30066 - ECONOMIA - MODULO 2 (MACROECONOMIA) / ECONOMICS - MODULE 2 (MACROECONOMICS)
Department of Economics
For the instruction language of the course see class group/s below
GIUSEPPE FERRAGUTO
Class group/s taught in English
Suggested background knowledge
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
CONTENT SUMMARY
- National Accounting.
- The goods market and financial markets.
- Macroeconomic equilibrium and macroeconomic policies in a closed economy.
- Unemployment.
- Inflation.
- The open economy, the balance of payments and the exchange rate.
- Government debt.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
- Understand how the main macroeconomic variables are defined and measured.
- Illustrate the determinants of the levels of income, inflation and unemployment prevailing in an economy.
- Explain the macroecomic effects of monetary and fiscal policies, as well as those of other shocks hitting the economy.
- Recognize the difference in the effects of such policies and shocks, depending on the exchange rate regime adopted.
- Describe the interactions between financial markets developments and the macronomic equilibrium of a country.
- Identify the causes of the sustainability, or unsustainability, of the deficits (in the government budget, in the trade balance, etc.) incurred by a country, and their likely consequences.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Apply the knowledge acquired during the course to evaluate the likely changes in the environment of the firm or organization they will join at the end of the program. In particular:
- Predict the impact of central banks' decisions on the likely evolution of interest rates, income, demand, etc..
- Predict the impact of fiscal policy announcements and interventions, and of other shocks, on the same variables.
- Evaluate and compare the economic forecasts and views on the state of the economy made available in the internet and other media, and utilize the results of such analysis and comparison in the decisions (pricing decisions, portfolio choices, business investment, hiring decisions, and the like) they will be soon called to make in their daily operations.
Teaching methods
- Face-to-face lectures
- Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
- Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
DETAILS
In addition to the traditional face-to face lectures, eight tutorials (some taught by the instructor, some by the Teaching Assistant assigned to each class) are scheduled during the semester. During each tutorial, the concepts introduced during the lectures are used to answer questions, and solve problems, similar to those of which the typical written examination consists. Furthermore, every week a list of links to very recent articles or blog posts on topics soon to be discussed in class - with comments aimed at clarifying how each of them is related to the models and concepts introduced during lectures - is made available in the Bboard page of the course. Some of these readings are used by instructors during their lectures, as the starting point for 'case-study'-like discussions aimed at showing students the relevance of what just studied to interpret real world current economic events.
Assessment methods
Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
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x | x |
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
In order to measure the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, students are required to take two written partial examinations (March; May or June) or, if they prefer to do so, to sit a single written general examination at the end of the course. Each examination consists of questions aimed at verifying that students have acquired a basic familiarity with the vocabulary and with the main models of the discipline, as well as an understanding of the way in which alternative institutional frameworks and assumptions about the behavior of economic agents affect the macroeconomic equilibrium of a nation.
The students' final grade is the grade in the general examination or, for the students who have chosen to sit them, the average of the grades in the two partial examinations.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
- O. BLANCHARD, A. AMIGHINI, F. GIAVAZZI, Macroeconomics - A European Perspective, Pearson Education Limited, 2021, 4th Edition.
- G. FERRAGUTO, Macroeconomics - Problems and Questions, Egea, January 2021, 7th edition
- Further readings on the topics covered by the course and on current macroeconomic events are made available during the semester in the Bboard platform (Optional Readings).