Course 2020-2021 a.y.

This course is divided into two main parts.

Part One concerns the development of economies in the long-run and globalization.

-          Determinants of economic growth

-          Demographic change and growth

-          Structural reforms and productivity

-          New technologies, firms and labor markets

-          Global value chains, macroeconomic interdependences, and the pandemic

Part Two concerns the functioning of the economy in the short run:

-          Overview of current trends in the world economy

-          How to measure and predict the state of the economy

-          Finance and the macro-economy

-          What central banks do

-          What governments do. And how they make their debts sustainable or not

-          Why exchange rates matter and what determines their trends

• Recognize the main determinants of long-run growth and the impact of structural factors
• Identify the challenges and the opportunities for firms of demographic change
• Explain the costs and the benefits of globalization and the implications for business
• Identify the trade-offs firms face in managing global operations
• Recognize the impact of technological change on the economy and the consequences for companies
• Understand and master basic and advanced tools of macroeconomics for analyzing media and company news
• Understand the manifestation and the causes of recessions and recoveries in the data
• Understand how Governments and central banks’ policies may accelerate growth, counteract business fluctuations and affect exchange rates

• Analyze media and company news about the economy
• Analyze the most important macroeconomic variables
• Evaluate economic policies and discuss their impact
• Discuss the growth impact of economic policies
• Assess pros and cons of globalization
• Evaluate trade-offs faced by global companies
• Interpret the macro effects of innovation and technology

• Face-to-face lectures
• Group assignments

The learning experience of this course includes, in addition to face-to-face lectures, group assignments, to improve students' ability of working and cooperate in groups and to develop critical thinking on economic issues. 

With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, students’ assessment is based on two main components:

1.Written exam (80% of the final grade).

The written exam consists of open-ended and closed questions.

Open-ended questions are aimed at verifying the ability of students of applying the tools developed during the course. They may include: short excerpts of articles, charts and tables to verify students’ ability of interpreting and discussing media and company news about the economy, extracting relevant information and applying the most suitable tools and concepts; short questions aimed at verifying students’ capability of discussing the implications of economic policies or shocks; finally, short statements to be discussed to assess students’ ability to articulate economic reasoning.  

Multiple-choice questions are aimed at verifying the learning and understanding of the macroeconomic concepts discussed during the course.

Students can take a partial written exam and complete the written exam at the end of the course.

The two partial exams are equally weighted to calculate the final grade.

2. Group assignment (20% of the final grade): aimed to test the students’ ability to interact in a constructive way and to think critically.

Lecture notes and readings will be available in the Blackboard page of the course.