Debates de economía: el mercado y sus errores (BBA60014)

General information

Type:	OP	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	2 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
	Josep Domenech Ponsi	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad	ESP
	Anna Laborda Coronil	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad	ESP

Have successfully passed the Microeconomics course

Knowledge of markets in perfect competition

The majority of work will be done in class in the time allotted and it corresponds to the credits for this subject.

This subjects contributes in different ways:
-Like any other economics subject, it provides students with a specific language and reasoning, adapted to analysing situations, searching for solutions and dialogue.
-Specifically, as a micro-economics subject, it helps to develop systemic and structured thought.
-In particular, based on its methodology, the subject focuses on transmitting a need to take a stand on economic issues with social interest and knowing how to properly reason their position.

The ¿market economy¿ has become the big winner in the evolution of economic systems. It is the best endowed or, perhaps, the best adapted to human idiosyncrasies. As seen in the Microeconomics subject, the result of equilibrium in competitive markets is efficiency. That said, is every market perfect? Is efficiency the best solution?

In this subject we will examine market elements which produce situations known as market failures with significant social consequences and impacts and related to sustainability, social responsibility and inter-generational solidarity. Thus, students will learn through this subject:
- What is a market failure?
- The different types of market failures and their effects on the economy and society.
-Ways to resolve some of these market failures and the role of a mixed market economy.

1. Negative consumption externalities Our behaviour as people who consume different goods and services in a given environment. For example: how we behave as tourists (entertainment consumers, in general), as students in class, as drivers, as organ recipients, etc.

2. Negative production externalities Effects that producing valuable and valued goods and services has on the environment. For example, greenhouse gases leading to global warming and the latter's effect on flora and fauna.

3. Positive externalities Not everything is negative. However, if there are no incentives, who's going to fix and paint building facades, for example? Or, what motivates us to be good taxpayers?

4. Public goods, free-riders and communal property We'll explore seemingly different problems such as: why are kitchens in shared flats always dirty and untidy? And, why are fishing banks in international waters over-exploited and can no longer be fished?

5. People and the system: Is the market the problem or are we the problem? Would the markets work well if we as humans were perfect? What if there were no lobbies or corruption? And, what if the political cycle didn¿t interfere with the economic one? Are humans the biggest externality within the market system or has the market system been designed in our own image and likeness?

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

Students will be given specific material (articles, news items, texts, etc.). There is no specific manual or bibliography for this subject.

Group	Teacher	Department
	Josep Domenech Ponsi	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad
	Anna Laborda Coronil	Economía, Finanzas y Contabilidad