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General Economics Course
Email: [email protected]
Place: FZP Kralova vysina, room 319,
When: every planned Thursday (by scheduled date)
Time: 10:30-12:30
Schedule
Lessons:
Starting lesson: 20.2.2014
Lesson 1 (discussion): 03.04.2014
Lesson 2 (discussion): 10.04.2014
Lesson 3 (discussion): 24.04.2014
Lesson 4 (discussion): 15.05.2014
Lesson 5 (discussion): 29.05.2014
Final exam (written essay): Someday in June
Lesson 1 (discussion)
Date: 3.4.2014
Topics (what is to be discussed)
1. Introduction
2. Supply and Demand
Reading (what to study at least)
Hoag: Ch. 1 – 7
.ppt slides 1 – 2
General Questions
Speak about economic scarcity, production factors and opportunity costs. Give examples.
Speak about basic economic agents of market economy and describe the market mechanism.
Use market mechanism model.
Speak about command and market model of economy.
Speak about demand, demand curve, law of demand. Give examples of how demand factors
influence movement of demand curve using graphs.
Speak about price elasticity of demand and types of demand price elasticity. Give examples
of specific goods. Speak about price strategies.
Speak about supply, supply curve, law of supply. Give examples of how supply factors
influence movement of supply curve using graphs.
Speak about market equilibrium, surplus and deficit states, supply and demand change. Give
examples using graphs.
Tasks
How do you understand the term “scarcity”? Name the resources that you regard to be
scarce? Name the goods which are free? What if scarcity did not exist? How does the
production possibility frontier reflect the choices under scarcity conditions?
Present and Future Consumption.
What do economists call “opportunity costs”?
Explain the principles of market functioning. What are advantages and disadvantages,
strengths and weaknesses of market mechanism? Speak about market failures.
Supply, demand, equilibrium and elasticity.
Lesson 2 (discussion)
Date: 10.4.2014
Topics (what is to be discussed)
3. Production & Cost Analysis
4. Theory of the Firm
Reading (what to study at least)
Hoag: Ch. 9 - 16
.ppt slides 3 – 4
General Questions
Speak about production function. Give graphical examples.
Speak about costs in the short run: fixed, variable and total costs and their curves. Give
examples of every type of costs. Speak about costs in the long run.
Speak about ideal market model: what are the traits of perfect competition? Show the
demand curve for the perfectly competitive firm, explain its position.
Speak about imperfect competition. What are the traits of imperfect competition? what
types of imperfect competition do you know? Give examples.
Tasks
What types of costs do you know? Speak about the diminishing returns and economies of
scale. How do they influence the firms’ behaviour?
What are the differences in the firms’ behaviour under conditions of perfect and imperfect
competition? Speak about monopoly and monopolistic competition. How do monopoles and
monopolistic competitive firms determine how much to of the good supply to the market
and at what price?
Lesson 3 (discussion)
Date: 24.4.2014
Topics (what is to be discussed)
5. The Output of National Economics
6. Inflation
Reading (what to study at least)
Hoag: Ch. 17 - 20
.ppt slides 5
General Questions
Speak about aggregate demand. Which factors influence aggregate demand? Explain what
does aggregate demand curve show us?
Speak about aggregate supply. Which factors influence aggregate supply? Explain what does
aggregate supply curve show us? Speak about how different schools explained position of
this curve.
What is Gross Domestic Product? What are the three approaches to its calculation? What is
Gross National Product?
What is nominal and what is real Gross Domestic Product? Explain the difference. How can
we calculate real GDP?
Tasks
What is the difference between micro and macro economics?
What are the main approaches to calculation of GDP? What do we need the GDP indicator
for?
What is the difference between real and nominal GDP indicators? What is inflation? What
types of inflation do you know? What is CPI and how can you calculate it?
Lesson 4 (discussion)
Date: 15.5.2014
Topics (what is to be discussed)
7. Unemployment
8. Monetary Policy
Reading (what to study at least)
Hoag: Ch. 17, 26 - 27
.ppt slides 7 – 8
General Questions
What is monetary policy? Speak about such tools of monetary policy as discount rate and
required reserves. Explain their mechanisms.
Tasks
What types of unemployment do you know? What are the socio-economic consequences of
unemployment?
What is money? Name general functions of money. What are the main factors determining
the demand for money? What determines money supply? Explain the main principles of the
monetary policy of the state.
Lesson 5 (discussion)
Date: 29.5.2014
Topics (what is to be discussed)
9. Fiscal Policy
10. International Trade and Economical Integration
Reading (what to study at least)
Hoag: Ch. 23, 25, 30 - 31
.ppt slides 9 – 10
General Questions
What is fiscal policy? Speak about tools of fiscal policy: discretionary fiscal policy and
automatic stabilizers. Give examples and explain mechanisms.
Tasks
What is state budget? Explain the main principles of the fiscal policy of the state. How do the
fiscal expenditures influence the economy?
Speak about absolute and comparative advantage theories. Why does the international trade
exist? Why do states use protectionist measures?