Thanks to this course, the student will become aware of the importance of the social approach in Economic Science and the need to maintain a global, reflective, and critical view of the existing economic reality, as well as the social consequences of the measures applied in the economic field. With the knowledge acquired, they should be able to understand the relationship between the individual and collective behavior of citizens, politics, and social agents, and, finally, the economic and social spheres. All of this will enable them to critically delve into the analysis of the causes that justify the existence of different viewpoints in addressing the economic challenges that contemporary societies face, both nationally and internationally.
UNIT I: Economics as a Social Science
Topic 1. Introduction to Economic Science
1.1. Economy and Society
1.2. Origin and definition of Economic Science
1.3. Object of study in economics: need and scarcity, economic goods and free goods
1.4. The scientific character of economics: methodology and tools for analysis
Topic 2. Economic Decision-Making Units
2.1. Economic agents as decision-making units
2.2. The rationality postulate
2.3. The interdependence of economic decision-making units
2.4. Different economic systems
Topic 3. Introduction to the History of Economic Thought
3.1. Relationship between the evolution of societies and economic thought
3.2. Major schools of economic thought up to World War I
3.3. Economic thought from the 1929 Crisis to the present
UNIT II: Introduction to Basic Microeconomic Concepts
Topic 4. Demand Theory
4.1. The consistent behavior of the individual consumer
4.2. Consumer preferences: indifference curves and utility functions
4.3. Economic constraints: the budget constraint
4.4. The equilibrium of the individual consumer
4.5. The individual demand function
4.6. Demand elasticities
4.7. Market demand
Topic 5. Supply Theory
5.1. The consistent behavior of the individual entrepreneur
5.2. The firm's supply function
5.3. Supply elasticity
5.4. Market supply
Topic 6. Factor Market Analysis: Special Focus on the Labor Market
6.1. Characteristics of markets in the short and long term
6.2. Functioning and equilibrium of the labor market
6.3. Other factor markets, with special focus on the energy sector
Topic 7. Analysis of Goods and Services Markets
7.1. Market characteristics
7.2. Market functioning: equilibrium
7.3. Types of markets
UNIT III: Introduction to an Aggregate View of the Economy
Topic 8. Basic Factors to Consider in Macroeconomic Analysis
8.1. Closed or open economy
8.2. Income generation: the real side of the economy
8.3. Financial System
8.3.1. Components: assets, markets, financial institutions
8.3.2. Monetary and financial authorities
8.3.3. Money market
8.4. Circular Flow of Income
Topic 9. Introduction to Macroeconomics
9.1. Definition and main macroeconomic objectives
9.1.1. Economic growth vs. inclusive and sustainable economic development
9.1.2. Labor market situations
9.1.3. Price stability
9.1.4. Public sector action in the economy: budget balance and financing
9.1.5. International relations: Balance of Payments
9.2. Key economic indicators
9.2.1. Production indicators
9.2.2. Demand indicators
9.2.3. Income indicators
Topic 10. Cyclical and Structural Economic Policies
10.1. Economic imbalances and the need for economic policies
10.2. Fiscal policy: who applies it and available instruments
10.3. Monetary and financial policies: responsible authorities and mechanisms
10.4. Social policies: Employment policy, Education policy, R&D&I policy
10.5. Sectoral policies: energy, infrastructure, communications, agriculture, industry
The working methodology for this course, in its in-person format, is highly practical. Therefore, it will be conducted in work sessions that include an introductory segment for each of the subjects or models discussed, followed by a practical component involving case studies, guided debates on best practices, and the development of a project applying the acquired concepts.
Complementary to the above, the course incorporates practical cases describing historical and current economic situations, behaviors, and cycles.
This blended approach aims to solidify the knowledge of various concepts related to Political Economy within a discussion and analysis environment.
Contextualization: Each content is preceded by an introduction and a mind map connecting the different concepts.
Reflection: Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking. In several chapters, different alternatives are presented, and students are asked to take a stance.
Conceptualization: Each student/team is required to develop their own personal mind map of the entire content and each individual topic. They should not merely copy the professor's version but enrich it.
