Thomas Bolli: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2024 |
| Name | Dr. Thomas Bolli |
| Address | Professur für Bildungssysteme ETH Zürich, STB J 18.1 Stampfenbachstrasse 69 8092 Zürich SWITZERLAND |
| Telephone | +41 44 632 61 08 |
| thomas.bolli@mtec.ethz.ch | |
| Department | Management, Technology, and Economics |
| Relationship | Lecturer |
| Number | Title | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| 351-1158-AAL | Principles of Economics Enrolment ONLY for MSc students with a decree declaring this course unit as an additional admission requirement. Any other students (e.g. incoming exchange students, doctoral students) CANNOT enrol for this course unit. | 3 credits | 6R | U. Renold, T. Bolli, P. McDonald, F. Pusterla, A. Zubovic | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Students understand basic microeconomics and macroeconomics problems and theories. They are able to argue along economic principles and to judge policy measures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to: - Describe the basic microeconomic and macroeconomic problems and theories. - Make economic arguments to a given topic. - Evaluate economic measures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Households, firms, supply and demand: How are household preferences and consumption behavior formed? How does a household react to price changes? How are goods prices formed? At what prices are firms willing to offer goods? How do we make economic decisions? Markets: What is "perfect competition" and how does a competitive market work? Are monopolies always a bad thing? How can governments influence the market? Market failure: What happens when prices give wrong signals? Labor market: How do supply and demand work in the labor market? What influences unemployment? National Accounts: How big is the Swiss economy? Foreign trade: Why do countries trade with each other? What are the consequences for the domestic market? Money and inflation: What exactly is money? How does money creation work, and what happens when there is too much (or too little) money on the market? Students will be asked to apply these concepts to issues in their own field of study and to current issues in society. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Mankiw, N.G.: "Principles of Economics", 8th edition, South-Western College/West, Mason 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Competencies |
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| 351-1158-00L | Economics Not for students belonging to D-MTEC! | 3 credits | 2G | U. Renold, T. Bolli, P. McDonald, F. Pusterla, A. Zubovic | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course introduces basic economic concepts and theories. Beginning with microeconomics, the course starts with the topics of supply and demand, markets, and behavioral economics before moving on to the key macroeconomic concepts of national accounts, the labor market, trade, and monetary policy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | After successful completion of the course you will be able to: -Describe the basic micro- and macroeconomic problems and theories. -Introduce economic reasoning appropriately to a given topic. -Evaluate economic measures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | Households, firms, supply and demand: How are household preferences and consumption patterns formed? How does a household react to price changes? How are goods prices formed? At what prices are companies willing to offer goods? How do we make economic decisions? Markets: What is "perfect competition" and how does a competitive market work? Are monopolies always a bad thing? How can the state influence the market? Market failure: What happens when prices give wrong signals? Labour market: How do supply and demand work in the labour market? What influences unemployment? National accounts: How big is the Swiss economy? Foreign trade: Why do countries trade with each other? What are the consequences for the domestic market? Money and inflation: What exactly is money? How does money creation work and what happens when there is too much (or too little) money on the market? Students will be asked to apply these concepts to issues in their own field of study and to current issues in society. This goal will be achieved through participation in exercises, class discussions and reading material from current media. By the end of the course, students should be able to apply economic analysis confidently and independently. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | no script available | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Mankiw, N.G.: "Principles of Economics", 8th edition, South-Western College/West, Mason 2018. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Sie brauchen keine Vorkenntnisse, um dem Kurs zu folgen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| 363-1107-00L | Youth Labor Market Outcomes, Institutions and Governance of Education and Training Systems | 3 credits | 2G | P. McDonald, T. Bolli, G. M. A. Morlet | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | Finding and retaining talent for companies is becoming increasingly important nowadays. While Switzerland has a comparatively efficient labor-market-oriented education system, other countries find it more challenging to develop the skills needed by the labor market. We will consider contributions of economics and other social sciences to understanding outcomes of education and training systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Using internationally comparable data, students can measure, compare and assess the human capital performance of education systems. Students can use case studies to identify and evaluate the different institutional features of labor-market-oriented education systems, and use those features to explain certain outcome effects on the youth labor market. Students are able to deduce the consequences of countries’ different initial institutional situations, to locate them culturally, and to point out problem-solving measures from the perspective of a company seeking improved skills preparation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | In the context of digitalization and rapid technological change, finding and retaining talent for companies is becoming increasingly important. While Switzerland has a comparatively efficient labor-market-oriented education system, other countries find it much more challenging to develop the skills needed by the labor market. Without strong education and training systems, it is difficult to secure the volume of labor, quantitatively and qualitatively, that is necessary for prosperity and social development. We will also investigate incentives of firms to train, and the integral role that AI will have in the context of vocational education and training. The course will take a macro perspective to show how we can measure the performance of different education and training systems. It will also describe the institutional challenges countries face when companies complain that a shortage of skilled professionals is limiting growth. We will consider the contributions of economics and other social sciences to understanding the performance of diverse education and training systems, which we regard as both as economic and institutional phenomena. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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