Learning objectives
The course aims to achieve the following objectives.
to. Knowledge and understanding: The course aims to provide the main instruments for analysing and understanding the fundamentals of agricultural markets.
b. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Students will develop the ability to analyse and understand the trends of agricultural markets’ fundamentals, hence to read and interpret abovementioned trends. The course aims to introduce students to the analysis of agricultural markets and its diverse facets, understand their structure, dynamics and their social-, policy- and economic-related implications.
c. Autonomy of judgment. Students will develop the basis for critically analyse the agro-food markets’ dynamics, its actors, and existing relationships between them, besides the relevance of agricultural policies, in order to deeply and consciously evaluate the given market and to identify specific areas of interest for which the student may want to deepen her understanding.
is. Ability to learn. The study method provided mainly includes lectures / video lessons, in which fundamentals of the agri-food economy are discussed. The exam consists in the drafting of a technical report on a market freely chosen by student(s), and can be done individually or as work-in-group. This is to foster moments of discussion and comparison between the members of the group, the division of work and apply the knowledge offered by the course.
Moreover, the final exam could consist in a written practical exercise.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course deals with applying economic models to the agri-food sector, to understand what are the objectives of the economic analysis of the agri-food sector. The course introduces the student to the main specific concepts of the agro-food economy. A first introductory part takes up the main elements of microeconomic analysis: demand, supply and market equilibrium, elasticity of price and income curves, market failures and economic well-being. In the second part, the models are applied to the specific case of the agri-food sector to highlight its exceptional nature. The objectives of the course are: i) to provide students with theoretical elements aimed at understanding the agricultural market and its distinctive characteristics, providing introductory elements of analysis of the various aspects of the agri-food sector ii) to understand the fundamentals of agricultural markets, from market equilibrium the forms of organization of economic agents and agricultural policies; iii) introduce the student to the analysis of agricultural markets, defining the different research areas that the agricultural economist undertakes; finally iv) improve the student's ability to read and interpret technical-economic analyses.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Selected readings as scientific articles, technical reports from international organizations (FAO, OECD and others), book chapters in English and web material.
Teaching methods
Live lectures
Assessment methods and criteria
written exam
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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