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The aim of the course is to provide the students with the skills to analyze and evaluate legal phenomena from an economic perspective, considering the interconnections between institutions and the organization of economic activity. In the first part, the course provides the concepts and logical categories necessary to analyze the main macroeconomic facts, considering both the relationships between macroeconomic variables (such as aggregate supply and demand, employment and inflation), and the role of fiscal and monetary policies. In the second part, a microeconomic point of view is taken to consider the economic interactions existing within the different market structures and the government influence in them. Particular emphasis is given to the application of economic theory to real-world examples, prioritizing conceptual and analytical rigor over mathematical formalization.

The program is the same for both attending and non-attending students and covers the following topics, which are studied in depth in line with the cognitive needs of the graduate in legal services sciences.

Basic concepts

-       The central concepts of economics

-       The modern mixed economy

-       Basic elements of supply and demand

Macroeconomics

-       Overview of macroeconomics and measuring economic activity

-       Aggregate supply and demand

-       Unemployment; inflation

-       Consumption and investment; the multiplier model

-       Money and the financial system; Monetary policy and the economy

Microeconomics

-       Production and business organization

-       Cost analysis

-       Analysis of perfectly competitive markets

-       The monopoly; oligopoly; monopolistic competition

-       Public intervention and economic development

Please note: the course will be held exclusively in English. For students NOT enrolled in the IECoLS study programme, a level of knowledge of the English language of at least B2 is required.

The textbook adopted (A) for the preparation of the exam is the following:

(A) Samuelson P.A., Nordhaus W.D.; Economics; McGraw Hill/Irwin; New York; 19th edition; 2010; ISBN 978-0-07-351129-0. Chapters: 1, 2, 3; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30.

During the course, materials useful to facilitate study and learning activities will be made available to students, including slides used during lessons, exercises, or summary handouts of specific parts of the program.

• The teaching method is based on lectures held on the topics indicated in the program. Reading of scientific papers and relevant articles, testimonies of economic operators, laboratories and group work could be arranged during the lectures.

• Exam sessions. The exam (in English) consists of a written test on the topics of the entire study program with multiple choice questions and open questions. The multiple choice questions are intended to evaluate the knowledge and ability to understand the contents of the course and weigh approximately 60% of the overall evaluation. The open questions, in which the development of a graph and the relative comment are required, are aimed at evaluating the autonomy of judgment and critical thinking and weigh approximately 30% of the overall evaluation. After the written exam, on the same day, if the student has gained a positive evaluation, it can be attended an oral exam on the topics of the study programme, which is essentially aimed at further verifying the knowledge and skills expressed in the written exam and at evaluating the ability to make connections between course contents. The mark of the written exam, expressed out of thirty, is modified by the mark of the oral exam by +/- 3 points, corresponding approximately to +/- 10% of the overall evaluation.

   

  Evaluation in progress. It is possible for all students (attending or not) to take the exam through an intermediate test in progress (i.e. during the lesson period, on a part of the programme). The intermediate test is written, with multiple choice questions and open questions (i.e., development of a graph and related commentary), on the part of the program relating to Basic concepts of economics and Macroeconomics (chapters 1, 2, 3 - 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 of the adopted textbook). In case of a positive grade in the intermediate test, it is possible to take a written exam on the remaining part of the program during the first session following the conclusion of the lessons, with multiple choice questions and open questions (i.e., development of a graph and relative comment). In case of a positive evaluation in both written tests (i.e. evaluation greater than or equal to 18/30), the exam is considered passed with a mark equal to the average of the two marks obtained in the written tests (without the need to take the oral exam). In both written tests, the multiple-choice questions are intended to evaluate the knowledge and ability to understand the contents of the course and weigh approximately 66.6% of the evaluation. The open questions, in which the development of a graph and the relative comment is required, are aimed at assessing independence of judgment and critical thinking and account for approximately 33.3% of the evaluation. In case of a negative result in one of the two tests, the exam can only be taken in the manner described for the exam sessions.

   

  It is not possible to consult the study material during the tests.

English