Module description
The course aims to take students beyond the standard IS/LM approach to undergraduate economics. A key theme is the importance of expectations. This is illustrated with reference to the exchange rate, wage and price behaviour, consumer spending and the budget deficit. The course also focuses on some of the issues raised by the financial crisis of 2008/9 and more recent developments. In particular it discusses the financial accelerator and macroprudential regulation, unconventional monetary policy, the re-emergence of inflation, and the weakness in productivity growth which has emerged since the crisis. The course is taught by means of ten two-hour lectures and fortnightly seminars. The latter focus on problem-solving.
Assessment details
1.5-hour unseen written exam (70%) & 5-minute video (30%).
Assessment patterns are subject to change.
Semester 1 only students will be given an appropriate alternative assessment for in person January exams. Online exams will remain as they are.
Educational aims & objectives
- To provide an economic analysis of modern macroeconomic modelling
- To introduce students to some of the most important open questions in macroeconomics
- This course will utilise and enhance skills that began to be developed in Intermediate Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Mathematics for Economists
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module:
- Students will have a solid knowledge of the core subjects of macroeconomic theory.
- Will have developed analytical skills, such as intertemporal maximization.
- Will have a more thorough understanding of the policy issues facing advanced economies.
Teaching pattern
2-hour weekly lecture & 1-hour fortnightly seminar