PHSC 360: Pharmaceuticals Micro and Macro-economics

Description

COURSE OVERVIEW

The pharmaceutical industry provides a valuable contribution to society i.e. households and the government. As an economic entity the industry aims at  providing the medicinal needs of residents in the society. Again, the  industry aims to contribute to the growth of the economy and also provide jobs. The companies ultimate goal is to make profits and also minimize costs of production. The economic environment in a the country has significnat influence on the missions of the pharmaceutical industry. Microeconomic factors including customers, employees, competitors, shareholders, suppliers and macroeconomic factors like interest rate, inflation, economic growth, and unemployment together influence the choices that pharmaceutical companies make. These choices in turn affect directly the ability of the pharmaceutical company to achieve its mission.

COURSE OBJECTIVE(S)

The main objectives of the course are to:

• Introduce students to the concepts of opportunity cost, trade-offs, and the benefits of exchange
• Equip students with knowledge of the use of supply and demand models to analyse market responses to external events.
• Understand the concepts of gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment, and how they are measured.
• Understand the laws of supply and demand and equilibrium and its effect on pricing.
• Introduce students to the concept of GDP and its importance for pharmaceutical businesses established in a country.
• Equip students with knowledge of inflation, monetary policy, balance of payments, and real exchange rate for a country’s macroeconomic environment.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the Pharmaceuticals Micro and Macro-economics course, the student should be able to:

• Discuss the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, trade-offs, and the benefits of exchange.
• Use supply and demand models to analyze market responses to external events.
• Analyze the laws of supply and demand and equilibrium and its effect on pricing.
• Measure gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment.
• Analyze the concept of gross domestic product (GDP) and its importance for pharmaceutical businesses established in a country.
• Analyze inflation, monetary policy, balance of payments, and real exchange rate and the implications in an economy.
• Discuss the macroeconomic environment concept.