SØK 3442 Economics
SØK 3442 Economics
Economics concerns how limited resources will be used to meet our material needs. Roughly, the socioeconomic subject separates into two main blocks; microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics focuses on the behavior of individual individuals and companies, price formation in different types of markets, what is efficient use of resources and more. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, focuses on aggregated sizes in the economic life and relationships between these sizes. The subject is about collective value creation in a nation, cyclical movements, unemployment, general price increases and deficits or surpluses in the foreign economy, and not least how economic policy can affect macroeconomic development.
After completing the course, students will have achieved:
- Understanding of what influences supply and demand for different products and how prices are formed in the short term and develop in the long term under different market framework conditions.
- Insight into how the authorities can influence the market framework conditions.
- Knowledge of the criteria for efficient use of resources.
- Good understanding of macroeconomic concepts and understanding of relationships between macroeconomic variables. Amongst these, the students will gain insight into the causes of unemployment, why we have changes in capacity utilization over time, what affects general price developments and how the Norwegian economy is affected by the international economy.
- Knowledge of key objectives of economic policy, what mechanisms the government has for influencing economic development and how these tools can work.
After completing the course, students should be able to:
- Explain how prices are formed in different markets and explain how prices in different markets evolve over time.
- Explain what characterizes an efficient use of resources, how different markets work in terms of efficiency and what the government can do to influence market structures and thus resource utilization.
- Finding relevant macroeconomic sizes and indicators, for example, can be used in assessing whether a country is in a prosperity or recession.
- Discuss some basic economic contexts and develop a critical sense that allows them to differentiate between correct and false statements about macroeconomics and macroeconomic policies.
The students will be aware of the effectiveness and distribution effects of different market formats. They should also be aware of the fundamental conflicts of interest and conflicts of affairs that are linked to economic policies, including assessing an economic problem from different perspectives regarding the different interests of different groups.
- Markets and price formation in the short and long term
- Efficiency
- Market power
- National accounts and economic indicators
- Labor market and structural unemployment
- Money, credit and currency
- Business cycles
- Fiscal policy
- Monetary policy
- The prosperity of nations
The course will comprise a combination of lectures and assignments.
As of the academic year 2021/2022, there are no longer any mandatory coursework requirements in the course. Students who are taking re-sit exam from the autumn of 2021, no longer have to comply with the work requirement.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification
Covid-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.
Teaching
Information about what is taught on campus and other digital forms will be presented with the lecture plan before the start of the course each semester.
There are no special requirements for prior knowledge.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 100 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Exam code: SØK34421 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination every semester |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | |
Feedback activities and counselling | 6 Hour(s) | Review of assignments in plenary |
Student's own work with learning resources | 128 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 27 Hour(s) | |
Examination | 3 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.