A basic understanding of economics is essential for well-informed citizens and is therefore important in a democratic political system. It is also vital for those who are operating or working in companies.
The course will therefore cover some fundamental principles that underlie economic behavior and activity. It will provide students with the tools to analyze economic events, explain why they occur, and make predictions about the likely outcome of a given set of economic circumstances. The course will encompass both micro-economics, which focuses on the activities of individual firms, households and markets, and macroeconomics, which focuses on national and international developments. A heavy emphasis will be placed on the role of markets and on the demand and supply model. In addition the course will look at the role of incentives in guiding economic behavior.
This is an introductory course and for that reason will seek to give students an intuitive understanding of the subject using examples from the Philippines and Asia, as much as possible. The use of mathematics will be kept to a minimum.
The course will require active participation by students. This will take the form of presentations on topical economic issues for discussion and analysis in classes.
