Principles of Economics

Temelji ekonomije

Course credits:

6.00 ECTS / 60 (30 hours of lectures, 30 hours of exercises, 0 hours of seminars, 0 hours other forms of work)

Course holder:

izr. prof. dr. Anže Burger

Lecturers:

• Asst. Prof. Branko Ilič

Type:

Required

Language:

Slovenian

Semester:

First semester

Study degree

1. level

Course execution:

• Undergraduate Programme of Communication studies - Marketing Communication and Public Relations
• Undergraduate Programme of International Relations
• Undergraduate Programme of Political Science - Public Policies and Sdministration
• Undergraduate Programme of Social Informatics
• Undergraduate Programme of Sociology - Human Resources Management

Short content

This is an introductory course that teaches the fundamentals of economics. The course begins with presenting research focus of economic science, key economic problems, methods of analysis and different approaches to solving economic issues. Briefly, history of economic thought is presented. Microeconomics begins with the model of perfect competition and forces that determine equilibrium in a market economy: demand, supply, and elasticity. Theory of consumer behaviour is analysed. We then turn to the theory of the firm and their decisions about production (production function, costs, and optimization) and the impact of market structures on firms' behaviour. The final section of the microeconomics part provides an analysis of a firm in different market structures: pure monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and perfect competition. Macroeconomics introduces basic macroeconomic concepts and goals: national product/GDP, growth rate, employment, inflation and the role of monetary, fiscal and income policy. We explore different macroeconomic theories that determine long-run growth and short-term fluctuations in national economies: Keynesian theory, monetarism, supply side economics, theory of rational expectations, welfare economics, and public choice theory. Next, we discuss the role of government regulation, monetary policy, and fiscal policy in managing business cycles. In Recitations, students meet with a Teaching Assistant in a smaller group to solve problem sets, review key concepts, discuss real-life applications and case studies, learn about Slovene, EU and global economic situation, and occasionally learn new material.