Statistics, Economics, Finance and Insurance

GIULIA ZACCHIA

Learning goals
Aim of the course is to offer a general introduction to economics, considered both as a social discipline which helps us to understand the economic events of the society we live in and as a “technical” discipline, required to a larger or lesser extent in many work activities.

Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge of the basic concepts and of the main theories elaborated in the economic field .Historical perspective and awareness of the existence of different interpretative positions for what concerns economics.

Applying knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course students are able to formalize real economic problems and to apply the specific methods of the discipline to solve them. They are also able to deal with the most important economic models (both microeconomic and macroeconomic) and to apply the learned methods to models to be developed in the future. Finally, they are able to link methods to short-term data.

Making judgements
Students develop critical skills through the application of the same methodology to a wide range of economic models, which are affected by different theoretical approaches.

Communication skills
Students, through the study, acquire the technical-scientific language of the discipline, which must be appropriately used both in written and oral exams.

Learning skills
Students who pass the exam have learned a method of analysis that allows them to tackle the study of more complex models (both microeconomic and macroeconomic) in advanced courses in economics.

The course aims to provide a general introduction to economics, understood both as a social science, which helps to understand the economic affairs of the society in which we live, and as a 'technical' discipline, which is necessary to a greater or lesser extent in many jobs. The students acquire a basic grounding that will assist them in the interpretation of economic dynamics and policies.
Knowledge and understanding skills
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to define basic economic concepts and the main theoretical approaches developed in the field of economic sciences. Students are also be exposed to a historical perspective of theories, to increase their awareness of the existence of different interpretations of economic phenomena. Upon completion of this course, the students will be able to:
- Know the basics of political economy through theoretical models and standard theory;
- Understand the behavior of economic agents and the functioning of the economic systems;
- Explain issues related to markets and economic policies;
- Understand the existence of different interpretative positions of economic phenomena;

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.

Upon completion of the course, students can formalize real economic problems and apply discipline-specific methods to understand through major micro- and macroeconomic models.
Autonomy of judgment.
Students develop critical skills through the study of different theoretical approaches to economic problems.
Communication skills.
Students, through study, acquire the technical and scientific language of the discipline, which must be appropriately used in both written and oral tests.
Learning skills
Students learn a method of analysis that enables them to deal with the study of more complex models (both microeconomic and macroeconomic) in subsequent economics courses.

No prerequisites required

The course offers an introduction to political economy that will provide students with the tools and theories useful for understanding the economic aspects of our society. The theories expounded will be adequately framed in the history of economic thought. Particular attention will be paid to 'institutional' information on the functioning of the current economic system, exploring for example public behaviour, the international monetary system and the European Union and its policies.
In detail, the following will be analysed:
Economic systems
Structural transformations in the development process
The division of labour
The theory of value
The marginalist theory of the consumer and the enterprise
Market forms
Production and employment: the Keynesian theory
Money and finance
Money and employment
Employment, unemployment and inflation
International economic relations

Nuovi lineamenti di economia politica - Marcella Corsi - Alessandro Roncaglia - Manuali Laterza

Conventional face-to-face lectures take place in the classroom and provide for the achievement of the intended learning objectives. The course includes 72 hours of face-to-face lectures.

Attendance is not compulsory but recommended

The final examination consists of a written test with open-ended questions followed by an oral examination on the programme

example "effect of an expansionary monetary policy"
the written exam will focus mainly on the interpretation of graphs shown in class or found in the reference text