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Fundamentals of Economics and Business I

Code: 42140
Credits: 15
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Economics and Business Administration OB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Xavier Vila Carnicero
Email :
xavier.vila@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Miguel-Angel Lopez Garcia
Johannes Gierlinger
Maria Teresa Bolivar Ramos
Maria Cervini

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

Microeconomics: Microeconomics consists of the analysis of the behavior of economic agents and the implications of their interactions. The course explores the basic topics of consumers and firms behavior and optimization, market equilibrium, and choice under uncertainty.

Public Economics: Learn the main principles and applications of welfare economics and political economy, including modern incentive theory in the public sector and related issues in behavioral economics.

Strategic Management: The aim of the course is to introduce the student to the main concepts and thought processes in strategic management. Strategy will be studied as a general management task, developing the skills of the student within the strategic analysis, strategic formulation and strategic implementation stages of the strategic decision-making process.

 

Learning outcomes

  • (CA01) Use initiative and creativity in the analysis of challenges and opportunities even in cases of complex contexts and incomplete information.
  • (CA02) Act ethically and with a commitment to the SDGs in carrying out management or leadership responsibilities.
  • (CA03) Solve unfamiliar complex situations.
  • (CA04) Write an orderly and rigorous report with the results of the research carried out.
  • (CA05) Analyse the effects of different public policies, and their effects on the wellbeing of citizens and the proper functioning of businesses.
  • (KA01) Recognize the decision-making processes of individuals, companies, and governments, and their effect on the efficiency and sustainability of economic equilibrium.
  • (KA02) Identify the causes of the main problems that underpin the intervention of public authorities in the economy.
  • (KA03) Identify the challenges and opportunities present when designing management strategies or business creation plans.
  • (KA04) Correctly identify the causes and effects of the existence of incomplete markets and their influence on the existence of equilibrium and its efficiency.
  • (KA05) Identify the determining mechanisms of management and decision-making in the business and organisational spheres.
  • (KA06) Recognise the functioning of public policy in the field of energy, with special consideration of their environmental impact aspects.
  • (SA01) Design optimal strategies for business management in a context of competition at local and global level.
  • (SA02) Solve formal models of representation and analysis of the consumer and company decisions and the results of their interaction.
  • (SA03) Apply optimal investment strategies based on theoretical knowledge about the functioning of the financial markets and the available information.

Contents

Microeconomics


Introduction


1.Consumer Theory


1.1. Preferences and utility.


1.2. Budget constraint.


1.3. Utility maximization.


1.4. Properties of marshallian demand functions. Income and substitution effects.


2.Theory of the Firm


2.1. Technology and production function.


2.2. Productivity and returns to scale.


2.3. Cost minimization: cost and conditional input demand functions.


2.4. Short and long run families of cost functions.


2.5. Profit maximization and output supply.


3. Markets under perfect competition


3.1. Market supply and demand functions. Elasticities.


3.2. Market equilibrium.


3.3. Consumer and producer surplus.


3.4. Market efficiency.


4. Markets under imperfect competition


4.1. Monopoly: Characteristics, inefficiency and regulation


4.2. Oligopoly: Cournot, Bertrand and Stackelberg models


4.3. Perfect versus imperfect competition.


5. Introduction to information economics.


5.1. Adverse selection and applications


5.2. Moral hazard and applications



Public Policies


  1. Public sector statistics: current situation, historical development and theories of the public sector
  2. Foundations: equilibrium and efficiency, welfare economics and welfare theorems.
  3. Departures from efficiency: Externalities, Public Goods, Asymmetric Information.
  4. Equity and redistribution.
  5. Collective decision making. Social choice and collective action. Cooperation and coordination games. Political economy and public choice. Incentives in the public sector. Political economy & institutional economics.
  6. Behavioral economics, public choice and welfare economics. Systematic biases in individual behavior. Boundedly rational consumers, firms and policy-makers.



Strategic Management


1. Configuration Function of Strategy: The concept of strategy. Contents of business strategy. Different levels of strategy and strategic decision. Strategic business unit (SBU). The Strategic Management process.


2. Strategic Analysis (I) (External): Analysis of the general macro-environment. Analysis of the industry and competitive environments. Intra-industry analysis. Concept and identification of strategic groups and market segments. Identification of key success factors.


3. Strategic Analysis (II) (Internal): Functional analysis and strategic profile of the firm. Value chain analysis. Internal analysis based on resources and capabilities of the firm.


4. Business Strategy (I): Nature and sources of competitive advantages. Analysis of cost and differentiation advantages. The strategic clock.


