Syllabus Information

1. General information

1.1. Aims of the course

The aim of the course is to know, analyse and interpret the Spanish economy in the medium and long term, providing the student with a joint vision of the different economic and institutional aspects.

To do this, the contents are divided into three modules. The first analyses the process of economic growth and, more specifically, the growth determinants in the Spanish economy. The second focuses on the analysis of productive sectors and the evolution of competitiveness, which includes its relationship with the Spanish foreign sector. The third deals with institutional aspects: the labour market, the financial market, the public sector and the effects of European monetary integration on the Spanish economy.

These aims align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the United Nations 2030 Agenda and with some specific targets (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment) which they try to help attain:

Goal 4: Quality education,

Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

1.2. Context and importance of this course in the degree

“Spanish economy” is taught in the second semester of the second year of the degree in Business Administration and Management. It is the only subject in the degree that relates strictly to the Spanish economy, and it will certainly help the student to better deal with further courses.

1.3. Recommendations to take this course

The approach of the course “Spanish Economy” is both theoretical and practical. To be successful, students are recommended to work on it steadily, which implies attending lectures and seminars on a regular basis, solving the proposed exercises, working in teams and supporting their work with the use of statistical sources. There are no prerequisites for this course, although the knowledge acquired in related courses in Macroeconomics, Statistics and Mathematics will be helpful.

2. Learning goals

2.1. Competences

1. Writing advisory reports on specific situations related to markets, economic sectors and organizations or firms
2. Understanding and applying professional criteria and scientific rigour/precision to the solving of economic, firm or organizational problems
3. Ability to analyse and synthesize
4. Searching for and assessing information from a variety of sources
5. Being autonomous in his/her learning and training
6. Applying knowledge to practice

2.2. Learning goals

The student, in order to pass the course, will have to show her/his competence in the following skills:

1. Understands the concepts and theories that explain and analyse the main factors of growth for the Spanish economy
2. Understands the concepts and theories that explain and analyse the main productive sectors in the Spanish economy
3. Correctly uses economic and statistical indicators
4. Handles and properly interprets the reports from the main national and international economic institutions
5. Delimits the gross domestic product components with precision
6. Integrates the knowledge acquired so that it allows the elaboration of satisfactory advice to firms and institutions on the analysis of the Spanish economic situation
7. Applies the course contents to the resolution of cases or practical exercises from economic reality
8. Takes decisions following the conclusions derived from the analysis in the course
9. Adapts the acquired knowledge to new situations, new scenarios or, in general, to the economic situation of Spain at different moments in time

2.3. Importance of learning goals

The skills acquired through “Spanish Economy” are critical for the full development of the professional activity of a graduate in Business Administration and Management because the evolution of the national economy is key to any business activity. It is crucial for the student to learn to adapt her/his knowledge to new situations, given the changing nature of the economic environment.

3. Assessment (1st and 2nd call)

3.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

The student will prove that he/she has achieved the expected learning results by means of the following assessment tasks: The assessment system for the course is global and has the following features:

At the Facultad de Economía y Empresa (Zaragoza) and the Facultad de Empresa y Gestión Pública (Huesca), the student may choose one of the following options in both sittings:

Option A: The student is offered the possibility of taking an examination on the content of the practical seminars completed during the course in the month of May (3 points), and a final one on the rest of the course contents at the end of the semester (7 points).

The mark for students choosing this option will be calculated as follows:

The practical examination may include open and multiple choice questions about the practical contents of the course (maximum 3 points). In the case of open-ended questions, three aspects will be assessed: the structure and clarity of the content, the completeness of the content and the absence of formal errors.

The final examination may include open and multiple choice questions (maximum 7 points) mainly about the theoretical content of the course. In the case of open-ended questions, three aspects will be assessed: the structure and clarity of the content, the completeness of the content and the absence of formal errors.

To be able to add together the marks of the two examinations, the student must pass both of them (1.5 points in the practical exam and 3.5 in the final one). When this requirement is not met, the final mark will be that of the final examination.

In order to exclude the contents of the practical examination from the final one and to be able to add together the marks of both of them, the student must obtain a minimum mark (1.5 points out of 3) that will enable him/her to sit the final test. If this minimum mark is not reached, the student can take the global examination described in Option B.

The final examination (7 points) will be held on the dates indicated for each sitting in the academic calendar of the Faculty.

Option B: The student is entitled to take a global examination (10 points), consisting of a written test on the theoretical and practical issues of the course, to be held on the dates indicated in the academic calendar approved by the faculty

Examination questions may combine open and multiple choice questions (10 points maximum). In the case of open-ended questions, three aspects will be assessed: the structure and clarity of the content, the completeness of the content and the absence of formal errors.

