Bachelor Exam Requirements
(Part: Economics)
2014
Microeconomics, Economic Policy, HET
Basic characteristics of economics, functions of economics, scientific methods in
economics, pitfalls of economic analysis. Basic economic laws and organizational problems
of economy.
Market mechanism, market efficiency and market failures. Supply and demand
elasticity and economic interpretation of elasticity. Classical economics and market.
Keynesian concept of market mechanism. Government interventions.
Analysis of individual demand and consumer’s behaviour. Cardinalistic and
ordinalistic approach to the marginal utility theory of neoclassical economics.
Competition and its importance in free market economy, perfect and imperfect
competition. Causes of imperfect competition. Different types of production functions, cost
minimization and optimization of production. Neoclassical contribution to the economic
analysis of firm.
Firms under perfect competition, decision making under monopoly, oligopoly and
monopolistic competition. Profit maximization. Relationship between total and marginal
value of costs, revenues and profit. The role of economic policy in the growth of competitive
performance of economy, antimonopoly policy and competition support.
Markets of factors of production (demand and supply) and its specialties. Capital and
different forms of capital. Relationship between financial and real capital. Labour and wages.
Government and Trade Unions in the labour market. Land, theory of rent, land market
government intervention.
Income and wealth in economic theory. Income distribution and causes of inequality
in incomes distribution. How to measure unevenness in income distribution? Income policy.
Macroeconomics, Economic Policy, HET
Competitive performance of economy and its factors. Measurement of the economic
performance and macroeconomic aggregates. Basic methods and indicators of measurement,
their advantages and shortcomings. International comparison of selected macroeconomic
aggregates.
Macroeconomic importance of consumption; components and factors. Consumption
and saving functions. Analysis of consumption before Keynesian analysis. Savings and
investment and their mutual relation. Macroeconomic equilibrium. Keynesian theory and
investment. Investment policy.
Money, characteristics of different forms of money, historical evolution of money,
money functions, monetary aggregates, money and bank system. Theoretical approaches to
the role of money in economy. Money market. Monetary policy, objectives and instruments of
monetary policy, effects of the expansionary and restrictive monetary policy. Monetary policy
of EU. Nature of inflation, demand-pull inflation, cost-push inflation. Measurement of
inflation and impacts of inflation. Neoconservative economics and inflation, Phillips curve.
Antiinflationary policy.
Budget and fiscal policy, macroeconomic objectives. Fiscal policy instruments. State
budget revenues and expenditures, budget deficit and debt. Budget policy of EU. Keynesian
budget policy.
Unemployment - macroeconomic issue. Different categories of unemployment, causes
of unemployment. Measurement of unemployment. Natural rate of unemployment.
Relationship between unemployment and economic growth. Employment policy.
Characteristics of economic growth, factors of economic growth, different types of
economic growth, measurement of the economic growth. Short overview of economic growth
models. Economic growth problems in different regions of world economy.
Business cycle, phases, characteristics and factors of business cycle. Causes of
different business cycles. Theories of business cycle, new elements of business cycle after
World War II. Anti-cyclical policy.
Economic policy, subject, objects and instruments of economic policy. Economic
policy objectives including major macroeconomic goals. Problems and alternative ways to
reach macroeconomic goals.
World Economy, Macroeconomics, Economic Policy and HET
International trade, characteristics, causes and factors of development. Theoretical
approach to international trade, mercantilism, classical economics. Structure of international
trade and level of development of international trade. Foreign trade policy. Foreign exchange
market, different types of foreign exchange rates. Supply and demand on foreign exchange
market, appreciation and depreciation of currency. Foreign currency policy, devaluation and
evaluation of currency. International trade institutions. Nature and development of the
International Monetary System.
Basic characteristics of world economy. Economic structure of world economy. Stages
of development of world economy since World War II. Major centres of world economic
power and their development trends. Challenges and problems of globalization.
Basic characteristics of developing countries, differentiation and economic lag of
developing countries and their possibilities of further development. Indebtedness of
developing countries. Characteristics of different groups of developing countries.
Centrally planned economies, their principles resulting from socialist economic
theories. The role of government in centrally planned economies. Economic causes of their
transformation to free market economies. Major tasks of transformation.
Nature and characteristics of integration, stages of macroeconomic integration.
Integration in Europe, creation of the uniform EU market, problems of the enlargement of the
EU. Contemporary problems of integration.
STUDY RESOURCES:
Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
1. Horehájová, M., Marasová, J. Microeconimcs. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2009
2. Mankiw, N. Gregory 2001. Essentials of Economics, Harcourt College Publisher,
2001, p. 539, ISBN 0-03-027017-0
3. Samuelson, P. A. - Nordhaus, W.D.: Economics. McGraw-Hill Inc., 1992
4. Sloman, J. 2006: Economics. Prentice Hall. 2006. p.748, ISBN 0-273-70512-1
5. Uramová, M. a kol .Makroekonómia. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2000
Economic Policy
1. Uramová, M. a kol. Hospodárska politika. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2003
2. Vincúr, P. a kol. Teória a prax hospodárskej politiky. Bratislava: SPRINT, 2005
3. web stránky Štatistického úradu SR a NBS
World Economy and European Union
1.
2.
3.
4.
Horeháj, J. Svetová ekonomika. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2009
Horeháj, J., Kolláriková, M. Európska únia. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2002
Lipková, Ľ. Medzinárodné hospodárske vzťahy. Bratislava: SPRINT, 2002
Nováčková, D. a kol. Európska integrácia. Od Ríma cez Maastricht po
Amsterdam. Bratislava: Eurounion, 2000
History of Economic Theories
1. Lisý, J. a kol. Dejiny ekonomických teórií, Bratislava: Elita, 2003
2. Valach, E. Dejiny ekonomických teórií. Banská Bystrica: EF UMB, 2003
3. Ekelund, R. B., Hebert, R. F.: A History of Economic Theory and Method. McGraw-Hill Inc.,
1997.
4. Backhouse, R. E.: The Penguin History of Economics. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2002.
5. References on the Web: The New School of Economic Thought
(http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/)
MacMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought
(http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/).