Macroeconomics I (22104)

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1 Macroeconomics I (22104) Year Degree Doble Grau Dret-ADE/ECO Course: Third, Term: First Number of ECTS credits: 5 Hours of student s dedication: 125 Language of Instruction: English Group: 7 Time: Monday and sday, 11:00am 12:30pm Aula: Professor: TAs: Isaac Baley Office: (first weeks at ) Office Hours: sday, 14:00pm 16:00pm isaac.baley@upf.edu Groups Felix Mauersberger felix.mauersberger@upf.edu Presentation of the subject Macroeconomics I is a fundamental course in the curriculum of ADE/ECO. The objective of the course is to familiarize students with the methodology and the main results of macroeconomic research. The methods that were presented in Introduction to Macroeconomics will be extended and applied to the analysis of contemporary macroeconomic issues such as expectations, exchange rates, debt, inflation, recessions, and monetary and fiscal policy. 2. Competences to be attained GENERAL COMPETENCES 1. Understanding and interpreting correctly academic texts. 2. Ability to justify with consistent arguments your opinions. 3. Ability to use English fluently in all activities (reading, writing and speaking). 4. Social skills to work in groups (participate in discussions, give opinions) 5. Attitudes of self-imposed discipline and rigorousness in the organization and realization of academic work. 6. Ability to apply with flexibility and creativity the acquired knowledge 7. Reaching a level of knowledge sufficient for professional activities. 8. Knowledge of the different contexts of activity (macroeconomy, sector, firm, etc.). SPECIFIC COMPETENCES 1. Working knowledge of the main macroeconomic aggregates and their relations. 2. Analytical and synthetic ability in the application of macroeconomic models and in the interpretation of macroeconomic data. 3. Ability to relate the analysis of macroeconomic problems with the goals, instruments and constraints of economic policy. 4. Identify the issues involved in current macroeconomic problems and their international dimensions. page 1 of 5

2 3. Contents The course builds upon the material you learned in Introduction to Macroeconomics. The course consists of three parts. In the first part, we will extend the basic IS-LM model to consider the interactions between international trade and the domestic economy, and study alternative exchange rate regimes, with a special emphasis on the recent experience of the European Monetary Union. In the second part we will study the role of expectations, and look at their effect on economic activity and on economic policies. In the third part, we will study recent economic episodes, like the financial crisis and the European debt crisis. We will conclude by exploring recent developments in the analysis and the design of monetary and fiscal policies. In particular, the course will cover the following topics (in parenthesis the corresponding chapter numbers in the main textbook): Part I. The Open Economy: Exchange rates and policy choice I.1 The IS-LM Model in an Open Economy (Chapter 6) I.2 Output, the Interest Rate and the Exchange Rate (Chapter 7) I.3 Exchange Rate Regimes (Chapter 12) I.4 The European Monetary Union (Chapter 19) Part II. Expectations II.1 Financial Markets and Expectations (Chapter 16) II.2 Expectations, Consumption, and Investment (Chapter 17) II.3 Expectations, Output, and Policy (Chapter 18) Part III. Current topics III.1 The Financial Crisis (Chapter 20) III.2 The Debt Crisis (Chapter 21) III.3 Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules (Chapters 22-23) 4. Bibliography and Teaching Resources Required Text: O. Blanchar d, A. Amighini and F. Giavazzi, Macroeconomics: A European Perspective Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2 nd edition, The use of this version of the book is strongly recommended. The use of earlier or other ver sions of this textbook is at your own risk. The professor will provide additional references during the course. Teaching resources such as slides, exercises, etc. will be made available on Aula Global. It is recommended that students get into the habit of browsing the daily newspapers like The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times, or the weekly magazine The Economist. This will provide some context for the course. page 2 of 5

