Agricultural Economics, Rural Appraisal and Agricultural PolicyModule Agricultural Economics
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: Salvatore BRACCOExpected Learning Outcomes
Students learn the basic skills of general economics; they analyze the choices and behavior of the entrepreneur, study the farm and the agricultural company, deepen the economic analysis of the management of the farm, determine the economic results of production and their distribution, learn the problems and methods of planning and choice of corporate investments. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze, understand and undertake agricultural productive activities and face the problems of business management.
Course Structure
Lessons frontal and exercises.
Information for students with disabilities and/or DSA.
As a guarantee of equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students can ask for a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on their specific needs and on teaching objectives of the discipline. It is also possible to ask the departmental contacts of CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and/or DSAs), in the persons of professors Giovanna Tropea Garzia and Anna De Angelis.
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
General notions. Economic assets and consumer choices. Analysis of the economic theory of supply and demand. Business theory. Market and its functioning. The production and the choices of the entrepreneur. Structure and management of agricultural production units. Problems and methods of business planning. Business analysis models. Choice of business investments.
Textbook Information
1) Samuelson P.A:, Nordhaus W.D., Bollino C.A. (2012):“Economia”. XIX Edizione, McGraw-Hill, (MI).
2) Dominik Salvatore, (2010): "Microeconomia" Teoria e applicazioni. V edizione, Franco Angeli (MI):
3) Messori F. (2007): “L’azienda agraria” – Introduzione all’economia dell’unità di produzione agricola. CLUEB (BO)
4) Iacoponi L., Romiti R., (2004): “Economia e Politica Agraria”, Ed agricole Bologna.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General framework of the discipline | |
| 2 | Tools and methods for economic research | |
| 3 | Sensations, needs and economic goods | |
| 4 | The concept of utility and its maximization | |
| 5 | The theory of consumer choice | |
| 6 | Budget constraint and indifference curves | |
| 7 | Consumer equilibrium | |
| 8 | Elasticity of demand with respect to price | |
| 9 | The market and its main forms | |
| 10 | Theory of the firm and production | |
| 11 | The isoquants | |
| 12 | The costs of production | |
| 13 | Optimal level of production: maximum profit | |
| 14 | Farmer and related activities | |
| 15 | Tax regime in agriculture | |
| 16 | Enterprise and Agricultural Farm | |
| 17 | The economic capitals of the agricultural enterprise | |
| 18 | Economic balances of the agricultural farm | |
| 19 | Integral and partial budgets | |
| 20 | Exercise on economic balances | |
| 21 | Analysis of economic results of the agricultural enterprise |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
An Ongoing test will be conducted to check the learning of the parts of the program carried out. The test will be conducted by means of a questionnaire with multiple-choice or open-ended and choice questions to enable the committee to most appropriately assess the degree of maturity of the learning objectives provided in the intermediate parts of the program.