one essay in the Autumn semester which enables students to display understanding of basic microeconomic concepts and theories; given the quite rigorous character of much of micro theory this is a particularly effective way of testing the basic information and understanding of microeconomics by students.
  2. Coursework of one essay in the Spring semester on a topic in macroeconomics designed to help the students’ ability to deal in a balanced, fair-minded and academic manner with those areas of macroeconomics which remain controversial, in particular certain policy issues.
  3. The  examination consists of both essay questions and short-response answers and covers both the micro and macro parts of the module.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Exam - Spring Semester 80 Introduction To Economics 3
Written Assessment 10 Coursework - 1,000 Words (Autumn) N/A
Written Assessment 10 Coursework - 1,000 Words (Spring) N/A

Essential Reading and Resource List

Parkin, M. et al. 2014. Economics. 9th ed. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education. Available at:  http://bit.ly/1S1Du3G

Background Reading and Resource List

ALTERNATIVES:

Gillespie, A. 2014. Foundations of economics. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at Aberconway library.

Sloman, J. and Jones, E. 2011. Economics and the business environment. 3rd ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Available at Aberconway library.

Lipsey, R.G. and Chrystal, K. 2015. Economics. 13th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at Aberconway library.

NOTE: Most introductory texts will be adequate in combination with the module materials supplied


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