Main topics of study:

The Nature & Scope of Economics:

• The Nature & Scope of Economics
• The Development of Economic Society
• The Economic Problem: Scarcity Choice and Opportunity Cost
• Alternative Economic Systems

Production:

• The Economic Background to Production
• Specialisation and the Division of Labour
• Business Organisations
• Factors of Production
• The Scale of Production and Economies of Scale
• The Location of Production

The Theory of Price Determination:

• Demand
• Supply
• Price Determination
• Concept of Elasticity
• Applications of the Demand and Supply Model

Market Structures:

• Competitive Markets – the Institutions where Price is Decided
• Monopoly
• Oligopoly
• Imperfect Competition (Monopolistic Competition)
• Public Policy Towards Competition

Factor Markets and Rewards to Factors:

• Rewards to Factors: Distribution Theory
• Land & Rent
• Labour & Wages
• Capital & Interest
• Entrepreneurship & Profit
• Economic Rent

Market Failure:

• Market Imperfections
• Externalities
• Public Goods and Merit Goods
• Imperfect Information
• Dealing with Market Failure

Money & Banking:

• Functions of Money
• Financial Institutions
• Central Banking

Macroeconomics:

• Basic National Income Accounting
• Use of National Income Statistics
• Economic Policy
• Circular Flow Analysis
• Consumption, Savings and Investment
• National Income Equilibrium
• Multiplier and Accelerator

Unemployment & Inflation:

• Types of Unemployment
• Costs of Unemployment
• Causes of Inflation
• Costs of Inflation

Economic Policy Instruments:

• Taxation, Government Spending and Budgets
• Fiscal Policies
• Money and Monetary Policy
• Supply Side Measures and Privatisation

International Trade:

• Absolute & Comparative Advantage
• The Principle of Free Trade
• Protection – Types and Causes
• Free Trade, Customs Unions and Single Markets
• The European Union and Other Free Trade Areas
• GATT and WTO
• Balance of Trade and Payments
• Dealing with Balance of Payments Problems

Globalisation and International Monetary Issues:

• Exchange Rate Determination
• Fixed and Floating Exchange Rate Systems
• Trade and Economic Development
• Transnational Enterprises
• Globalisation

Reading List

Main Texts:

Economics: A background text – B Forster and G Whitehead (ICM)
Student Handbook for Economics: A background text – B Forster and G Whitehead (ICM)

Alternative Texts and Further Reading:

Business Basics in Economics for first year degree students (BPP Publishing)
Essentials of Economics – J Sloman (Prentice Hall)