The student can use both options. If she/he chooses option A and also takes the global examination in option B, her/his final mark will be the higher of the two grades.

At the Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (Teruel), the student may choose one of the following options:

Option A: The student is offered the possibility of taking a written examination on the theoretical and practical contents of lessons 1 to 4 (5 points), and a final examination on the rest of the course contents on the date indicated in the academic calendar of the faculty (5 points).

The mark for students choosing this option will be calculated as follows:

• Both examinations may combine open and multiple choice questions about both practical (40%) and theoretical (60%) contents of the course, In the case of open-ended questions, three aspects will be assessed: the structure and clarity of the content, the completeness of the content and the absence of formal errors.

• To be able to add together the marks of the two examinations, the student must obtain at least a mark of 4 points out of 10 in each of them. An average of 5 points is needed to pass the course in this option.

• When the mark for the practical contents part in this option A reaches at least 2 points out of 4, this mark will be saved for the September sitting, and the student will have the possibility to take only the theoretical part of the examination.

• Regardless of the result in the midterm examination, the student has always the possibility of taking the global examination on all the contents of the course to be held on the dates indicated in the academic calendar approved in the centre.

Option B: The global assessment (10 points) consists of a written examination on the theoretical and practical issues of the course, to be held on the dates indicated in the academic calendar approved by the centre in which the degree is offered.

Examination questions may combine open and multiple choice questions (10 points maximum). In the case of open-ended questions, three aspects will be assessed: the structure and clarity of the content, the completeness of the content and the absence of formal errors

Course assessment will be onsite. In the case of a new pandemic wave assessment will become partly online or fully online. It should be noted that in any online assessment task the student performance may be recorded, following the regulations described in

https://protecciondatos.unizar.es/sites/protecciondatos.unizar.es/files/users/lopd/gdocencia_reducida.pdf

A plagiarism detection software will be used to check the originality of the student's assessment tasks. Identification of plagiarism will invalidate the entire task performance (i.e. the task which will be graded with 0 points).

4. Methodology, learning tasks, syllabus and resources

4.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards the achievement of the learning objectives. A wide range of teaching and learning tasks are implemented, such as lectures, practice sessions and tutorials.

4.2. Learning tasks

This course is organized as follows:

• Lectures (1.2 ECTS). One weekly session of two hours. The lecture is expected to be participatory and to encourage debate as well as to clarify issues and questions based on the student handbook, the supporting literature for the course and materials provided in the Digital Platform (ADD). In addition to the scheduled classes, the student must make an effort to be familiar with the basic content of the course, using the textbook 'The Spanish Economy'.
• Practice sessions (1.2 ECTS). One weekly session of two hours. Problem solving and presentation of case studies, preparation and presentation of papers, discussion topics, and readings.
• Tutorials (0.6 ECTS: 15 hours). and assessment that allow a more direct and personal support to students in order to monitor tasks, prepare and produce reports, answer questions and guide them in the study and resolution of exercise activities. These tutorials may be individual or in a group.
• Autonomous work and study (3 ECTS).

All lectures and seminars will be imparted on site. In the case of a new health emergency caused by the current pandemic all teaching will be moved online.

4.3. Syllabus

This course will address the following topics:

Section I. The Spanish economy at the start of the 21st century

• Topic 1. The present-day Spanish economic situation
  • Seminar.  Economic indicators and statistical sources
• Topic 2. The process of economic growth
  • Seminar. Determinants of economic growth

 Section II. Productive structure and competitiveness

• Topic 3. The productive structure
  • Seminar. Productive sectors in perspective
• Topic 4. Foreign trade
  • Seminar. Internationalization

 Section III. Institutional aspects

• Topic 5. Labour market
  • Seminar. Evolution of the labour market
• Topic 6. Financial system
  • Seminar. Evolution of the financial system
• Topic 7.  Public sector
  • Seminar. Income distribution
• Topic 8.  Spain in the Economic and Monetary Union
  • Seminar. The recent economic situation

4.4. Course planning and calendar

Further information concerning the timetable, classroom, office hours, assessment dates and other details regarding this course, will be provided on the first day of class or please refer to the Moodle website (https://moddle2.unizar.es); Academic calendar website (https://academico.unizar.es/calendario-academico/calendario); or the website of your corresponding faculty ( Zaragoza: https://econz.unizar.es/, Huesca: http://fegp.unizar.es/, Teruel: http://fcsh.unizar.es/).