Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Economics
Teaching staff
Tuesdays from 12:00 to 14:00 hours.
For convenience, email for scheduling meetings:
rmselvam@uic.es
Introduction
Economics is not the main area of the study. But the purpose of this subject in your academic programme is not to tell you what various things are. Instead, its aim is to help you develop academic skills, the most important of which is a creative and critical way of thinking about almost anything. Learning what things are will provide you with some knowledge but will not provide you with the skill of analytical thinking. Therefore, the academic programme has been carefully designed to provide students of Advertising with the necessary exposure to the more fundamental methods of analysis that will, we hope, equip you for life with an ability to understand the broad dimensions of companies, corporates, and society, in order to contribute to it and benefit from it.
Pre-course requirements
It is indeed a complex subject. Still, it is our view (and experience) that with patience and work everyone can gain the necessary command over it.
•The purpose of this subject guide is to assist you in your endeavor and to guide you through the labyrinth of material, levels of knowledge and examination standards. There are numerous textbooks at the introductory level.
•I would therefore strongly advise against picking a single textbook and concentrating one’s effort on it. Instead, you should conduct your study along the lines and recommendations of this subject guide.
Objectives
• Introduce students to an understanding of the domain of economics as a social theory
• Introduce students to the main analytical tools which are used in economic analysis
• Introduce students to the main conclusions derived from economic analysis and to develop students’ understanding of their organizational and policy implications for companies especially in audiovisual communication
• Enable students to participate in debates on economic matters.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Peer learning. The aim of this activity is to ensure that students gain the ability to analyse and be critical. One way of achieving this is by correcting their peers' exercises and results, etc. Each student will be evaluated twice: as both a recipient and a transmitter of critical knowledge. | 0.1 |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 4.5 |
| Focused Praxis. Handing in occasional exercises to learn theory through practice. | 1 |
| Seminar. This activity will consist of taking an in-depth look at specific up-to-date topics in a monographic manner-in some cases these topics will have been debated socially-, via active work in small groups. | 0.2 |
| Practical workshop. A highly practical working activity, where students can acquire skills that are practical or also theoretical (intellectual skills, logical skills, critical skills, intellectual learning skills, study skills, quoting skills, etc). | 0.2 |
Learning outcomes of the subject
At the end of this course and having completed the Essential reading and activities, you should be able to:
• define the main concepts and describe the models and methods used in economic analysis
• formulate problems described in everyday language in the language of economic modelling
• apply and use the main economic models used in economic analysis to solve these problems in companies related to advertising sector
• assess the potential and limitations of the models and methods used in economic analysis.
Syllabus
•To know about economics it is indeed sufficient to read about the various economic concepts. Then, whenever you encounter them you will understand what is meant by these concepts.
•To know what the concepts are one must not only acquaint one’s self with the meaning of these concepts but also able to use them. This means that after learning about the concept, one must do as many exercises as possible.
The syllabus is divided into two parts. The first part consists of 50% of the class hours during the course comprising Micro economics and the second part consists of 50% of the class hours dedicated for Macro Economics.
SYLLABUS:
1.Fundamentals of economics
2. Introduction to Economics of Advertising
- Informative advertising
- Persuasive advertising
- Complementary view of advertising
3. Demand and consumer behaviour
4. Supply and the consumer behavior
5. Costs
6. Macroeconomics on a basic perspective
- Growth of different economies (history and future)
- Economic policy
- Inflation
- Unemployment
- Poverty
Teaching and learning activities
Online
All the activities or exercises is focused to work in groups.
Working with others:
Group work is an important element of effective learning. Of course, you can study the material on your own, but discussing problems and insights with others is important for two reasons. First, it exposes you to different ways of thinking about the same problem. Second, it forces you to convince others about your own line of argument. The process of trying to convince others will enable you to gain a much deeper understanding of the material you are studying
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Peer learning. The aim of this activity is to ensure that students gain the ability to analyse and be critical. One way of achieving this is by correcting their peers' exercises and results, etc. Each student will be evaluated twice: as both a recipient and a transmitter of critical knowledge. | 0.1 |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 4.5 |
| Focused Praxis. Handing in occasional exercises to learn theory through practice. | 1 |
| Seminar. This activity will consist of taking an in-depth look at specific up-to-date topics in a monographic manner-in some cases these topics will have been debated socially-, via active work in small groups. | 0.2 |
| Practical workshop. A highly practical working activity, where students can acquire skills that are practical or also theoretical (intellectual skills, logical skills, critical skills, intellectual learning skills, study skills, quoting skills, etc). | 0.2 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
Online
It will be based on continuous assessment on individual work, actitud, team work, prompt submission of works, content etc. Porportioned as:
Exam for every topic: 50%
Practical exercises submitted during the course: 10%
Project: 35%
Class participation: 5%
All the practicals should be submitted. Absence signifies a 0 in that practical.
Bibliography and resources
Lipsey, R.G. and K.A. Chrystal (2007). Principles of Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, eleventh edition.