Content

Topic 1. The economy: basic issues:
Object of the economic analysis; economic models; the set of production possibilities and the opportunity cost; the gains from international trade.
 
Topic 2. Markets: supply and demand:
The market and competition; introduction to the demand and supply curves; the market equilibrium; consumer surplus and producer surplus.
 
Topic 3. Demand and the concept of elasticity:
Market demand and individual demand; shifts of the demand curve; the elasticity of demand: price elasticity; income-elasticity and crossed-price-elasticity.
 
Topic 4. Firm's supply and costs:
Technology and production function; cost function of the firm; total, average and marginal costs; variable costs and fixed costs; returns to scale; short and long-run costs; shifts of the supply curve.
 
Topic 5. Perfectly competitive markets:
Perfect competition; maximization of profits and the competitive supply curve of the firm; supply curve of a competitive market.
 
Topic 6. Non-competitive markets and public intervention:
Imperfect competition: monopoly; regulation of monopoly; the oligopoly and the cartels; public policies on oligopolies; analysis of antitrust legislation;
monopolistic competition.
 
Topic 7. Market failures:
externalities; public goods; public intervention
 
Topic 8. Efficiency and equity:
Distribution of income and equity; the tax system; gender inequalities, women's participation in the labour market and wage gap.

Topic 9: Economic aggregates:
The GDP; the components of GDP; the measure of the cost of living; economic cycles and the long-run economy. Unemployment.
 
Topic 10: Economic policies:
Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy.