The course aims to introduce students to the main economic aspects driving our contemporary societies. It intends to offer a general comprehension of economics to appreciate its impact on everyday life and, consequently, to give a better understanding of the effects of economic policies with a special attention to the domains of education, healthcare and labor. Therefore, the course will provide the basic economic tools to address micro- and macroeconomic phenomena in the areas of healthcare, labor and education.
At the end of this course, the student is expected to master the fundamental concepts and basic mechanisms of economics enabling him/her to understand and anticipate the socio-economic phenomena observable in contemporary economic life, particularly in the sectors of healthcare, labor and education.
The course aims to provide theoretical framework to explain real facts occurring in these different fields.
In the light of the guidelines of the Learning outcomes, the main objectives of the course are to
A1. Master the fundamentals of the economics allowing to explain and understand the behavior of an individual, group or organization;
C2. Structure and present collected data;
D2. Interact and collaborate in a network as it is suitable in a learning context and professional environments.
Furthermore, this course aims to get students to:
A2. Analyze and model a situation (individual, group or organization) with reference to psychological theories, research results, methods and tools;
E2. Identify the contribution and added value of scientific research in psychology and the sciences of education on the understanding of given situations.
The contribution of this TU (teaching unit) to the development and mastery of the competences and skills of the program (s) is available at the end of this sheet, in the section "Programs / trainings offering this teaching unit".
The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
As far as the method is concerned, it is a lecture-type course, using concrete cases drawn from the current economic situation to facilitate students' appropriation of concepts and the development of their critical thinking.
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the main principles and the basic concepts of economics so to grasp the complexity of economic dynamics in the fields of education, healthcare and labor. Thus, after a general introduction to economics, the course will address the mechanisms of market functioning, that is the supply and demand law, market efficiency and structures. The course will then present the specificities of demand and supply in the education and healthcare sector as well as in the labor market.
Furthermore, the course will analyze the role of the public sector (externalities, public goods) and the main governance issues (effectiveness and incentives, budget constraint and efficient use of public money in both the education and healthcare sector).
Particular attention will be given to the issue of moral hazard and in general to the principal-agent problem affecting the education and the healthcare systems.
Finally, the course will analyze how education and health affect the labor market and economic growth.
Course material: Reading portfolio available on UclMoodle.
