Module ASB-1300:
CORE Economics

Module Facts

Run by Bangor Business School

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Dr Yichen Zhu

Overall aims and purpose

This module provides an introduction to Economics by following the syllabus of the CORE project (Curriculum in Open-access Resources in Economics). The CORE curriculum will equip students to understand how the economy has evolved and how it works by bringing advances in economics research over the past three decades, lessons from economic history and the comparative experience of different countries into the curriculum.

Course content

The module will provide an overview of the history of global economic development and introduce some of the tools and models that economists have used to explain this experience. The module will consider models of individual choice and game theory; models of firm behaviour and market interaction; as well as models of the macroeconomy. These models will be used to help understand many of the features of both the past and the contemporary world, including population and economic growth; inequality; business cycles and climate change. The module will clarify measures of economic variables and deliberate concepts of economic efficiency.

Assessment Criteria

good

B- to B+ (60-69%): Very good performance Most of the relevant information accurately deployed. Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%): No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills. Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

C- to C+

C- to C+ (50-59%): Much of the relevant information and skills mostly accurately deployed. Adequate grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Fair integration of theory/practice/information in the pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Some evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

excellent

A- to A+ (70%+): Outstanding performance. The relevant information accurately deployed. Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practice elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Strong evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the varying nature of economic institutions and the effects of government policy

  2. Show understanding of analytical methods: apply core economic concepts and economic reasoning to applied topics

  3. Demonstrate understanding of verbal, graphical and numerical representations of economic ideas and concepts

  4. Demonstrate a knowledge of the broad history of economic development and key historical economic events

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Semester 2 exam 35.00
MCQ Test #1 3.75
MCQ Test #2 3.75
MCQ Test #3 3.75
MCQ Test #4 3.75
MCQ Test #5 3.75
MCQ Test #6 3.75
MCQ Test #7 3.75
MCQ Test #8 3.75
Individual Blog #1 17.50
Individual Blog #2 17.50

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Lecture

One 2-hour lecture each week

 40
Private study

To include: - reading textbooks and related literature; - preparing for lectures; - reviewing lecture materials; - preparing for and completing MCQ tests; - revising for end of semester exam.

 160

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting

Subject specific skills

  • Abstraction. From the study of economic principles and models, students see how one can abstract the essential features of complex systems and provide a useable framework for evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy or other exogenous events. Through this, the typical student will acquire proficiency in how to simplify while still retaining relevance. This is an approach that they can then apply in other contexts, thereby becoming more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers.
  • Analysis, deduction and induction. Economic reasoning is highly deductive, and logical analysis is applied to assumption-based models. However, inductive reasoning is also important. The development of such analytical skills enhances students' problem-solving and decision-making ability.
  • Quantification and design. Data, and their effective organisation, presentation and analysis, are important in economics. The typical student will have some familiarity with the principal sources of economic information and data relevant to industry, commerce, society and government, and have had practice in organising it and presenting it informatively. This skill is important at all stages in the decision-making process.
  • Framing. Through the study of economics, a student should learn how to decide what should be taken as given or fixed for the purposes of setting up and solving a problem, i.e. what the important 'parameters' are in constraining the solution to the problem. Learning to think about how and why these parameters might change encourages a student to place the economic problem in its broader social and political context. This 'framing' skill is important in determining the decision-maker's ability to implement the solutions to problems.

Resources

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/asb-1300.html

Reading list

Carlin et al. (2016) “The Economy”. This is an open resource e-book published by the CORE project: http://www.core-econ.org/

Pre- and Co-requisite Modules

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: