Ideas in Economics (Doing Economics)
A rigorous-but-accessible "Doing Economics" gateway at FLAME University — built on Acemoglu, Laibson & List with CORE's The Economy 2.0 for support, split evenly into a microeconomics half and a macroeconomics half, each unit worked with real data. Feature films and Nobel-winning research are optional enrichment. Builds the conceptual and empirical foundation for Microeconomics-I and Macroeconomics-I.
Basic Information
| Course Title | Ideas in Economics (Doing Economics) |
| Course Code | ECON 123 |
| Credits | 2 |
| Level | 100 (Introductory) |
| Lecture–Tutorial–Practical | 2-0-0 |
| Contact Hours | 18 |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Program | Under-Graduate |
| Internal Assessment | 60% (Mid-Term, Problem Sets, Participation) |
| End-Term Empirical Project | 40% |
| Instructor | Dr. Ravikiran Naik |
| Contact | ravikiran.naik@flame.edu.in |
| Office | Room 108, Amrita Shergill Building |
| Office Hours | Book your slot |
| Course Website | ravikirannaik.github.io/ideas-in-economics |
I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus, including topics and due dates. Any changes will be announced as early as possible. Students are expected to read this outline in full.
Economics is a way of understanding the world — and the fastest way to learn it is to do it. Each unit builds from the core optimisation framework (how people and firms make the best choice they can), applies it to real data, and offers an optional film and Nobel case for context. The course is split evenly into a microeconomics half (choice, firms, markets, market failure) and a macroeconomics half (measuring the economy, growth, money and crises), so it builds the conceptual and empirical foundation you carry into Microeconomics-I (ECON 201) and Macroeconomics-I (ECON 202).
🎬 Open the full interactive course site →
Teaching Philosophy
I teach introductory economics as a tool you learn by using. Each unit starts from the economist’s core question — given scarce resources, what is the best choice, and what happens when everyone makes it? — develops the formal framework to answer it (the optimisation and equilibrium spine of Acemoglu, Laibson & List), and then puts that framework to work on real data. Every unit ends with a short “Doing Economics” exercise on an actual dataset — Indian wherever possible. My emphasis is economic reasoning and evidence over memorisation: the textbook supplies the rigour, the data work gives you a skill — reading, plotting, and interpreting real numbers — and an optional film and Nobel-laureate case supplies the intuition and the human story. That combination is what you carry straight into Microeconomics-I and Macroeconomics-I.
Objectives
- Introduce core micro- and macroeconomic concepts through the optimisation-and-equilibrium framework, connecting abstract ideas to concrete situations.
- Develop economic reasoning and basic empirical skill — reading, plotting, and interpreting real data to answer an economic question.
- Connect each unit to landmark Nobel Prize-winning research and an optional film case, linking popular stories to frontier scholarship.
- Apply both halves to the Indian context — prices, labour, informality, poverty, growth, and the environment — using Indian datasets.
- Build the conceptual and empirical foundation for further study in Microeconomics-I and Macroeconomics-I.
Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Identify and explain foundational concepts — scarcity, opportunity cost, supply and demand, market equilibrium, and externalities.
- Analyse economic behaviour and institutional dynamics using formal reasoning, and connect that reasoning to narrative cases drawn from film and current events.
- Evaluate the contributions of Nobel Prize-winning economists and relate their research to real-world phenomena and policy debates.
- Apply economic frameworks to contemporary issues in the Indian economy — informality, labour markets, poverty, and environmental challenges.
Outcomes mapped to Bloom's Taxonomy
| # | Learning Outcome | REM | UND | APP | ANA | EVA | CRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundational concepts (scarcity, opportunity cost, supply & demand, equilibrium, externalities) | H | H | M | L | — | — |
| 2 | Analyse behaviour & institutions with formal reasoning, linking it to narrative cases | — | M | H | H | M | — |
| 3 | Evaluate Nobel laureates' contributions & relate to policy debates | — | M | M | H | H | L |
| 4 | Apply economic frameworks to the Indian economy | — | L | H | H | M | M |
Course Structure — a Micro half & a Macro half
Six units, three contact hours each. The first three build the microeconomics foundation (→ ECON 201); the second three build the macroeconomics foundation (→ ECON 202). Every unit = a theory core (Acemoglu, Laibson & List, supported by CORE), a short “Doing Economics” exercise on real data, and an optional film + Nobel case for context.
◀ MICRO HALF — how people & firms decide (prepares for Microeconomics-I)
| Unit | What you'll learn · math core · data · readings |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 |
Choice, Preferences & Strategic Behaviour3 hours
|
| Unit 2 |
Firms, Markets & Competition3 hours
|
| Unit 3 |
Externalities, Welfare & Market Failure3 hours
|
▶ MACRO HALF — how the whole economy behaves (prepares for Macroeconomics-I)
| Unit | What you'll learn · math core · data · readings |
|---|---|
| Unit 4 |
Measuring the Economy & Development3 hours
|
| Unit 5 |
Growth & Productivity3 hours
|
| Unit 6 |
Money, Finance & Crises3 hours
|
Total contact hours: 18. Each unit also carries a dedicated Indian Context essay. The six exercises are rehearsals for the End-Term Empirical Project.
Where it Leads — Microeconomics-I & Macroeconomics-I
This course is designed to flow into the Year-2 core. The micro half front-loads the ideas ECON 201 builds on; the macro half does the same for ECON 202. You meet the optimisation-and-equilibrium framework and its graphs here; the full calculus behind it is carried by ECON 122 (Mathematics for Economics) — this course gives you the concepts, the framework, and the data skill, with the heavy mathematics deferred to ECON 122.
| From this course… | …into the core |
|---|---|
| Choice, preferences, markets, competition, externalities & welfare | Microeconomics-I (ECON 201) — consumer theory, production & costs, perfect competition |
| Measuring the economy, growth & productivity, money & crises | Macroeconomics-I (ECON 202) — GDP/CPI/unemployment, productivity & output, money, IS–LM / AS–AD |
Grading
The course rewards steady engagement across the semester, culminating in an original empirical project. Problem sets build analytical skills throughout; the mid-term tests conceptual mastery of the first half; the end-term project asks you to synthesise the whole course into an evidence-based analysis.
- End-Term Empirical Project 40%
- Mid-Term Examination 30%
- Problem Sets 20%
- Class Participation 10%
| Component | Weight | What it assesses |
|---|---|---|
| End-Term Empirical Project | 40% | Group project applying course concepts to a real-world question, with data analysis and a written report. |
| Mid-Term Examination | 30% | Written exam over the micro half (Units 1–3): concepts, short-answer problems, and data interpretation. |
| Problem Sets | 20% | Four to five sets — one short "Doing Economics" data exercise per unit. |
| Class Participation | 10% | Active engagement in discussions, film screenings, and in-class activities. |
Readings, Resources & Data
The course is built on one modern principles textbook, supported by two free, open-access companions for the concepts and the data work, with a traditional text kept on the shelf as a theory reference. Specific chapters are assigned per unit and posted on MOODLE.
The spine — three books
- PrimaryAcemoglu, Laibson & List — Economics (Pearson). The backbone of every unit: a modern, evidence-based text organised around three principles — optimisation, equilibrium, empiricism — that carries the formal and mathematical content.
- SupportCORE Econ — The Economy 2.0. Free, open-access; the applied, data-first companion — development- and India-aware — that grounds each unit in real-world questions.
- DataCORE Econ — Doing Economics. Free empirical-projects book; each project is a ready-made real-data exercise (the model this course is named after).
- ReferenceBegg, Vernasca, Fischer & Dornbusch — Economics (McGraw-Hill). Kept as an exam-style theory reference — clean graphs and derivations for consumer choice, costs, market structures, and IS–LM — for students heading toward an LSE-style second year.
Optional reading & enrichment per unit
- U1Dixit & Nalebuff, The Art of Strategy; Thaler, Misbehaving (behavioural thread). Film: A Beautiful Mind.
- U2Harford, The Undercover Economist (prices & markets); Krugman, selected essays. Film: Margin Call.
- U3Ostrom, Governing the Commons (selections); Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," Science (1968). Film: Erin Brockovich.
- U4Banerjee & Duflo, Poor Economics. Film: Slumdog Millionaire.
- U5Lewis, Moneyball (excerpt); C. I. Jones, Introduction to Economic Growth (selections). Film: Moneyball.
- U6Lewis, The Big Short (excerpt); Thaler, Misbehaving (bubbles). Film: The Big Short.
