List of Courses

Information
Description
Outcomes
Contents
Methodologies
Assessment
Books

Contemporary Economic Issues

Course Code :
ECO 408
Level :
Undergraduate
Course Hours :
3.00 Hours
Department :
Department of Economics

Instructor information :

Area of Study :

This course discusses the most pressing economic issues in the local and international global arena. Topics are updated each year with respect to the changes in the economic environment. Overlapping between different interdisciplinary social sciences is evident in this course, and most importantly effects of changes in environment, in politics, in cultures are examined with respect to economic changes and ideologies. Course Goals: • Understand global, international, national, and regional issues related to the economic performance of nation states. • Explore and analyze economic data through a variety of economic models and theories. • Examine policies implementation and its impact on micro and macro-economic levels. • Conduct research on economic problems facing global economy from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. • Generate suggestions about economic policies and reforms. • Engage in economic literature, theoretical and applied, on various aspects of the economics of less developed countries and emphasize comparative theoretical approaches. • Appraise how the laws of Economics are developed along with the relevance of Economics to society.

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

This course identifies the most pressing economic issues in the international arena; the topics are updated each year with respect to the changes in the economic environment.

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

Course outcomes:

a. Knowledge and Understanding:

1-	Identify how economic principles are related to everyday life.
2-	Comprehend the importance of using economic theories in understanding contemporary economic issues.
3-	Show sound knowledge of national economic events.
4-	Investigate alternative economic policy responses.
5-	Recognize the importance of research in understanding microeconomics in the real world.

b. Intellectual Skills:

1-	Subdivide economic concepts in evaluating the allocation of resources in the current economic issues.
2-	Comprehend empirical data, policies, concepts, arguments and theories.
3-	Evaluate contemporary issues and policy options facing poor countries in the context of the global economy.
4-	Link economics with other social branches to facilitate the decision making process.
5-	Articulate understanding through independent reading, group discussion and written communication.
6-	Interpret key economic principles to various practical and policy issues.
7-	Examine different economic data analysis techniques in analyzing and interpreting international economic phenomenon such prose, tables, and graphs.
8-	Be able to assess the role and impact of government intervention.

c. Professional and Practical Skills:

1-	Conduct economics models along applicable for the current economic issues.
2-	Contribute in decision making by acquiring important skills in numeracy, literacy, and information processing.
3-	Conduct profitability and cost-benefit analysis evaluations to analyze economic issues.
4-	Use both qualitative and quantitative skills in solving economic problems.

d. General and Transferable Skills:

1-	Experience with conceptual frameworks effective for problem solving and decision making.
2-	Acquire analytical reasoning skills, numeric and clear effective communication skills.
3-	Test the ability of students to work under pressure and as part of a team.

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

Course topics and contents:

Topic	No. of hours	Lecture
Introductory lecture and course outline	3	1
Recent Economic News Identifying terms such as globalization, global economy, political economy, economic integration.	9	3
Economic Crises: • Comparative Analysis between Historical and Recent Financial Crises	9	3
Midterm Exam		1
Macroeconomic Dilemma	6	2
Economic Growth as a way of Progress	3	1
Paper Discussions	6	2
Presentations	3	1
Final Exam		1

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

Teaching And Learning Methodologies:

Teaching and learning methods
Demonstration videos
Presentation
Simulations
Debates
Group discussion
Research Paper

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

Course Assessment :

Methods of assessment	Relative weight %	Week No.	Assess What
Course Work (Attendance, Participation, Assignments, Quizzes, Research Paper…)	30.00		To assess understanding and to assess theoretical background of the intellectual and practical skills.
Final Exam	40.00	15	To assess knowledge and intellectual skills.
Midterm Exam	30.00	8	To assess professional skills.

For further information :

Telephone: 16383 (16FUE)
E-mail: [email protected]

Contemporary Economic Issues

Books:

Book	Author	Publisher

Recommended books :

1) Andrew Walter and Gautem Sen, Analyzing the Global Political Economy, Princeton University Press, 2009. 2) Bird Graham, An Introduction to International Macroeconomics: Theory, Policy and Applications, Third Edition, Palgrave, 2007. 3) Paul Krugman and Maurice Obstfeld, International Economics: Theory and Policy. Addison-Wesley, 2003.

Periodicals :

1) Bird Graham, The Dangers of Déjà vu Economics, World Economics, 2009. 2) Dani Rajan and Bird, Economic Globalization: How Far and How Much Further? World Economics. July-September, 2010. 3) Dell Ariccia Blanchard and Mauro, Rethinking Macroeconomic Policy, IMF Staff Position Note, SPN/10/03, 2010. 4) Beaufort Wijnholds, The International Financial Architecture: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,’ World Economics, 11 (2), 2010. 5) Isabella Alcañiz and Timothy Hellwig. 2011. Who’s to Blame? The Distribution of Responsibility in Developing Democracies. British Journal of Political Science 41 (2): 389-411. 6) James Vreeland and Raymond, Lagarde's To-Do List: Let Regional Organizations do the Hard Work, Foreign Policy Magazine June 28 2011. 7) R. Adams and J. Page, “Poverty, Inequality and Growth in the MENA Countries, 1980-2000” World Development, Vol. 31, No.12, pp 2027-2048, 2003. 8) S. Bibi and M. Nabli, Equity and Inequality in the Arab Region, ERF Policy Research Report,2010.