3 5. Evaluation The evaluation is divided into 2 categories: (i) Continuing evaluation activities (max. 100 points) (ii) Final exam at the end of the quarter (max. 100 points). The total score will be determined taking the highest value between A and B: - A = 50% *score continuing evaluation + 50% *score final exam, only if the score in the final exam is above 40 / B = 100% *score of final exam 5.1. Continuing evaluation activities (100 points): Dur ing the quar ter, ther e will be 4 types evaluation activities: a) Weekly quizzes (10 points): Quizzes (multiple choices tests) on the mater ial cover ed in class will be posted on Aula Global on a weekly basis. Quizzes include random questions, to be answered in a limited amount of time. Students are allowed to take the quiz an unlimited number of times before the Final Exam, and only the highest score will be recorded. b) Problem Sets / Presentations in Seminars (30 points): Dur ing seminars you will be asked to present the solution to a set of exercises that will be distributed beforehand. The exercises provide excellent opportunities to apply concepts from the lectures and the corresponding material is likely to appear in the exams. Students can work on these exer cises in teams of at most 6 people, and one or more of them will pr esent the r esults in class. Volunteer s will be accepted, conditional on guar anteeing that all member s pr esent an equal number of times. Each team will be asked to pr esent a part of their work during each seminar. The presentations will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Excellent (3). This grade is given if at least 80% of the answers are correct, the students demonstrate a deep understanding of the main concepts, and the presentation is clear. Sufficient (2). This grade is given if at least 50% of the answers are correct and the students display a sufficient understanding of the main concepts. Insufficient (1). This grade is given in all other cases. Student teams can be formed freely, as long as the following is satisfied: - all the members should belong to the same seminar group; - the team must remain the same throughout the quarter; - volunteers for presentation will be accepted, conditional on guar anteeing that all member s present an equal number of times; page 3 of 5

4 c) Active participation (10 points): Active participation requires attending the theory classes and seminars, and participating to the discussion with meaningful interventions. In particular, both dur ing theor y classes and seminar s, ther e will be the oppor tunity to participate to real-time online questionnaires that can be answered using an electronic device (cell phone, laptop, tablet). To be eligible for a full scor e, it is necessary but not sufficient to answer (no matter if cor r ectly or not) at least 80% of the questions posted in class and seminars. d) Midterm Exam (50 points): On October 19 th, 11:00am 12:30pm (dur ing theory class) there will be a written examination on the material of Part I of the course (see Section 3 above). Students will have 60 minutes to respond to the questions, and 30 minutes would be used for administering procedures (access to the r oom, checking identities, distributing and collecting exams, etc.) Final examination (100 points) The final exam will take place on December 17 th, , and will cover the entire material of the cour se. Students will have 90 minutes to respond to the exam questions, and 30 minutes would be used for administering procedures (checking identities, distributing and collecting the exams, etc.) Make up exam (Recuperació) Students who took the final exam, but did not pass the course (getting a final gr ade of suspens ) will have a second chance during one of the two Satur days set in the academic calendar (February 6 th or 13 th 2016). The make-up exam will cover the entire material of the cour se, and will count for 100% of the grade (the continuing evaluation gr ade will not be valid). Students who alr eady obtained a passing grade cannot take the make-up exam; and those who did not take the final exam in December will have to take the course again the following year. There will be no make-up exam in September Methodology The course will last for 10 weeks. The professor will teach 16 theory classes for the joint groups. In addition, there will be 6 seminars in smaller subgroups dedicated to deepening the understanding of the class material, to discuss solutions to sample problems, and implement real world applications of the main concepts studied in class. page 4 of 5

5 7. Activities Planning Week Topic Textbook Material 1 Mon 21 Sep Introduction 22 Sep The IS-LM model in an Open Economy Ch. 6 2 Mon 28 Oct 29 Oct Output, the Interest Rate and the Exchange Rate Ch. 7 3 Mon 5 Oct Exchange Rate Regimes Ch Oct The European Monetary Union Ch Mon 12 Oct HOLIDAY 13 Oct NO CLASS Wed 14 Oct Seminar #1 5 Mon 19 Oct MIDTERM EXAM (Ch. 6, 7, 12 and 19) 20 Oct Financial Markets and Expectations Ch Mon 26 Oct. Expectations, Consumption, and Investment Ch Oct. Wed 28 Oct Seminar #2 7 Mon 2 Nov Expectations, Output, and Policy Ch Nov Wed 4 Nov Seminar #3 8 Mon 9 Nov The Financial Crisis Ch Nov Wed 11 Nov Seminar #4 9 Mon 16 Nov Debt Crises Ch Nov Wed 18 Nov Seminar #5 10 Mon 23 Nov Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules Ch Nov NO CLASS Wed 25 Nov Seminar #6 Final Exam: Thursday, December 17 th, Make-up Exam: either Feb 6 or Feb 13 (exact date TBA) page 5 of 5

Economics 100: Introduction to Macroeconomics Spring 2012, Tuesdays and Thursdays Kenyon 134

Economics 100: Introduction to Macroeconomics Spring 2012, Tuesdays and Thursdays Kenyon 134 Instructor: Sarah Pearlman Office: Blodgett 134A E-mail: sapearlman@vassar.edu Office Hours: Tues & Wed 4:45-5:45pm