Unit 1: Introduction
What is Economics?
Meaning, scope, functions and importance of statistics in Economics
Unit 2: Collection, Organisation and Presentation of data 30 Periods
Collection of data – sources of data – primary and secondary; how basic data is
collected with concepts of Sampling; methods of collecting data; some important
sources of secondary data: Census of India and National Sample Survey Organisation.
Organisation of Data: Meaning and types of variables; Frequency Distribution.
Presentation of Data: Tabular Presentation and Diagrammatic Presentation of Data:
(i) Geometric forms (bar diagrams and pie diagrams), (ii) Frequency diagrams
(Histogram, polygon and Ogive) and (iii) Arithmetic line graphs (time series graph).
Unit 3: Statistical Tools and Interpretation
For all the numerical problems and solutions, the appropriate economic interpretation may be
attempted. This means, the students need to solve the problems and provide interpretation for
the results derived.
Measures of Central Tendency- Arithmetic mean, median and mode
Correlation – meaning and properties, scatter diagram; Measures of correlation – Karl
Pearson’s method (two variables ungrouped data) Spearman’s rank correlation.
Introduction to Index Numbers – meaning, types – wholesale price index, consumer price
index and index of industrial production, uses of index numbers; Inflation and index numbers.
Part B: Introductory Microeconomics
Unit 4: Introduction
Meaning of microeconomics and macroeconomics; positive and normative economics What is an economy? Central problems of an economy: what, how and for whom to produce; concepts of production possibility frontier and opportunity cost.
Unit 5: Consumer’s Equilibrium and Demand
Consumer’s equilibrium – meaning of utility, marginal utility, law of diminishing marginal utility, conditions of consumer’s equilibrium using marginal utility analysis. Indifference curve analysis of consumer’s equilibrium-the consumer’s budget (budget set and budget line), preferences of the consumer (indifference curve, indifference map) and conditions of consumer’s equilibrium. Demand, market demand, determinants of demand, demand schedule, demand curve and its slope, movement along and shifts in the demand curve; price elasticity of demand – factors affecting price elasticity of demand; measurement of price elasticity of demand – percentage-change method and total expenditure method.
Unit 6: Producer Behaviour and Supply
Meaning of Production Function – Short-Run and Long-Run Total Product, Average Product and Marginal Product. Returns to a Factor Cost: Short run costs – total cost, total fixed cost, total variable cost; Average cost; Average fixed cost, average variable cost and marginal cost-meaning and their relationships. Revenue – total, average and marginal revenue – meaning and their relationship. Producer’s equilibrium-meaning and its conditions in terms of marginal revenuemarginal cost. Supply, market supply, determinants of supply, supply schedule, supply curve and its slope, movements along and shifts in supply curve, price elasticity of supply; measurement of price elasticity of supply – percentage-change method.
Unit 7: Forms of Market and Price Determination under Perfect Competition with simple applications.
Perfect competition – Features; Determination of market equilibrium and effects of shifts in demand and supply. Simple Applications of Demand and Supply: Price ceiling, price floor.
The objectives of the project work are to enable learners to:
probe deeper into theoretical concepts learnt in classes XI and XII
analyse and evaluate real world economic scenarios using theoretical constructs and
arguments
demonstrate the learning of economic theory
follow up aspects of economics in which learners have interest
develop the communication skills to argue logically
The expectations of the project work are that:
learners will complete only ONE project in each academic session
project should be of 3,500-4,000 words (excluding diagrams & graphs), preferably
hand-written
it will be an independent, self-directed piece of study
Role of the teacher:
The teacher plays a critical role in developing thinking skills of the learners. A teacher should:
help each learner select the topic based on recently published extracts from the news
media, government policies, RBI bulletin, NITI Aayog reports, IMF/World Bank reports
etc., after detailed discussions and deliberations of the topic
play the role of a facilitator and supervisor to monitor the project work of the learner
through periodic discussions
guide the research work in terms of sources for the relevant data
educate learner about plagiarism and the importance of quoting the source of the
information to ensure authenticity of research work
prepare the learner for the presentation of the project work
arrange a presentation of the project file
Expected Checklist:
· Introduction of topic/title · Identifying the causes, consequences and/or remedies · Various stakeholders and effect on each of them · Advantages and disadvantages of situations or issues identified · Short-term and long-term implications of economic strategies suggested in the course of research · Validity, reliability, appropriateness and relevance of data used for research work and for presentation in the project file · Presentation and writing that is succinct and coherent in project file · Citation of the materials referred to, in the file in footnotes, resources section, bibliography etc.
