By the end of the course, students will have acquired four types of skills applicable to decision-making under scarcity constraints, as they pertain to economics:
C1: Knowledge: Definitions, concepts, tools, and working hypotheses,
C2: Skills: Applications: mechanisms and effects, measurement of effects,
C3: Skills and Attitudes: Problem-solving: appropriate use of concepts and tools to address practical questions.
C4: Skills and Attitudes: Interpretation: placing observations, mechanisms, and problems in context.
The course aims to enable the student to understand basic economic mechanisms, apply them to concrete situations and make judgements.
Following a general introduction to economics, viewed as a social science, the microeconomic section addresses the discipline’s classic topics. These include, in particular: the perfectly competitive market, the consumer, firms in perfect and imperfect competition, regulation, information asymmetry, investment, externalities, and an introduction to the role of the government in the economy.
The macroeconomic section covers national accounting, macroeconomic equilibrium, the multiplier, fiscal policies, monetary policy, and long-run equilibrium. These macroeconomic relationships are placed in the context of the collective organization of labor and international relations.
The course will explore avenues for analyzing the relationship between economics and law, both as part of the core curriculum and in sessions explicitly dedicated to this topic.
The table of contents will be provided by the instructors on Webcampus and will be detailed during class sessions.
Five exercise sessions are devoted to solving practical problems. Students must prepare for these sessions based on the problem statements posted on Webcampus.
The course is taught in the form of lectures.
Five practical sessions (tutorials) are held: they are devoted to solving real-world problems and they provide valuable preparation for the exam.
Written, closed-book exam.
Documents (in French) on Webcampus
Reference Book :
de Crombrugghe, Alain (2024) "Introduction à l’économie : Choix et décisions économiques, 3e édition" Louvain-la-Neuve: De Boeck Supérieur, 480 pp.
Other optional readings :
· E-book : Core Econ : https://www.core-econ.org/project/leconomie-par-lequipe-de-core/
· Mankiw et Taylor « Principes d’Economie ».
· Acemoglu, Laibson et List (2018) « Introduction à l’économie » Pearson, 572 pp.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Law | Eramus 2+2+1 | 1 | 7 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Law | Double bac droit-philosophie | 1 | 7 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 1 | 7 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Law | Erasmus Belgica UHasselt | 1 | 7 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Philosophy | Standard | 2 | 7 | No |
| Bachelor in Philosophy | Standard | 3 | 7 | No |