Completing this course successfully will contribute to your being able to:understand and describe basic economic relationships;appreciate what is needed to study successfully economics;explain the functioning of one or several markets and even an entire economy by means of graphical analysis;participate in subsequent economics courses, starting, e.g., with VO 608.110 Economic Policy in the upcoming winter semester.

Lecture based on the first seven chapters of the underlying textbook. Clarifying questions and critical discussions are always possible. Active participation in the lecture is highly welcome!

1. The Capitalist Revolution [CE, Chapter 1]2. Technological Change, Population, and Growth [CE, Chapter 2]3. Scarcity, Work, and Choice [CE, Chapter 3]4. Social Interactions [CE, Chapter 4]5. Property and Power [CE, Chapter 5]6. Owners, Managers, and Employees [CE, Chapter 6]7. The Firm and Its Customers [CE, Chapter 7]

Textbook: The Economy (a core-econ open-access textbook https://www.core-econ.org/project/core-the-economy/, Chapters 1–7), referred to as CE in the course outline.The slides will also be made available.Supplementary literature:Introduction to economics:Pindyck & Rubinfeld (2013): Microeconomics, Pearson.Blanchard (2021): Macroeconomics, Pearson.Introduction to mathematics:Rosser (2003): Basic Mathematics for Economists, Routledge.Interesting reflections:Levitt & Dubner (2006): Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, William Morrow.Kahneman (2012): Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin.

The (online multiple choice) exams take place on campus in HS A on three dates during the summer semester (21.04. / 11.05. / 31.05.2023).

The contents discussed may go beyond the material contained in the book indicated; additional material may be provided and possibly deviate from the book. There is, of course, also the possibility that not all seven chapters indicated will be discussed. The other way around, also more chapters than indicated at the outset may be discussed. Clearly, only the chapters and material actually discussed during the semester are relevant for the exam.

The exam consists of seven sections with four true/false statements each. Every correctly assessed statement is worth one point. For a positive grade a minimum of 20 points (of a maximum 28 achievable points) is necessary.