Catalogo dei Corsi di studio

Course objectives:
By studying Fundamentals of Economics, students should learn some basic knowledge of Economics, master fundamental economic concepts and use economic theories to analyze micro- and macroeconomic phenomena in our daily life. In particular, the aim of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of:

• the principles of demand, supply, and market price and quantity determination;

• the behavior of individual consumers and businesses in response to market forces

• the functioning of an economic system, the interactions among the main macroeconomic variables and the role of fiscal and monetary policies.

Programme

Introduction: what we mean by economics. The market. Demand and supply. Rationality and equilibrium.
Consumer behavior. Budget constraint, preferences, utility function, consumer choice. The choice between consumption and leisure.
Firm behavior. Profit maximization and the choice of the optimal output. The choice of technique. The choice of output in the short and in the long run.
Competitive markets. The market of goods. The market of factors. Partial equilibrium and general equilibrium.
Basics on imperfect competition: monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition.
National accounts and the interactions among the main macroeconomic variables. The role of fiscal and monetary policies.

Adopted texts

Students can use the course didactic material that the teacher makes available on his website (https://sites.google.com/a/uniroma1.it/riccardotilli/insegnamenti).
This teaching material alone is not sufficient for an adequate exam preparation.
The topics contained in the teaching material must be deepened and integrated with the following textbook: G. Di Barlolomeo, E. Saltari, R. Tilli, Principi di Economia Politica, Carocci, 2019 (the student can easily find the topics contained in the teaching material in the recommended textbook).

Prerequisites

No prerequisite.

Study modes

The course Foundations of economics is structured in 48 hours of lectures and aims to provide students the basic concepts of the modern economic theory. The course is divided into two parts: microeconomics and macroeconomics. The first part examines the logic of individual rational choices for consumers and firms in order to understand the mechanisms that determine the resource allocation and the determination of equilibrium quantities and prices in individual markets. The analysis is based on the study of the individual behavior of consumers and firms and the interaction between economic agents in different market context (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition). The second part focuses on the functioning of the economy as a whole. The goal is to provide tools for analysis and explanation of the main macroeconomic variables (production, employment, consumption, investment, public budget, interest rates, labor productivity), in the short and in the long run, the main problems that industrialized economies are often faced with (unemployment, inflation, public debt) and the role of economic policy in affecting the performance of the economic system.

Frequency modes

Attendance of the course is optional.

Exam modes

To pass the exam you must obtain a score of not less than 18/30.
The student must demonstrate that he has acquired sufficient knowledge of the topics related to micro and macroeconomics and be able to understand in a rigorous manner economic themes on national and international level.
To achieve a score of 30/30 cum laude, the student has to demonstrate that he has acquired excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course, being able to link them in a logical and consistent way.

Exam reservation date start	Exam reservation date end	Exam date
06/12/2020	22/12/2020	08/01/2021
06/12/2020	22/12/2020	08/01/2021
23/12/2020	17/01/2021	22/01/2021
23/12/2020	17/01/2021	22/01/2021
09/01/2021	01/02/2021	05/02/2021
09/01/2021	01/02/2021	05/02/2021
10/03/2021	31/03/2021	16/04/2021
10/03/2021	31/03/2021	16/04/2021
28/04/2021	20/05/2021	04/06/2021
28/04/2021	20/05/2021	04/06/2021
14/05/2021	03/06/2021	18/06/2021
14/05/2021	03/06/2021	18/06/2021
28/05/2021	18/06/2021	02/07/2021
28/05/2021	18/06/2021	02/07/2021
28/07/2021	18/08/2021	03/09/2021
28/07/2021	18/08/2021	03/09/2021
18/09/2021	07/10/2021	22/10/2021
18/09/2021	07/10/2021	22/10/2021
15/12/2021	31/12/2021	11/01/2022
15/12/2021	31/12/2021	11/01/2022

Programme

Introduction: what we mean by economics. The market. Demand and supply. Rationality and equilibrium.
Consumer behavior. Budget constraint, preferences, utility function, consumer choice. The choice between consumption and leisure.
Firm behavior. Profit maximization and the choice of the optimal output. The choice of technique. The choice of output in the short and in the long run.
Competitive markets. The market of goods. The market of factors. Partial equilibrium and general equilibrium.
Basics on imperfect competition: monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition.
National accounts and the interactions among the main macroeconomic variables. The role of fiscal and monetary policies.

Adopted texts

Students can use the course didactic material that the teacher makes available on his website (https://sites.google.com/a/uniroma1.it/riccardotilli/insegnamenti).
This teaching material alone is not sufficient for an adequate exam preparation.
The topics contained in the teaching material must be deepened and integrated with the following textbook: G. Di Barlolomeo, E. Saltari, R. Tilli, Principi di Economia Politica, Carocci, 2019 (the student can easily find the topics contained in the teaching material in the recommended textbook).

Prerequisites

No prerequisite.

Study modes

The course Foundations of economics is structured in 48 hours of lectures and aims to provide students the basic concepts of the modern economic theory. The course is divided into two parts: microeconomics and macroeconomics. The first part examines the logic of individual rational choices for consumers and firms in order to understand the mechanisms that determine the resource allocation and the determination of equilibrium quantities and prices in individual markets. The analysis is based on the study of the individual behavior of consumers and firms and the interaction between economic agents in different market context (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition). The second part focuses on the functioning of the economy as a whole. The goal is to provide tools for analysis and explanation of the main macroeconomic variables (production, employment, consumption, investment, public budget, interest rates, labor productivity), in the short and in the long run, the main problems that industrialized economies are often faced with (unemployment, inflation, public debt) and the role of economic policy in affecting the performance of the economic system.

Frequency modes

Attendance of the course is optional.

Exam modes

To pass the exam you must obtain a score of not less than 18/30.
The student must demonstrate that he has acquired sufficient knowledge of the topics related to micro and macroeconomics and be able to understand in a rigorous manner economic themes on national and international level.
To achieve a score of 30/30 cum laude, the student has to demonstrate that he has acquired excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course, being able to link them in a logical and consistent way.

Exam reservation date start	Exam reservation date end	Exam date
06/12/2020	22/12/2020	08/01/2021
06/12/2020	22/12/2020	08/01/2021
23/12/2020	17/01/2021	22/01/2021
23/12/2020	17/01/2021	22/01/2021
09/01/2021	01/02/2021	05/02/2021
09/01/2021	01/02/2021	05/02/2021
10/03/2021	31/03/2021	16/04/2021
10/03/2021	31/03/2021	16/04/2021
28/04/2021	20/05/2021	04/06/2021
28/04/2021	20/05/2021	04/06/2021
14/05/2021	03/06/2021	18/06/2021
14/05/2021	03/06/2021	18/06/2021
28/05/2021	18/06/2021	02/07/2021
28/05/2021	18/06/2021	02/07/2021
28/07/2021	18/08/2021	03/09/2021
28/07/2021	18/08/2021	03/09/2021
18/09/2021	07/10/2021	22/10/2021
18/09/2021	07/10/2021	22/10/2021
15/12/2021	31/12/2021	11/01/2022
15/12/2021	31/12/2021	11/01/2022