ERB

Course Title:	Economics and the Role of Banks
Learning Method:	Distance learning method
Pre-requisites:	Secondary school graduates

Course Aims

The course is aiming to supply the specialists working in the banking and financial sphere with knowledge of modern methods and analytical approaches in the field of Economics and provides them with various patterns for producing analysis through comparing both the Western and Bulgarian banking practices.

Course Summary

The course “Economics and the Role of Banks” is a compulsory one for studying the Basic course of Programme for Banking and Finance. The course provides learners with knowledge of various economic phenomena grouped in clusters as follows:

Elements of macro and microeconomics
Money and banks
Macroeconomics and its policy

International economy

All these clusters consist of several sessions discussing separate topics and outlining the expected results achieved. The material delivered in the course-book is enriched with practical cases and exercises. Self-test questionnaires are applied after finishing each session of the book.

Outline Syllabus

Part 1 - Micro economics & Elements of Macro-economics

Session 1	The meaning of Economics
Session 2	Measuring the Economic Activity: The Circular Flow of Income
Session 3	Production of Goods and Services
Session 4	Demand and Supply 1
Session 5	Demand and Supply 2
Session 6	Elasticity’s of Demand and Supply
Session 7	Economic Systems and Market Forces
Session 8	Perfect Competition and Monopoly
Session 9	Imperfect Competition and Oligopoly

Part 2 - Money and Banking

Session 10	Money: Role and Functions
Session 11	Supply and Demand for Money
Session 12	Banking and Finance
Session 13	Economic Trends and Banking Development

Part 3 – Macro-economics and Macro-economic Polices

Session 14	State Intervention in the Economy
Session 15	Macro-economic Policy and Economic Thought
Session 16	Managing the Economy

Part 4 - International Economics

Session 17	International Trade
Session 18	Exchange Rates and Exchange Rate Mechanisms
Session 19	Further Aspects of International Economics
Session 20	Reflections on Banks and the Economy- Review and Conclusions

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of the “Economics and the Role of Banks” course should be the following skills:

The participants should be able to explain the influence of the market phenomena in Economics

They should be able to evaluate the role of banks in open-market economy

After finishing the course participants should be able to produce analyses of the influence of a bank to the economy of the region it works in

Assessment Strategy

Evidence:

a written assessment

Assessment criteria:

accurate exposition of the economic elements concerned both in textual or graphical type (as required)
detailed explanation of each term used in definitions and statements

ability to critically describe , understand and evaluate work’s content

Marking

100 points maximum

Learning Strategy

The above structured aims and the learning outcomes of the “Economics and the Role of Banks” course can be achieved by applying a special time schedule for self-studying the course’s content delivered by the course-book and is practiced through specifically designed exercises included in the course-book. The time designed for learning a session is two and a half hours. The total time fixed for learning the entire material is 60 hours distributed in six weeks period.

Indicative References

Hoye, Barry “The economics and the Role of Banks”, International Banking Institute, Sofia: 1999

Additional References

Any economic information available through newspapers or mass-media

Resources Required

The printed edition of the course-book “The Economics and the Role of Banks”

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