General readers & reference
- ReaderChang, H.-J. (2014), Economics: The User's Guide; Frank, R. H. (2011), The Economic Naturalist.
- Film & EconStaley, S. R. (2018), Lights! Camera! Econ!; Simpson, D. (2023), Striding with Economic Giants.
- Nobelnobelprize.org — lectures and popular backgrounds for Nash (1994), Krugman (2008), Ostrom (2009), Banerjee–Duflo–Kremer (2019), Solow (1987), Thaler (2017).
Data sources you’ll use
- IndiaMoSPI — PLFS & NSS · RBI DBIE · data.gov.in / Agmarknet · CPCB air quality.
- GlobalOur World in Data · Gapminder · World Bank, FRED, Maddison Project.
Tooling is light — spreadsheets (Excel/Google Sheets) are enough; a gentle optional introduction to Python/R is offered for the keen.
Course Policies
Suggested Pedagogy
Each unit opens with the core framework — a short lecture and worked examples from Acemoglu, Laibson & List, supported by CORE — then unpacks it through guided discussion, and closes with a short “Doing Economics” exercise on real data. Browser-based simulations let students experiment with supply and demand, externalities, and game theory in real time; Indian Context essays and datasets ground the material locally; and an optional feature film and a Nobel-laureate case connect the framework to a popular story and to frontier scholarship.
Attendance & Participation
A minimum of 75% attendance is required to be eligible for the End-Term assessment, per FLAME University policy. Participation is graded on engagement in discussions, film screenings, and in-class activities — the goal is to think out loud, not to be “tested.” Be kind and respectful when addressing others.
Assessments & Late Submission
- Problem Sets (20%) — four to five sets distributed across the semester; applied economic reasoning on the framework, worked scenarios, and real data.
- Mid-Term Examination (30%) — covers the micro half (Units 1–3); conceptual questions, short-answer problems, and data interpretation.
- End-Term Empirical Project (40%) — a group “Doing Economics” study applying course concepts to a real-world question on real data, with a written report.
Deadlines are firm. Late submissions lose 10% of the component’s marks per day and are not accepted more than three days past the deadline, except with a documented, valid reason discussed in advance.
Academic Integrity
All work you submit must be your own. Plagiarism, unauthorised collusion, fabrication of results, and contract cheating are serious violations handled under FLAME University’s academic-integrity regulations. Whenever you draw on a source — a textbook, article, dataset, film, or website — cite it clearly and consistently. If you are unsure what needs a citation, ask before submitting.
Use of Generative AI
Generative-AI tools may not be used to produce any part of your graded submissions — problem sets, the empirical project report, or exam answers — unless I explicitly permit it for a given task; doing otherwise is treated as an academic-integrity violation. You are, however, encouraged to use AI for your own learning — to explain difficult concepts, test your understanding, or explore ideas outside assessed work. AI tools make confident mistakes, so verifying anything they tell you is your own responsibility: treat their output as a starting point to check against the readings and lectures, never as an authoritative source.
Student Wellbeing & Accessibility
Your well-being matters more than any single grade. Students with a disability or any condition affecting participation or assessment are entitled to reasonable accommodations — contact the relevant FLAME student-support office and me, in confidence, as early as possible. If personal, health, or financial difficulties are affecting your studies, please reach out; seeking help early will never count against you.
Modules & Materials
The full course lives on the interactive site — every module has an overview, a self-assessment quiz, and resources, plus optional film analysis and Nobel focus pages for context. The Indian Context essays and 30+ browser simulations are linked there too.
| Module | Overview | Film Analysis | Nobel Focus | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ◀ Micro half (→ ECON 201) | ||||
| U1Choice, Preferences & Strategy | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
| U2Firms, Markets & Competition | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
| U3Externalities, Welfare & Market Failure | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
| ▶ Macro half (→ ECON 202) | ||||
| U4Measuring the Economy & Development | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
| U5Growth & Productivity | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
| U6Money, Finance & Crises | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open | ✓ Open |
Also on the course site: Indian Context essays (informal economy · GST & markets · NREGA & poverty · Digital India · climate commons) · interactive simulations · glossary (120+ terms).
Economic thinking is not a collection of facts to memorise. It is a lens — a way of looking at everyday situations and asking: what are the trade-offs? Who gains? Who loses? And what incentives are shaping behaviour?