Course 2013-2014 a.y.

Course Objectives

The aim of this course is to enable you to analyze and think independently about macroeconomic issues and about how the macroeconomic environment is going to affect you and your business activity. These issues are extremely complex and economists do not yet have a full and clear understanding of them. As a consequence you do not walk out from the class having one either. But you are exposed to a variety of examples and empirical evidence so at least you know the facts and you are exposed to some of the best ideas, coming straight from frontier research in economics, which improve your understanding. At the end of this class you should be able to fully digest and read critically articles about the economy from, say, the Financial Times, Economist or the Wall Street Journal, as well as economics research and commentary from leading investment banks. Throughout the class we discuss why these skills are helpful to you, whether you want to be a corporate manager, sell corporate bonds, be an entrepreneur, a musician or the next president of your country.

Course Content Summary

The course will be divided in 5 modules. Titles of the modules and some examples of the issues we will discuss in each module are as follows:

• Understanding macroeconomic data
• What are the best indicators of future macroeconomic conditions?
• Long run economic performance
• Why over the last 50 years some countries have experienced growth miracles and others have stagnated or, worst, regressed?
• International Trade and Globalization
• What are the consequences of increasing trade liberalization? Why there is so much opposition to it?
• Business Cycles, Monetary and Fiscal Policy
• What causes booms and recessions? Could the great depression happen again? What is the role of central banks? How can Europe start growing again?
• Exchange Rates and Financial Crises
• What are the causes and the consequences of a financial crisis like the ones Argentina in 2001, US in 2008 or Greece in 2010?

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Final written exam

Textbooks

All relevant information and material for the course, including lecture notes and additional required readings, are posted on the course web-page. There is no required textbook for the course.

Prerequisites