France Première Economic and Social Sciences (specialty)
Chapters: 3
1. Economics
How a competitive market works · Imperfect competition · Market failures · How economic agents finance themselves · Money and its creation
- Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium – The law of demand says buyers want less when the price rises; the law of supply says sellers offer more. The market price settles at equilibrium, where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, and shifts in demand or supply move it. Some goods break the usual laws (Giffen, Veblen, panic buying). A price ceiling set below equilibrium causes shortages. Markets can also fail, for example with pollution or public goods like street lights, so the government steps in.
- Market Structures: From Perfect Competition to Monopoly – A market structure describes how many firms sell, how alike their products are, and how easy it is to enter. Perfect competition: many firms, identical goods, free entry, price takers, normal profit in the long run. Monopolistic competition: many firms, differentiated goods, easy entry, some price power. Oligopoly: a few interdependent firms, high barriers, strategic behaviour (game theory, collusion, price leadership). Monopoly: one firm, no close substitutes, high barriers, price maker with possible supernormal profit and price discrimination. Contestable markets show that the threat of entry also limits power.
- Market Failure – A market fails when buying and selling on its own does not give the best result for society. Resources are used in the wrong amounts: too much of some goods (pollution, cigarettes), too little of others (street lights, vaccines, education). Main causes: externalities, public goods, merit and demerit goods, imperfect information, market power and unfair inequality. Governments try to fix it with taxes, subsidies, rules, direct provision and information, but government action can also fail.
- How Economies Are Financed: Saving, Banks, Loans and Bonds – Some people have money left over (savings); others need more than they have (loans). Money moves from savers to borrowers in two ways: through a bank (indirect finance) or straight through shares and bonds (direct finance). The interest rate is the price of borrowing. When the state borrows a lot, less may remain for firms (crowding out).
- Money and Its Supply: Barter, Functions of Money and M1 – Barter (goods for goods) needs a double coincidence of wants and has no common measure of value. Money solves this. Its functions: medium of exchange (main), unit of account, store of value and standard of deferred payment. Money supply is the total stock of money held by the public (households and firms) at a point of time. Notes are issued by the RBI and coins by the government; demand deposits are created by commercial banks. Narrow money M1 = currency with the public (CU) + net demand deposits in banks (DD) + other deposits with the RBI (OD).
2. Sociology and political science
Socialisation and behaviour · Social bonds · Deviance · Public opinion · Voting behaviour
- Culture and Socialisation: How We Learn to Live Together – Culture is the whole way of life that a group learns and shares: its ideas, rules and things. It is learned, not born with us. Culture has three sides: cognitive (what we know and believe), normative (rules for how to behave) and material (tools and objects). Socialisation is the lifelong process by which a baby becomes a member of society by learning this culture. It happens through agencies: family, peer group, school, mass media, and others like work, religion and community.
- Social Bonds: How People Are Tied Together – A social bond is a tie that links a person to others and gives support and belonging. We have bonds of family, of friendship, of work and of shared citizenship. Durkheim described two kinds of solidarity: mechanical (people are alike, as in a small village) and organic (people differ and depend on each other, as in a big town). Modern life brings individualisation (more freedom to choose ties) and digital ties (wide but often light). Ties break through job loss, poverty, discrimination, moving away or conflict. Shared values such as liberty, equality and fraternity, social protection and the fight against discrimination keep a society together.
- Deviance and Social Control – Deviance is behaviour that breaks the norms a group expects. Social norms come from custom; legal norms are laws, and breaking them is crime or delinquency. Deviance is relative: it changes between groups and over time. Societies keep order through informal and formal social control, using positive and negative sanctions. Theories explain deviance through strain, learning in groups, weak social bonds and labelling, which can lead to stigma and a deviant career. Official crime figures miss a large 'dark figure' of unreported crime.
- Democracy – Democracy is rule by the people. People choose their rulers in free and fair elections, each adult has one vote of equal value, and the government must follow the law and respect rights. Democracy can be direct or representative. India has old democratic roots and today uses a parliamentary system, while the USA uses a presidential system. Poverty, illiteracy, corruption and inequality are its main challenges.
- Outcomes of Democracy – Democracy is judged by what it delivers. It gives an accountable, responsive and legitimate government, and it is best at protecting dignity and freedom. On economic growth it is about as good as dictatorship. It has not done enough to cut inequality and poverty. It handles social differences well when majority and minority keep changing.
3. Joint perspectives
Insurance and social protection · Firm organisation and governance
- The Welfare State and Social Security – A welfare state is a state that protects people against the big risks of life: illness, job loss, old age, disability and poverty. It does this with a safety net made of three parts. Social insurance is paid from contributions taken from wages. Social assistance is paid from taxes to people in need. Public services such as schools and hospitals are open to everyone. Countries mix these parts in different ways: liberal (low tax, small help), conservative (help linked to your job) and social-democratic (high tax, help for all). Today welfare states face ageing populations, rising costs, global competition and many informal workers.
- Nature and Significance of Management – Management means getting work done with and through people so that goals are reached on time (effectiveness) and at low cost (efficiency). It has organisational, social and personal objectives. It is partly a science, fully an art and not yet a full profession. It works at three levels (top, middle, lower) through five functions (planning, organising, staffing, directing, controlling), and coordination joins them all.