Course 2024-2025 a.y.

30668 - ECONOMICS (MODULE II - MACRO-ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE)

Department of Economics

Course taught in English
code 30667 ‘Economics (Module I – Consumer behavior & firms)’ and code 30668 ‘Economics (Module II – Macro-economic governance)’ are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30666 ‘Economics

Class timetable
Exam timetable
Go to class group/s: 45
BIG (6 credits - II sem. - OB  |  SECS-P/01)
Course Director:
EDOARDO TESO

Classes: 45 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 45: EDOARDO TESO


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

The goal of the course is to provide the tools to understand the functioning of the economy from an aggregate perspective. Macroeconomics studies the determinants of the key aggregate variables that summarize the behavior and performance of an economy as a whole, such as GDP growth, unemployment, and inflation. Therefore, the subject of macroeconomics is a nation and the global economy, rather than the individual decision-makers that interact in a market. The course will make students familiar with the main models to understand the evolution of macroeconomic variables, as well as with the fiscal and monetary policies that governments can employ to influence this evolution. It enables students to interpret current macroeconomic events and to understand current debates on macroeconomic policies. The course will have a quantitative focus, using aggregate empirical data in order to test the main predictions of the macroeconomic models. A special emphasis will be given to the macroeconomic implications of recent technological developments, including cryptocurrencies, AI, and the rise of automated investment services.

CONTENT SUMMARY

-       Introductory definitions - GDP, inflation, unemployment - and data analysis

-       The goods market: composition of GDP, equilibrium output, investment, and saving

-       Financial markets: demand and supply of money and monetary policy

-       The labour market, wage and price setting, the natural rate of unemployment: the short and medium-term behavior of aggregate supply.

-       Policies implemented to affect economic activity, employment, and inflation

-       Open economy: trade dynamics, the balance of payments, and exchange rates

-       The long run: what determines economic growth?

-       Macroeconomic implications of technological developments


Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...

At the end of the course students will be able to...

  • Define and explain the main macroeconomic terms and variables (including, for instance, national income, gross domestic product, unemployment, money, depreciation, government budget)
  • Understand the main macroeconomic models that have been developed to explain the evolution of macroeconomic variables and the impact of fiscal and monetary policies
  • Recognize, explain and summarize the most important points of macroeconomic reports and analyses issued by governments, central banks, and international institutions
  • Identify and describe the main economic mechanisms lying behind the most relevant political issues
  • Assess whether empirical aggregate data is consistent with the predictions of the main macroeconomic theories

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...

At the end of the course student will be able to...

  • Understand and follow more specific and advanced courses in economics and political economy
  • Search and use empirical data in order to make predictions on the evolution of different macroeconomic variables
  • Understand the main tradeoffs faced by policymakers when implementing fiscal and monetary policies.
  • Read/listen critically to articles/discussions on the media that deal with macroeconomic issues
  • Apply the theories learnt in class in order to assess the likely macroeconomic implications of different forms of technological progress.

Teaching methods

  • Lectures
  • Practical Exercises
  • Collaborative Works / Assignments

DETAILS

Practical Exercises: review questions on the various topics covered in class will be provided by the instructor and discussed in class

 

Collaborative works / assignments: students will be divided into groups of 4-5 students. They will choose a topic related to the issues discussed in class, they will collect data on the topic, and they will prepare a series of data visualizations. Good data visualizations are important to make sense of data. Each group will be required to deliver a report at the end of the course, summarizing the chosen topic, describing the data collected, and presenting the data visualizations.

 


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  x x
  • Collaborative Works / Assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
x    
  • Active class participation (virtual, attendance)
x    

ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, students’ assessment is based on two main components (for both attending and non-attending students):

  1. in-class participation and group assignments aimed to test the students’ ability to interact in a constructive way, think critically and analyze current macroeconomic issues;

  2. written exam, consisting, for example, of exercises, open questions, multiple-choice questions, aiming at assessing students’ ability to describe the key macroeconomics concepts illustrated during the course. Students can take a partial written exam and complete the written exam at the end of the course. In this case, the weight is: 50% for the partial exam and 50% for the second partial exam. Alternatively, students can take a final written exam that accounts for 100% of the final grade.


Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

- Slides/handouts prepared by the teacher.
- O. BLANCHARD, A. AMIGHINI, F. GIAVAZZI, Macroeconomics - A European Perspective, Pearson Education Limited, 2021, 4th Edition.
- Suggested readings
- Exercises

Last change 27/05/2024 05:01