SØK 9420 Economics I
SØK 9420 Economics I
Unlock the secrets of the economy with Economics I - a journey through the forces shaping markets and societies.
Economics I provide tools, concepts, and models to understand real-world problems, challenges, and opportunities facing the business world and society. Economic models and data allow you to study how of individuals, firms and politicians make choices, and how these choices affect markets and the allocation of scarce resources in the economy. Economics I also provide concepts for understanding economy-wide fluctuations in production, employment, and sources of long-term economic growth.
The course is aligned with CORE Econ (Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics), a global network of researcher and educators sharing a vision of transforming economics education to contribute to a more just, sustainable, and democratic world.
After completing the course, the candidate will have acquired knowledge of the central themes and problems, empirical patterns, and theories within the field of economics.
The candidate will
- Be able to explain the key features of historical and global economic characteristics, such as income, inequality, and environmental challenges.
- Be able to describe how firms operate as economic agent, with a particular focus on internal conflicts of interest and their adaptation to market conditions.
The candidate should be able to:
- Define and explain key economic terms, quantities, and concepts within the course topics.
- Apply economic models to explain and evaluate important economic phenomena such as technological development, price determination, wage determination, unemployment, and how scarcity affects individual choices
The candidate:
- Demonstrates the ability to critically assess and discuss economic data and theoretical concepts and insights.
- Has the ability to independently extract information and produce and communicate basic economic analyses and evaluations from both Norwegian and international sources.
- Economics. In order to clarify what lies in the overall goal of acquiring broad knowledge of key topics, issues and theories in economics, the course starts with the question "what is economics, and what is the subject concerned with"? This provides an overview of the course's main topics and key issues we will discuss.
- Technological change, inequality and growth. This theme introduces models and empirical data that will give the candidate knowledge about the industrial revolution, and the importance of economic incentives for its development. An economic model is used to shed light on the role of prices, costs and profits for development of the Industrial Revolution. The theme introduces isocost lines that are used to highlight the connection between technology choices and production costs.
- Scarcity and economic choices. This theme provides knowledge about how individuals and households make choices. A central model in the course is presented and applied for providing insight into the supply side of the labour market. The model is also used to shed light on economic forces behind changes in working hours, and why average working hours vary between countries.
- The firm. In this part, the candidate will acquire knowledge about firms’ role in the market economy. The topic will provide knowledge about what distinguishes decisions within companies from transactions between buyers and sellers in the market. Key economic issues related to management, ownership and control in companies is discussed.
- Supply and demand in competitive markets. Some markets face strong competition. The candidate study examples of such markets, both in Norway and internationally. Here, the candidate will acquire knowledge of the concept of equilibrium and apply the theory of competitive markets to explain how prices and volume are affected by supply- or demand-side shocks. The candidate will also acquire knowledge about key concepts such as economic surplus, and how this is distributed among producers and consumers in competitive markets.
- Labor markets. In these markets, individuals who provide their labor connect with firms that need employees to produce goods and services. Students will gain insight into key factors influencing employment and wage levels.
- Business cycles This topic brings back the concept of national product, introduced in the beginning of the course. The concept is further developed by introducing key macroeconomic variables. Students will gain knowledge about the volatility of key macroeconomic variables such as private consumption and investment, and what causes fluctuations of the economy. The students are introduced to the topic of inflation, how it is measured, and the problems inflation can cause.
The course will engage students in several teaching and learning activities. These are digital learning resources (asynchronous) and class sessions (synchronous).
- Digital learning resources include instructional videos, exercises, and solution proposals to support learning. These will have a common and recognizable format, with in-depth explanations of models, concepts, or empirical data. Multiple-choice questions will help the student test their understanding
- Class sessions provide the lecturer with the opportunity to introduce topics, give examples, and explain analyses and models in greater detail. Through discussions, collaboration, and problem-solving, students are given the chance to practice and test their understanding and skills, with the lecturer and, where appropriate, teaching assistants present.
Excel may be used as a data tool in the course where appropriate, for example, for analysis, simple calculations, and data presentation.
Completion
The course is carried out very intensively over 3 - 4 weeks and ends with an exam shortly after the last lecture.
Re-sit exam
Students who do not pass the written exam, or wish to improve their grade, are offered a re-sit exam in spring 2026, autumn 2026 and last time spring 2027.
After spring 2027 students who do not pass the written exam need to attend the course SØK 3420. This means they have to retake the entire course, including mandatory coursework.
No particular prerequisites are required.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: School Exam Form of assessment: Structured Test Exam/hand-in semester: First Semester Weight: 100 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Exam code: SØK 94201 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination every semester |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | |
Digital resources | 30 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 48 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 52 Hour(s) | |
Individual problem solving | 31 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.
