Aims and Objectives of the Course - 2019/20
The module has the objective to expose students to the main issues under debate in applied economics, including national and regional economic growth and economic policy.
Students will be able to understand, critically assess and present these issues according to the standards of the economics profession.
Every session will include class exercises, in order to enhance the students’ learning skills.
Knowledge and Understanding
The course aims at exposing students to both basic and advanced topics in Applied Economics with respect to both international, national and regional issues. Students will be able to grasp and critically elaborate on these topics. At the end of the course, students will achieve a firm understanding of the basic and some advanced issues of applied economic analysis, under both static and dynamic dimensions.
Autonomy
Students will be able to elaborate on the topics discussed in a critical manner during class discussion. They will be able to present the issues discussed in a critical and comparative perspective using the main tools of economic analysis.
Communication Abilities
Students will be able to analyse and present the main results of scientific economic research and economic policy reports on the topics studied in the course in a synthetic and yet exhaustive style, also to a non-expert audience.
Learning Abilities
Students will be able to browse/query international, national and regional databases and analyse basic economic data. They will be able to extend their abilities to research on and understand the course topics in international scientific journals and economic reports on economic and social issues.
Lecture Syllabus |
Gross Domestic Product, Value Added |
Private and Public Consumption |
Private and Public Investment, Interest Rates |
Employment and Unemployment |
Taxation, Government Expenditure, Sovereign Debt |
Imports, Exports, Foreign Direct Investment, Exchange Rates |
Handouts & didactic materials |
Applied Economics handouts will be made available here (search for the AE pages!) and on the unipa.it website. Main economic statistic data in use will be those issued by the World Bank, OECD, International Monetary Fund, Eurostat, European Central Bank and, for Italy, Istat and Banca d’Italia |