Basic Information

  • Course Code: EC101/HS101
  • Course Name: Economics
  • Course Offered In: Autumn 2022
  • Instructors: Radeef Chundakkadan/ Vidhya Soundararajan (S2 Batch)
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Difficulty (on a scale of 5): 2

Course Content

For my batch, we studied Microeconomics and Macroeconomics in the first and second part of the semesters respectively.

Microeconomics, taught by Prof Radeef Chundakkadan, tightly followed chapters from the reference book [Principles of Microeconomics, Mankiw] and each lecture would be approximately one chapter from the book. Even though he provided slides for every lecture, it is recommended to read the reference book instead since it is well-written and is exhaustive in covering all the topics.

In Microeconomics, the following chapters were covered:

  • Ten Principles of Economics
  • Thinking like an Economist
  • Market Forces of Supply and Demand
  • Elasticity and its application
  • Supply, demand, and government policies
  • Consumers, produces and the efficiency of markets
  • Applications: The costs of taxation
  • The costs of production
  • Firms in competitive markets
  • Monopoly

Macroeconomics was taught by Prof Vidhya Soundararajan and her slides were exhaustive in covering all of the theory needed hence we did not have to use the reference textbook. In some classes, she would also recommend studying some of real world data for the topics being covered, but none of that was part of evaluative tests.

In Macroeconomics, the following topics were covered:

  • GDP: A measure of Income and Expenditure
  • CPI: Consumer Price Index
  • Productivity and its components
  • Financial Markets, Intermediaries
  • Savings and Policies affecting Saving and Investment
  • Unemployment and its reasons

The course content is really interesting to read and has practical applications for understanding economics and investment as an individual.

Feedback on Lectures

The lectures were not interactive/interesting in either first or second half of the course. Since you could study the entire course content through reference books and/or slides provided, very few people would regularly attend and/or pay attention in class. There were plans to make attendance a part of the evaluation in the middle of the course but that did not materialise; it is recommended to still attend classes since their attendance policy is erratic.

Feedback on Evaluations

The grading policy was as follows: Microeconomics- 51% weightage

  1. Quiz - 1: 19%
  2. Midsem: 32% Macroeconomics- 49% weightage
  3. Quiz - 2: ~20%
  4. Endsem: ~29%

Both the quiz-1 and midsem exams were conducted on SAFE with MCQs exclusively. Quiz-2 and Endsem exams were pen and paper exams with MCQs, “Define this term” and numerical questions.

The exams were quite easy as long as you were thorough with all of the content and could also be prepared for by 2 days of preparation before each examination.

Study Material and Resources

  • Principles of Macroeconomics- N Gregory Mankiw
  • Principles of Microeconomics- N Gregory Mankiw

Final Takeaway

The course has some really interesting concepts that are very relevant to every person who wants an entry into the terminologies needed for personal finance as well as understanding world/ Indian economy. The reference books and slides are well written and enjoyable to read, but I cannot comment on how enthralling the course might seem from just sitting in the classroom.