Political economy [DROIB154]

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, the student will - will have appropriated the essential concepts and reasoning of economics, both in micro- and macro-economics, with a sense of rigour and precision; - will understand economics as one of the human sciences, complementary to other disciplines; - will be familiar with three forms of expression: verbal, graphical and mathematical language - at a very basic level - and will be able to move from one language game to another; - will find it easier to identify the link between recent topical issues and a more abstract approach, which revisits and maps them, in order to inform the choices to be made; - may lead to some debate on the appropriateness of regulatory policy measures; - The course will understand the economic and social stakes of monetary and budgetary policies in a country or group of countries and will situate some debates in history or in recent times, taking into account the political parameter. For example: the perception of the European Commission versus that of certain economic theorists, the political antagonisms in the USA during the 2008 crisis, the directions taken in the USA versus in Europe, ...) - will be able to apply the reasoning seen to different practical cases; - will, in certain topics, link economics with certain provisions or legal considerations. These include the themes of monopoly versus competition, self-regulation,...

Objectives

As indicated in the learning outcomes, the course therefore aims to enable the student to understand basic economic mechanisms, apply them to concrete situations and make judgements. More generally, the course should enable the student, thanks to economic concepts and reasoning, to construct an image of the world in which other disciplines have their place and in which political choices have to be made. Economics, seen here as a human science, does not claim to dictate choices. Alongside other disciplines, it aims to enlighten them. In this sense, the course aims to make the student a citizen of his or her own world, a citizen who is critical of certain discourses that are sometimes unqualified.

Content

After a general introduction on economics as a human science and its place in knowledge, the microeconomic part deals with the classical themes of the discipline, illustrating them. These include: the market in perfect competition, the consumer, the firm in perfect and imperfect competition, regulation, asymmetric information, self-regulation and international issues. The macroeconomic part deals with national accounting (with a reading of the Belgian and European situations), macroeconomic equilibrium, the multiplier, budgetary policies, monetary policy and long-term equilibrium.