Course detail

Basics of Economy

FAST-NVA074Acad. year: 2021/2022

The subject Basics of economy acquaints the students with the basic problems of an economy, at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic scale. The students will become acquainted with the most important terms and their practical application. The purpose of the course is not to provide an exhaustive overview of the fields of economy but to demonstrate in basic terms the economic way of thinking. The course has its roots in general economic theory which is applied to practical examples from the Czech and world economy.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

3

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

prof. Ing. Jana Korytárová, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Structural Economics and Management (EKR)

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Basic knowledge of the problems of economy, at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic scale. Knowledge of the most important terms and their practical applications.

Prerequisites

General knowledge within the scope of the bachelor’s level of architectural studies.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Not applicable.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Not applicable.

Course curriculum

1. Basic principles of economy – decisions of subjects, organization of economic activity, economy as a science, the economic cycle, limits to what can be produced, examples of the different opinions of economists and the causes of these opinions.
2. Demand – law of demand and the behaviour of consumers, factors influencing the decisions of buyers, the demand curve.
3. Supply – law of supply and the behaviour of companies, law of diminishing marginal returns, costs and income of a company, economic and accountable profit, an example from the cultural environment – the economy of a theatre.
4. Market equilibrium – market efficiency, market equilibrium, consumer and producer surplus, example of costs, taxing.
5. Monopoly – causes of market imperfection, appearance of a monopoly, consequences of a monopoly, ways of solution, price discrimination.
6. Externality, ownership rights, asymmetrical information – market failure, causes and results of the existence of externalities, common pool resources and the free rider problem, consequences of information asymmetry.
7. Unemployment – causes of the existence of unemployment, consequences of unemployment, forms, ways of measuring unemployment and their problems, international comparison.
8. Gross domestic product – ways of measuring the performance of an economy, problems of the GDP aggregate, nominal and real product, domestic and national product, human development index, international comparison.
9. Inflation – measurement of living costs, causes of inflation, types, ways of measuring inflation, consequences of inflation, international comparison, relationship between inflation and unemployment.
10. Economic growth = economic growth and living standards, productivity determiners, role of the state, trends and cycles, phases of the economic cycle, reasons for the fluctuation of GDP, development of selected economies in the 20th century.
11. Export and import – open and closed economies, reasons for the existence of international trade, the trade balance, absolute and comparative advantage, arguments for the limitation of international trade, trading policy, exchange rate policy, integration.
12. Economic policy – the principle and aims of economic policy, areas of economic policy, bearers of economic policy, public and private sector, economic policy limits, influence of the media, model of deputisation in economic policy.
13. A current topic.

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The aim of this subject is the understanding of basic economic principles, from the point of view of both standard economic theory and real applications.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Extent and forms are specified by guarantor’s regulation updated for every academic year.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Not applicable.

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme NPC-ARS Master's

    specialization ARP , 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

39 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Lucie Vaňková, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Basic principles of economy – decisions of subjects, organization of economic activity, economy as a science, the economic cycle, limits to what can be produced, examples of the different opinions of economists and the causes of these opinions. 2. Demand – law of demand and the behaviour of consumers, factors influencing the decisions of buyers, the demand curve. 3. Supply – law of supply and the behaviour of companies, law of diminishing marginal returns, costs and income of a company, economic and accountable profit, an example from the cultural environment – the economy of a theatre. 4. Market equilibrium – market efficiency, market equilibrium, consumer and producer surplus, example of costs, taxing. 5. Monopoly – causes of market imperfection, appearance of a monopoly, consequences of a monopoly, ways of solution, price discrimination. 6. Externality, ownership rights, asymmetrical information – market failure, causes and results of the existence of externalities, common pool resources and the free rider problem, consequences of information asymmetry. 7. Unemployment – causes of the existence of unemployment, consequences of unemployment, forms, ways of measuring unemployment and their problems, international comparison. 8. Gross domestic product – ways of measuring the performance of an economy, problems of the GDP aggregate, nominal and real product, domestic and national product, human development index, international comparison. 9. Inflation – measurement of living costs, causes of inflation, types, ways of measuring inflation, consequences of inflation, international comparison, relationship between inflation and unemployment. 10. Economic growth = economic growth and living standards, productivity determiners, role of the state, trends and cycles, phases of the economic cycle, reasons for the fluctuation of GDP, development of selected economies in the 20th century. 11. Export and import – open and closed economies, reasons for the existence of international trade, the trade balance, absolute and comparative advantage, arguments for the limitation of international trade, trading policy, exchange rate policy, integration. 12. Economic policy – the principle and aims of economic policy, areas of economic policy, bearers of economic policy, public and private sector, economic policy limits, influence of the media, model of deputisation in economic policy. 13. A current topic.