INTRODUCTION SESSION

Dr. Evrim ÖZYORULMAZ AKCURA

GEEC 203 / ECON 100 - Principles of Economics

CONTENT

The Lecturer The Coursework The Syllabus The Economics

Dr. Evrim ÖZYORULMAZ AKC
URA
Evrim Ozyorulmaz Akcura was born in Izmir in 1984. She completed her Ph.D. in
Economics at Izmir University of Economics. She received her BA in International
Trade and Finance, with a double major degree in Business Administration, and her
MA in Financial Economics with high-honor degree from Izmir University of
Economics. She also attended Erasmus Student Mobility Program as an exchange
student at Fachhochschule des BFI Wien in Vienna, Austria.

She is a senior researcher in the Sustainable Economics and Finance Association

(SEFIA), located in Ankara. Previous to her current position, she worked as a research
assistant in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Business, as well as a researcher
in Sustainable Energy Division, Graduate School of Social Sciences with the education
and research scholarship from Izmir University of Economics. She has also been
acting as a TUBITAK Project Researcher at Koc University for three years.

Her research interest lies in the areas of energy economics, energy policy making,
international economics, economic growth theories, environmental issues, and
sustainable development. She published four research articles in the leading peer-
reviewed journals indexed in Web of Science Core Collection, one chapter in a
scientific book published by national publishers, and two proceedings presented in
international scientific meetings, respectively. She also took part as a researcher, as
well as a project expert/editor/member in applied University-Industry collaborated
projects, as well as in Scientific Research Projects (SRP). Furthermore, she wrote
several monthly columns in various Turkish Periodicals. Being an executive committee
member, she also has experience in organizing international
congress/symposiums/workshops.
COURSEWORK
• The Core Project: The Economy
• Course Content & Course Materials: Blackboard Learn
• Course Recordings: Panopto
• Interactive Education: Online Courses (Synchronous Zoom Sessions)
• Duration: 45 minutes
• Participation / Attendance is mandatory.
o Camera: ON – Microphones: OFF
• Office Hours: Mondays, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
(upon request – eozyorulmaz@gmail.com)
SYLLABUS
Course Objectives &
Course Description

This course provides an introduction to basic models and concepts in

microeconomics and macroeconomics.

The overall purpose of this course is to introduce the students to the concept of a
market economy and to investigate how scarce resources are allocated under a price
mechanism.

Microeconomics topics such as market economies, demand, supply, consumer

theory, the theory of the firm, perfect competition; and basic topics in
macroeconomics such as national income, employment, unemployment, inflation
and economic growth are analyzed.
SYLLABUS
Learning Outcomes

The students who succeeded in this course will be able to:

• express what economists mean by the concept of scarcity.

• define basic economic concepts such as opportunity cost, elasticity, economic
profit and marginal analysis.
• identify the determinants of demand and supply.
• predict a change in market outcomes given a change in supply or demand.
• explain the concept of market equilibrium.
• analyze firm behavior under perfect competition.
• measure key macroeconomic variables.
• find out basic relationships between the variables such as national income,
unemployment, budget deficit, money supply, interest rate, inflation rate,
exchange rate, and trade deficit.
SYLLABUS
Weekly Subjects and Related Preparation Studies
Week Subjects Related Preparation
1 Introduction: What is Economy -
2 Capitalist Revolution The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 1
3 Technology and Population The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 2
4 Scarcity, Work and Choice The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 3
5 The Firm: Owners, Managers and Employees The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 6
6 The Firm and Its Customers The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 7
7 Supply and Demand: Price Taking and Competitive Markets The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 8
8 Supply and Demand: Price Taking and Competitive Markets The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 8
9 MIDTERM -
10 Economic Fluctuations and Unemployment The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 13
11 Unemployment and Fiscal Policy The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 14
12 Unemployment and Fiscal Policy The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 14
13 Inflation and Monetary Policy The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 15
14 Technological Progress, Unemployment and Living Standards In the Long-Run The Economy, The Core Project, Unit 16
SYLLABUS
Evaluation System
Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation 16 10
Laboratory / Application - -
Field Work - -
Quizzes / Studio Critiques - -
Portfolio - -
Homework / Assignments 4 20
Presentation / Jury - -
Project - -
Seminar / Workshop - -
Oral Exams - -
Midterm 1 30
Final Exam 1 40
Total 22 100
 What is Economics?
• The Greek word Oikonomia: Household Management
• More than money, more than numbers
• A field of social science, also related to other sciences
• Two major disciplines:
o Economics is Personal: Microeconomics
o Economics is Universal: Macroeconomics
 Key Concepts
• Scarcity
• Resources
• Decision-making
• Opportunity Cost
• Utility
• Production and Consumption
• Goods and Services
• Growth
• Wealth
• Welfare
.
.
.
 The Definition of Economics - I
• Adam Smith – a Scottish philosopher – the first modern economist
«an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations.» (1776)

• Alfred Marshall – a British economist

«the study of man in the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of individual and
social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of
material requisites of well-being» (1890)

• Lionel Robbin – a British economist

«Economics is the science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends
and scarce means which have alternative uses.» (1932)
 The Definition of Economics – II
The modern definition, attributed to Paul Samuelson, the American Nobel Prize winner
in Economics in 1970, builds upon the definitions of the past and defines the subject as a
social science.

«Economics is the study of how people and society choose, with or without the use of
money, to employ scarce productive resources which could have alternative uses, to
produce various commodities over time and distribute them for consumption now and in
the future among various persons and groups of society. It analyses the costs and
benefits of improving pattern of resource allocation.» (1948)
 The Definition of Economics - III
Economists are still far from being unanimous about the definition of the economics
term.

• «Economics is the study of economies, at both the level of individuals and of society as a whole.»
(Krugman and Wells, 2004)
• «Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and
services.» (Krugman and Wells, 2012)
• «Economics is the study of how human beings coordinate their wants and desires, given the decision-
making mechanisms, social customs, and political realities of the society.» (Colander, 2006)
• «Economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources.» (Mankiw, 2001)
• «Economics is the social science that studies the choices that individuals, businesses, governments, and
entire societies make as they cope with scarcity.» (Bade and Parkin, 2002)
• «Economics is the study of human behavior, with a particular focus on human decision making.»
(Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and MacPherson, 2006)
 The Definition of Economics - IV
«Economics is the study of how people interact with each other and with
their natural surroundings in producing their livelihoods, and how this
changes over time.
Therefore, it is about:

• How we come to acquire the things that make up our livelihood,

• How we interact with each other,
• How we interact with our natural environment,
• How each of these changes over time.»
(The Core Project, 2021)
 What do economists do?
• Economists study how & why societies, nations, businesses and people
distribute resources, and the associated implications for human wellbeing.

• Economists try to provide information that will be useful for decision-makers.

• Economists use theory, data, math and statistics to help solve real-world
problems.
 Why study economics?
Studying economics enables us to:

• think strategically,

• make decisions while also optimizing the outcome,

• prepare ourselves for an ever-changing world.

Next Week
Concepts that will be introduced in UNIT 1: The Capitalist Revolution are as follows:

• Industrial Revolution
• Technology
• Economic system
• Capitalism
• Institutions
• Private property
• Markets
• Firms
• Capitalist revolution
• Democracy