Program Overview

Introduction to Political Economy and Sustainable Development

Course Overview

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental principles of political economy and motivate them to think like economists. The course will also introduce the concept of sustainable development and analyze the relationship between economic growth and sustainable development.

Course Content

The course will cover various topics in microeconomics and macroeconomics through a descriptive and informal approach, using examples and applications from reality and everyday experience. The topics covered include:

• Introduction
• How markets work
• Markets and welfare
• Consumer behavior
• Behavioral economics
• Public sector economics
• Firm behavior and industrial organization
• Macroeconomic data
• Real economy in the long term
• Economic growth
• Sustainable development
• Environmental and energy policies for sustainable development

Pedagogical Approach

The weekly teaching program is structured as follows:

• Frontal lesson with some exercises (3 hours)
• Exercises (1 hour): solution and discussion of selected problems

Examination Method

The final examination will be written.

References

• Mankiw, Gregory N., (2016), The Essentials of Economics, Sixth edition, Zanichelli
• Hackett, Steven C., (2011), Environmental and Natural Resources Economics, fourth edition, Sharpe (some chapters)

Education

• Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Core course, Fundamental knowledge, 1st year

Additional Information

• Semester: Fall
• Academic year:
• ECTS: 6.0
• Language: Italian