Cursos / 1º Ciclo / Faculty of Economy and Business Management :: Marketing

INTRODUÇÃO À ECONOMIA - 2025/2026

1º curricular year
Semestralidade: 2nd semester
ECTS: 6

Teachers

Leading Teacher: Prof. Doutor Manuel Maçães
Assistant Professor: Prof. Doutor Manuel Maçães

Class type and School hours

Orientação Tutorial : 1 Horas
Teórico-prática : 2 Horas

Teaching Language

Portuguese

Main Aims/Objectives

1. To familiarize students with the basic concepts of economics and economic thinking.
2. Understand how the economy works.
3. Understand the forces that affect companies, consumers, and workers as a whole.
4. Understand the main market structures.
5. Understand the main macroeconomic policy instruments.

Specific Aims/Objectives

1. To provide a general knowledge of the concepts associated with microeconomics and macroeconomics.
2. To introduce the basic concepts of demand and supply of goods and their interaction in markets.
3. To analyze consumer and producer behavior and the factors that affect this behavior.
4. Introduce the objectives of macroeconomics and the economic measurement and control tool that is National Accounting.
5. Understand the concepts of economic growth and development.

Skills to be acquired

1. Understand the concepts of scarcity, efficiency, and equity.
2. Understand the behavior of the main economic agents.
3. Understand how markets work.
4. Understand macroeconomic equilibrium models.
5. Distinguish between the concepts of economic growth and development.

Teaching Procedures

1. Theoretical-practical classes will use the lecture method and audiovisual aids.
2. The material presented will always be accompanied by illustrations using real cases.
3. Tutorial classes are aimed at clarifying doubts and practical discussion of the issues taught in theoretical-practical classes.
4. Students will be shown the appropriate readings from the course bibliography, as a way of complementing the content taught in the theoretical-practical classes.

Programme

Part I - Microeconomics
1. Concept of economics
1.1 Fundamental concepts of economics
1.2 Factors of production
1.3 Types of economic goods and services
1.4 The production possibilities frontier
1.5 Opportunity cost
1.6. Main branches of the economy
2. Market economics
2.1 Concept of the market
2.2. Types of market
2.3. Market demand
2.3.1 Demand determinants
2.3.2 Market demand curve
2.4 Market supply
2.4.1 Supply determinants
2.4.2 Market supply curve
2.5. Market equilibrium
3. Concept of elasticity
3.1. Demand-price elasticity
3.2. Demand-income elasticity
3.3. Cross-price elasticity of demand
3.4 Supply-price elasticity
4. Consumer theory
4.1 Consumer preferences, total utility, and marginal utility
4.2 Budget constraints
4.3 Consumer equilibrium
5. Producer Theory
5.1 Framing the production function in the company
5.2 Production function
5.3 Production costs
5.3.1 Fixed costs, variable costs, and total costs
5.3.2 Average costs and marginal costs
5.4 Relationship between productivity and cost
5.5 Maximizing profit
5.6 Consumer surplus and producer surplus
6. Market structures
6.1 Perfect competition markets
6.2 The imperfect competition market
6.3 Monopoly market
6.4 Monopolistic competition and oligopoly.
Part II - Macroeconomics
7. Introduction to Macroeconomics
7.1. Objectives of macroeconomics
7.2 Overview of macroeconomics
7.3 Main macroeconomic indicators
7.4 Macroeconomic policy instrument
7.5. Aggregate supply and aggregate demand
7.6 Macroeconomic equilibrium
8. State Intervention Policies and National Accounting
8.1. The role of the state in the economy
8.2. Expansionary budget policy
8.3. Contractionary budget policy
8.4. National accounting and product valuation
8.4.1 Calculating national output from an output perspective.
8.4.2 Calculating national output from an expenditure perspective
8.4.3 Calculating national output from an income perspective
9. Economic Growth and Development
9.1 Concept of economic growth
9.1.1 Real GDP and real GDP per capita as indicators of economic growth
9.1.2 Determining factors of economic growth
9.1.3 Growth factors and policies
9.2 Economic development
9.2.1 Concept of economic development
9.2.2 The Human Development Index as an indicator of economic development
9.2.3 Sustainable economic development
9.2.4 Constraints on economic development
10. International economics
10.1 TAbsolute advantages theory
10.2 Theory of comparative advantages
10.3 Ohlin´s Resource Endowment Theory
10.4 Porter´s Theory of the Competitive Advantage of Nations

Evaluation Type

Continuous assessment will consist of 2 written tests (weight 3), individual
individual assignments and a group assignment (4/5 students) (weight 2.5), on a topic to be presented by the teacher.
The final grade will result from the following weighting:
. Continuous assessment - 60%
. Frequency exam - 40%

Teaching Resources

Recommended bibliography.
Material provided in class.
Slides with all the course material.
Moodle
Microsoft Teams

Sustainability Objectives

SDG 4 - Quality Education
SDG 8 - Sustainable Economic Growth and Decent Work for All
SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructures
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production.
SDG 17 - Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Demand
Supply
Welfare

Main Bibliography

Complementary Bibliography