Course description
Title of the Teaching Unit
Microéconomie et macro-économie : Théorie et applications
Code of the Teaching Unit
12UEC21
Academic year
2024 - 2025
Cycle
Number of credits
10
Number of hours
105
Quarter
2
Weighting
Site
Montgomery
Teaching language
French
Teacher in charge
KHATIBI Arastou
Objectives and contribution to the program
General objectives
- Describe, understand and assess what is happening in the economic arena (which allows a better understanding of the business environment).
- Describe, understand and analyse the macroeconomic and microeconomic environment of companies.
- Explain the behaviour of economic agents on the basis of aggregates.
- Establish relationships between variables in order to determine which relationships are stable over time (macro and microeconomic laws).
- Analyse macroeconomic phenomena (unemployment, inflation, etc.).
- Study measures that attempt to correct imbalances and achieve objectives (macroeconomic policies).
- Describe, understand and analyse the individual behaviour of agents interacting economically.
- Understand the impact of the economic environment (market structures, institutional framework, externalities, etc.) on the decisions of different economic agents and their choices.
- Identify the choices of a company faced with a more or less competitive environment, in terms of price and production, and understand the impact on its performance.
- Analyse national and international economic news.
- Develop a critical mind.
The student will be able to: 1:
1. Define and explain the key concepts learned in the course.
2. explain the relationships that can exist between different economic variables.
3. Recognize and distinguish between different approaches to micro and macroeconomic phenomena.
4. Describe accurately different types of economic policies (monetary policy, fiscal policy).
5. Critically evaluate economic policy recommendations.
6. Articulate theory and reality; in particular, observe and analyse the general economic environment and the competitive environment of an industry from a variety of perspectives, understanding local and international societal challenges.
7. Mobilise documentary research and information processing techniques.
8. To demonstrate critical thinking in making choices from among all the discourses on socio-economic realities and to justify these choices.
Prerequisites and corequisites
Political economics and Mathematics
Content
Both micro and macroeconomics courses contribute to the understanding of economic reality which can be read from different levels (micro and macro) and grasped from different schools of thought in a pluralistic perspective.
For microeconomics, the topics selected are:
1. The rational, utility-maximising consumer in the context of competition versus the consumer driven by other 'quests';
2. The rational, profit-maximising producer in the context of competition and the producer with other objectives;
3. Models of competition (perfect and imperfect) and their limitations;
4. Individual and collective choices;
5. Public goods and common goods
6. The company as a legal construct versus the stakeholder approach;
For macroeconomics, the subject covered are:
1. What is macroeconomics?
2. GDP, inflation and unemployment. The secrets of national accounting aggregates
3. How to absorb shocks? Neoclassical macroeconomics
4. How to stabilize an unstable economy? Keynesian macroeconomics
5. Competitive or cooperative? The challenges of globalization
6. Finance and the real economy: who feeds whom?
7. How to achieve prosperity without growth? Ecological macroeconomics
8. Macroeconomic modeling and the challenge of systemic inequalities
In the economics seminar, students carry out, per group of two, the external strategic diagnosis of a sector of activity (based on two main questions relating to the general macroeconomic context and the competitive environment of the company) and identify the opportunities and threats that the latter faces.
Teaching methods
The microeconomics and macroeconomics courses are offered through a hybrid training system, combining face-to-face and virtual training. Each week, some hours will be given in synchronous virtual mode (courses via TEAMS). At least half of the sessions will be face-to-face.
For the Micro and Macroeconomics courses, the training system is divided into several training periods:
- Transmission of concepts and theories
- Solving concrete cases with questions and answers
The applied economics seminar puts the students in a situation of integration. It leads students to mobilise, combine and integrate a whole series of learning outcomes in order to carry out the external strategic diagnosis of a sector of activity.
The system is hybrid and the teaching method is the flipped classroom.
The teacher provides group coaching.
Assessment method
Certificate examinations are held in macroeconomics and microeconomics. Both are closed-book examinations. The exams are usually held in person (unless the health situation requires distance learning).
For the macroeconomics course, the exam consists of three parts: MCQs on the theoretical course and definitions; one or two open-ended questions.
For the microeconomics course, the exam consists of 30 MCQs: theoretical course, videos and articles seen in the course and exercises.
Seminar: formative evaluation at the sessions and supervisions and certificate evaluation based on a written report (to be submitted digitally by e-mail).
Attention! The grades of the 3 AAs (Macroeconomics - Microeconomics - Seminar) will be aggregated according to a weighted arithmetic average (with the respective weights of 4/10 ; 4/10 ; 2/10). If one of the AAs fails (score <10), the weighted geometric average will be applied.
References
Teaching materials
Macroeconomics, microeconomics and seminar website on Moodle (https://moodle.ichec.be) with :
o Powerpoints (with or without comments)
o Articles, newsletters, various reports and videos
o Formative evaluation exercises
Bibliographical references
See the respective course websites