Experimentation: In various chapters, students are encouraged to proactively change the format: new locations, articles contributed by them.
Evaluation: Upon completion, the degree of internalization of the main concepts and their interrelations is assessed.
Offering tutorials on specific knowledge to consolidate acquired competencies: interpretation of graphs, mind maps.
METHODOLOGY AND PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
Two weekly theoretical classes of two hours each; two theoretical-practical classes of two hours, and weekly practical work sessions of two hours, distributed into groups according to the number of students enrolled.
Additionally, one-hour weekly consultation classes and tutorials for the preparation and presentation of practical assignments are offered.
The virtual classroom will be utilized, providing access to bibliographies, supplementary texts, information related to the course delivery, and communication with students.
The department will implement the creation of reading summary sheets for addressing mandatory texts. These summaries will be prepared with the assistance of student helpers.
In theoretical classes, the instructor will develop the basic conceptual tools necessary for understanding the bibliographic material and will promote reflection and debate among students.
Theoretical-practical classes aim to serve as a space for reflection, confrontation, and development of tools in political economy.
Practical Work sessions focus on deepening the critical approach and situated reflection on texts and structuring problems in political economy, developed in theoretical and theoretical-practical classes, through individual and group production instances.
To be evaluated in the regular exam session, all activities subject to evaluation must have been completed. The evaluable activities must be submitted by the dates indicated by the professor. If, for any duly justified and communicated reason to the professor, the activities could not be submitted within the established period, they may be submitted before the date of the subject?s exam, so that the professor can grade them, although in this case the professor is not obliged to provide feedback to the student on those activities.
On the other hand, the student has the right to take the final written exam even if they have not submitted all the other activities subject to evaluation, but the final grade for the subject will only be calculated if all activities have been submitted and according to the evaluation criteria and weightings established in this teaching guide. If any activity subject to evaluation has not been submitted or completed, it will be recorded in the official record as ?Not presented? in the exam session.
Additionally, in the case of U.P. Comillas, a minimum grade of 4 is required in the final exam to apply the weighting with continuous assessment in both the regular and extraordinary exam sessions.
EXTRAORDINARY EXAM SESSION (ON-SITE/REMOTE):
The evaluation criteria are the same as in the regular session, so all evaluable activities considered during the course must be submitted. Grades for completed activities (including the final written exam) will be kept while pending activities are completed. The weighting criteria established in the Guide will be applied, and in the absence of specific information, the same criteria as the regular evaluation will apply. This measure will only be applied during the current academic year, so if the extraordinary exam is not passed, re-enrollment will require repeating the entire subject.
USE OF AI TOOLS:
If AI tools are used in any activity, a paragraph must be included indicating what the AI was used for and what prompts or instructions were given to obtain the results. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of academic honesty policies.
Final test: 50%
Individual works: 35%
Attendance and participation: 15%
Given the nature of the course, there is no single book that adequately covers all the material. Therefore, a selection of key textbooks has been highlighted to help students grasp the main concepts of the different sections included in this subject.
Cuadrado, J. R. (dir.) (2015). Política Económica. Objetivos e instrumentos. McGraw Hill, Madrid.
Chang, H. J. (2015). Economía para el 99% de la población. Debate.
Mochón, F. (2010). Principios de Economía, 4ª Ed. McGraw-Hill, Madrid.
VV.AA. (2006). Lecciones de Historia Económica. McGraw-Hill, Madrid.
CASOS PRÁCTICOS:
Jon Emaldi (2021) Banking and Financial Crises. Can a never-ending story change? Ed.
Desclée De Brouwer Bilbao.
Úcar, P y Fernández, Y. (2021). Lengua y Economía en el aula y la calle. Madrid:
Universidad Pontificia Comillas.
Cameron, R y Neal, L. (2005). Historia económica mundial. Desde el paleolítico hasta el presente (4ªedición). Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Krugman, P.R.; Wells, R.; Graddy, K. (2022). Fundamentos de Economía, 3ª Ed. Editorial Reverte. Barcelona.