Introduction to Economics

Code:

LRI010

Acronym:

INTECO

Instance: 2014/2015 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Germanic Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Languages and International Relations

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LA	49	LA - Study Plan	2	-	6	1	3
LRI	71	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2013_2014	1	-	6	1	3

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Provide students an introduction to the fundamentals of economics. Explain the economic approach to topics widely covered in the social sciences, such as changes in income distribution, poverty, scarcity and unemployment, with applications to the Portuguese case.

 

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of the semester, students should be able to apply correctly basic economic concepts and methods and develop a critical and reflexive stand in analyzing economic information. They should also be able to develop their oral and writing skills related to economic knowledge.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Economics as a social science 1.1. The object of analysis 1.2. Fundamentals of Economics and main assumptions 2. Basic problems of economic organization 2.1. Scarcity and production possibilities 2.2. The “invisible hand” 2.3. State intervention in the economy 3. Analysis of perfectly competitive markets 3.1. Supply and demand 3.2. Market equilibrium 4. Factor markets 4.1. Land, labour and capital 4.2. Unemployment 4.3. Income distribution

Mandatory literature

Samuelson, P. A. e W. D. Nordhaus; Economia, Mc-Graw-Hill, 2005
Frank, R. e B. Bernanke ; Princípios de Economia, McGraw-Hill, 2003
Mankiw, G. N. e M. P. Taylor ; Microeconomics, Cengage, 2011

Teaching methods and learning activities

The learning process is based on theoretical-practical lessons (TP) and tutorial sessions (OT). TP lessons are dedicated to the theoretical description of the topics covered in the syllabus, illustrating with practical examples, mostly related to the Portuguese case. OT sessions involve students in the learning process by proposing the resolution of a number of assignments in subjects related to the course’s topics. Students also benefit from personal attending sessions, in which they can clarify eventual doubts in specific parts of the program. All course materials (e.g., powerpoints, texts, assignments, previous exams’ examples) are available to all students registered in the discipline at SIGARRA. The adopted method of evaluation is one of “distributed evaluation with final exam”. The final mark corresponds to the weighted average of the exam classification (75%) and the classification obtained in the work developed in the tutorial sessions (25%).

keywords

Social sciences > Economics

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	75,00
Participação presencial	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	31,00
Estudo autónomo	73,00
Frequência das aulas	56,00
Total:	160,00

Eligibility for exams

According to FLUP’s regulations.Students have to conclude all the components of assessment with a minimum mark of 8 values.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final mark corresponds to the weighted average of the exam classification (75%) and the classification obtained in the work developed in the tutorial sessions (25%).

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to FLUP’s regulations.

Classification improvement

According to FLUP’s regulations.