Course Topics
Economic Theory: Economic Methods; Optimization; Demand, Supply and Equilibrium; Perfect Competition; Trade; Externalities and Public Goods; Taxation; Markets for Factors of Production, Monopoly; Game Theory; Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition; Time and Risk; Information; Social Economics Doing Economics: Measuring climate change, Collecting and analysing data from experiments, Supply & Demand, Measuring the non-monetary cost of unemployment, Measuring the effect of a sugar tax, Measuring management practices, Measuring willingness to pay for climate change mitigation.

Propaedeutic courses
no

Teaching format
Lecture, Lab; in person, synchronous teaching

Educational objectives
This course refers to a basic educational activity and is a mandatory course in the first study year. The main goal of the course is to introduce students to the distinctive structure of economic reasoning and to provide a solid grounding in the basic concepts and methods of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics (M1): Students will explore key principles such as supply and demand, market equilibrium, consumer and producer behavior, and the role of incentives in shaping economic outcomes. An additional objective is to equip students with practical skills in analyzing and interpreting economic data. Through lab sessions, students will engage with real-world case studies using the R programming language. This applied component allows students to explore empirical questions, develop data literacy, and strengthen their ability to think critically and quantitatively about economic issues. Knowledge and understanding (A4b2) Area: Economics Knowledge of the economic theory of demand and supply of goods and services, equilibrium and pricing mechanisms in the market economy Knowledge of competition theories in the markets in relation to classical, neoclassical and evolutionary theoretical models; Knowledge of the basic theorems of welfare economics Understanding of the behaviour of microeconomic actors with special consideration of consumption and company theories as well as the application of game theory Knowledge of the fundamentals of political-economic behaviour and collective decision-making Understanding the role and management of public goods, the role of institutions and information Understanding of the effects of economic policy measures in certain sectors and the role of research, development and innovation Knowledge of various macroeconomic models for analysing short and medium-term economic changes, understanding of the causes of economic growth Knowledge and understanding of the role of expectations in the financial markets, for consumption and for monetary and fiscal policy Understanding of the mechanisms of exchange rates and monetary and fiscal policy in the European Monetary Union Understanding the use of finite resources and the principles of sustainability Understanding the effects of digitalisation on economic and entrepreneurial activity Knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the effective communication of theoretical and empirical economic arguments in three languages: Italian, German and English Ability to apply knowledge and understanding (A4b2) Field : Economics be able to analyse the demand for goods and services and evaluate the cost structure, its role and importance in business decisions be able to critically compare the different business theories be able to analyse the role and function of macroeconomic variables in closed economies in the short, medium and long run be able to carry out an analysis of the economic behaviour of public and private actors using game theory be able to assess the role of governments and the need for political-economic intervention in market economies be able to formulate economic policy objectives and evaluate their outcomes and use available information to assess the appropriateness of monetary and fiscal policy with respect to macroeconomic variables be able to use available information to apply and understand the principles and operational implications of competition theories and industrial policy be able to analyse economic activity in terms of sustainability be able to communicate the results of economic analyses prepared according to international professional standards in three languages: Italian, German and English. Making judgements recognise the most important problems in complex decision-making situations critically analyse the facts and the situations to be dealt with select the most appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis Learning skills Obtain information to update the constantly changing general and specific reference context critically analyse and integrate data, information and future experiences, also using advanced software

Assessment
For attending and non-attending students. Student performance will be evaluated through a final written exam, which accounts for 100% of the final grade. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions: 80% will test knowledge of key microeconomic concepts and the interpretation of data and R code, while the remaining 20% will focus on graphical analysis, requiring students to draw and interpret standard economic graphs. The exam is based on the material covered in the required textbook and the lecture slides provided by the instructor.

Evaluation criteria
Answers will be assessed based on the correctness of both the reasoning process and the final result.