5. Corporate Strategy (II): Diversification. Vertical integration. Cooperation. Firm internationalization.


6. Strategic Implementation. Strategy evaluation criteria and selection techniques. Strategic planning. Strategic control.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Type: Autonomous
Study, Reading, Exercise solving, Essays writing 129.7 5.188
Type: Guided
Lectures with ITC support 75 3
Resolution of exercises 37.5 1.5
Type: Supervised
Tutoring and monitoring work in progress 93.8 3.752

The activities that will allow the students to learn the basic concepts included in this course are:

1. Theory lectures where the instructor will explain the main concepts.

The goal of this activity is to introduce the basic notions and guide the student learning.

 2. Problem Sets

In some subjects, a problem set which students will have to solve individually or in teams will be included in every unit. The goal of this activity is twofold. On one hand students will work with the theoretical concepts explained in the classroom, and on the other hand through this practice they will develop the necessary skills for problem solving.

 3. Practice lectures

The aim of this activity is to comment on and solve any possible doubt that students may have had solving the problem assignment. This way they will be able to understand and correct any errors they may have had during this process.

 4. Essay writing

In some subjects students will produce written essays on the topics proposed.

5. Tutoring hours

Students will have some tutor hours in which the subject instructors will help them solve any doubts they may have.  

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Microeconomics Final Grade 25% 9.75 0.39 CA01, CA03, CA05, KA01, KA04, KA05, SA02, SA03
Public Economics Final Grade 25% 9.75 0.39 CA01, CA02, CA03, CA04, CA05, KA01, KA02, KA04, KA06, SA02, SA03
Strategic Management I Final Grade 25% 9.75 0.39 CA01, CA02, CA03, CA04, KA01, KA03, KA05, SA01, SA03
Strategic Management II Final Grade 25% 9.75 0.39 CA01, CA02, CA03, CA04, KA03, KA05, SA01, SA02, SA03

This module does not offer the option for comprehensive evaluation

  • Except for the Master Thesis, each module consists of a number of different subjects or parts taught by different professors. The final mark for each module will consist of the weighted average of the marks of each subject within the module. A module is considered successfully passed if:
  • the mark for each subject within the module is higher than or equal to 3.0 (in a 0 to 10 scale), and
  • the final mark for that module is higher than or equal to 5.0 (in a 0 to 10 scale).


IMPORTANT: Students are expected to attend all lectures. Professors might take into account class attendance and in-class participation as part of the final assesment of their subject.


  • If a module is not successfully passed, and the average grade is larger or equal than 3.5, the MEBA coordinators will ask the student to retake the exams for those subjects that, according to the coordinators and the professors’ opinions, may help the student to successfully pass the module. If after the re-take exams the student successfully passes the subject(s) retaken, her or his mark for that module will be upgraded accordingly, otherwise the previous grade will remain valid. Two restrictions apply for the results after retaking:
  • the highest mark for any subject retaken is 5.5; and
  • the final grade of the module after the re-take exams cannot be higher than 6.8.
  • The mark -between 0 and 10- for each subject will be computed by each professor based on his or her own criteria and on the student's performance. As a general rule, the following scheme will be applied:

• Class participation (0%-15%).

• Submission of reports, assignments, and/or exercises (15%-30%).

• Oral presentation/defense of reports and/or assignments (0%-10%).

• Individual written tests (50%-65%).


Be aware that this, as well as the duration and nature of the written examinations, is decided by each professor


  • Final exams are compulsory. Re-take exams are only for those students that have previously written a final exam, and have not successfully passed a module.


Bibliography

 

Microeconomics

  1. JEHLE, G.A., RENY, P.J. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. Prentice hall. (3rd. Edition). 2011.

  2. VARIAN, H., Microeconomic Analysis. Norton. (3rd. Edition). 1992.

     

Public Policies

General

  1. Congdon, W.J.; Kling, J.R. (2011), Policy and Choice: Public Finance through the Lens of Behavioral Economics, Brookings Institutions.

  2. Cullis/Jones (2009), Public Finance and Public Choice, Oxford University Press. Third edition.

  3. Gruber, J. (2007), Public Finance and PublicPolicy, Worth Publishers, Second Edition.

  4. Hindriks/Myles (2006), Intermediate Public Economics, The MIT Press.

  5. Silvestre, J. (2012), Public Economics. Efficiency and Equity in Public Policy, Edward Elgar.

Specific

Specific references will be distributed for every chapter.

 

Strategic Management

1. GRANT, R. (2013), Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 8th edition, Wiley: London.

2.  NAVAS, J.E.; GUERRAS, L.A. (2013): Fundamentals of Strategic Management. Thomson Reuters-Civitas: Madrid.

3. THOMPSON Jr., A.A., STRICKLAND III, A.J. and GAMBLE, J.E. (2009), Crafting and Executing Strategy: Text and Readings, 17th edition, McGraw-Hill: London

 

Software

No specific software is needed for this course

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 30 English first semester morning-mixed