Brief description

Companies operate at home and abroad in economic booms and recessions, in the context of often changing government economic policies and in an environment where unexpected changes in exchange rates and interest rates can have a significant impact on their bottom line.

The IMF, WTO, OECD and other national and international institutions regularly assess the international economic situation and that of their member countries. It is important that companies take into account the analysis and policy recommendations of these institutions.

This subject teaches the theoretical instruments for economic analysis in order to be able to understand the economic environment in which companies operate. It will also analyse the economic policies of Spain, within the framework of the Eurozone, and of the main developed and emerging countries within the world economy in the current situation.

Name

Introduction to economy

Code

102786

Academic year

2024-25

Degree

MASTER'S DEGREE MBA IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

ECTS Credits

2

Type

MANDATORY

Duration

Cuatrimestral

Language

Spanish/English

Contents

1. Basic economic concepts and principles.

2. The laws of supply and demand.

3. Market failures and public intervention.

4. Basic macroeconomic magnitudes.

5. Principles of monetary economics: money, the monetary and financial system.

6. Principles of the open economy: balance of payments and exchange rates.

7. The macroeconomic model of aggregate supply and demand: short-run business cycles.

8. Macroeconomic policy to control aggregate demand: cyclical unemployment.

PROGRAMME:

I.-INTRODUCTION

• Session 1: The ten principles of Economics. (Chapter 1 of the recommended textbook. See bibliography).

II.-MICROECONOMICS: SUPPLY AND DEMAND

• Session 2: The market forces of supply and demand (Chapter 4).

• Session 3: Elasticity and its application (Chapter 5).

• Session 4: Consumers, Producers and the Efficiency of Markets (Chapter 7).

III.-MACROECONOMICS: ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE

• Session 5: Macroeconomic data (Chapters 23 and 24).

• Session 6: The monetary system (Chapter 29)

• Session 7: Macroeconomic analysis of open economies: Basic Concepts (Chapter 31)

• Session 8: A macroeconomic theory for the open economy (Chapter 32).

• Session 9: Aggregate supply and demand (I). (Chapter 33).

• Session 10: Aggregate supply and demand (II). (Chapter 33).

• Session 11: The influence of monetary and fiscal policies on aggregate demand. (Chapter 34)

Conocimientos

CO1 - To learn about business management analytics in dynamic and complex environments, such as the international environment.
CO2 - To acquire a body of theoretical and practical knowledge and learning skills, which will enable those who remain interested to pursue further, more specialised studies in the field of advanced research or doctoral studies.
CO4 - To understand the concepts, theories and instruments for analysing and developing business internationalisation plans.
CO5 - To understand the nature of problems in the organisation and therefore the application of suitable tools by developing analytical skills.
CO7 - To know the structure and functioning of the organisations and institutions that support companies’ internationalisation.

Habilidades

S1 - To apply the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired, with a high degree of independence, in both national and international companies, be they small or medium-sized or companies of a more multinational dimension, and even in non-business organisations whose management requires an international vision.
S2 - To apply the analytical skills acquired in defining and approaching new problems and in searching for solutions both in a national and international business context.
S3 - To be able to collect, record and interpret macroeconomic data, country information, industry and business information, financial and accounting data, statistical data, and relevant research results to systematise business decision-making processes in international environments.
S4 - To apply the appropriate procedure to achieving an international business objective.
S5 - To assess the relationship between enterprises and the institutional framework in which activities are carried out.
S9 - To manage a business internationalisation project and assume managerial responsibilities.

Competencias

C4 - To lead the process of designing the international strategy.
C5 - To work in a team, prioritising the precision of the results and the soundness and originality of the proposals. .

Training activities

Teaching methods

Shared study and analysis of the relevant chapters of a recommended Principles of Economics textbook, where the definition of basic economic concepts, theories and models can be found.
The content of the course is enriched with periodic exercises or practical case studies corresponding to the thematic blocks taught. These case studies or exercises will be based on those proposed in Professor Mankiw's reference manual or in articles that are relevant and topical at the time of the classes. Exercises and cases are carried out in class between the lecturer and students and are not graded. The objective of these is to consolidate knowledge of the economic concepts and theories studied in the previous sessions.


Students are expected to have familiarised themselves in advance of the lectures with the content of the chapters and with the lecturer's notes available for each teaching session, if there are any. Current economic news is also analysed using the theoretical tools developed during the module.

In addition, with the aim of gamifying the subject, a new formative assessment methodology is introduced in some sessions using the Socrative application. This consists of completing questionnaires or answering short questions using the application. It will take place before or after the explanation in class. This provides an instant check of the student's level of knowledge in the subject matter being tested and allows the teacher to identify areas of greatest difficulty. Thus, elements of evaluation are introduced as part of an active and inductive learning methodology, generating stimuli and diagnoses on the knowledge of the subject.

This evaluation system is educational and its results are not included in the course grades.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, participants should be able to:

• Analyse and understand the economic principles governing individual company and consumer behaviour, the rules of their interaction in markets and the functioning of the economy as a whole.
• Analyse and understand basic economic and financial concepts.
• Understand how the market works, the laws of supply and demand and the need for corrective intervention by the public sector, where appropriate.
• Analyse short-term business cycles, their causes and consequences for companies and the economy as a whole.
• Analyse the characteristics of the open economy and the integration of the national economy into the global economy.
• Understand how the main economic variables (monetary and real) are determined in the short and long term.
• Analyse the nature of economic policy debates in the national and international business press within the framework of a general macroeconomic model of aggregate demand and supply.
• Understand the economic reports issued by international economic organisations (IMF, OECD, European Commission) on individual countries and the world economy.

Evaluation system

The assessment of the course in the ordinary exam session is made up of two multiple-choice tests: a partial exam and a final exam.

The content of the assessment tests is based on class explanations and recommended readings, which include both the textbook and any articles selected for reading in each academic year.

The first partial exam includes the contents of sessions 1 to 4 presented in the course syllabus. This first partial exam will have a weighting of 1/3 in the final grade.

The final multiple-choice exam for the rest of the course will account for 2/3 of the final grade.

In the 2nd and subsequent exam sessions, the grade will depend on the test(s) (written test type, essay type, assignments, oral tests, etc.), which will be determined by the teachers and communicated to the students sufficiently in advance.

Coordinator/s

Lecturers

Bibliography

Mankiw, N. Gregory (2012): “Principles of Economics”, South-Western, Cengage Learning, Sixth Edition (Ediciones Paraninfo).
This sixth edition is the recommended edition, although later, not earlier, editions may be used.

The ICEX-CECO library has a certain number of copies available to students.

Printable syllabus

This document can be used as reference documentation of this subject for the application for recognition of credits in other study programmes. For its full effect, it should be stamped by UIMP Student's Office.

Document for the application for recognition of credits in other study programmes