The primary objective of the General Economics course is to provide students with a fundamental foundation for interpreting macroeconomic indicators by helping them understand the basic concepts of economics, the behavior of economic agents, and the functioning of market mechanisms. In line with the learning outcomes of the Banking and Insurance Program, the course aims to enable students—based on the distinction between wants and needs—to evaluate supply-and-demand balances in financial markets, national income calculations, and key economic parameters such as inflation, unemployment, money, interest rates, and exchange rates using an analytical approach. The goal is to develop students into individuals who can independently interpret reports on social income distribution and the balance of payments, identify economic problems and risks, and make effective decisions in their professional lives.

This course begins with a comprehensive examination of the definition of economics, the distinction between wants and needs, the roles of economic units, and the concepts of supply, demand, and the market. Within the framework of the weekly course schedule, the general structure of economic activities is addressed; the concept of national income, methods for calculating national income, and the fairness of income distribution are analyzed using the Lorenz Curve and the Gini Coefficient. In the subsequent sections of the course, theories of economic growth, the problems of unemployment and inflation, and their effects on the market are discussed in detail. In the final weeks, monetary and interest rate policies, foreign exchange and exchange rate systems, and the reading and interpretation of balance of payments reports—which are critical for monitoring international trade and capital movements—are covered using a practical approach.