08795 - Macroeconomics

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic methods and topics of macroeconomic analysis and to ensure their understanding of macroeconomic equilibrium in closed and open economies. At the end of the course the student is able to: -define the main macroeconomic variables; -understand the interaction between the market for goods and for financial assets in closed and open economies; -understand the determinants of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, and of macroeconomic equilibrium in the short and in the long run; -understand the motivation of fiscal and monetary policy and the role of expectations in influencing their impact on the economic system.

Course contents

The program of the first part of the course is about the basic concepts of macroeconomics and the long run, and it is articulated on the following points.

( 1 ) Macroeconomics and the data in macroeconomics

( 2 ) A focus on the aggregate demand components : consumption and investment

( 3 ) The distribution of national income

( 4 ) Unemployment, currency, inflation

( 5 ) Economic growth

The second part of the course provides an overview of the short period and is divided into:

( 6 ) Economic fluctuations

( 7 ) The aggregate demand and the IS- LM model

( 8 ) The aggregate supply and the trade-off between inflation and unemployment

( 9 ) Open economy

( 10 ) Public Debt , European Union and economic policies

Readings/Bibliography

The reference book is:

N. Gregory Mankiw & Mark P. Taylor "Macroeconomics", last edition, Worth Publishers.

Further material will be communicated and made available during the course. The reference website is:

https://sites.google.com/site/mariaelenabontempi/teaching/macroeconomia

Teaching methods

Lectures during which the material will be presented with the aid of slides , websites , links to databases . Exercises will be done during the classroom, in order to check the students' level of learning.

Assessment methods

Written test on theoretical and applied topics.

Teaching tools

The training provides the alternation of theoretical and applied lessons. In the latter , symbolic situations and practical examples from economic reality are presented, with the aid of PC , slide projector , websites and databases , in order to stimulate discussion and the students' reasoning on issues of macroeconomics. Therefore, attendance is strongly recommended .

Links to further information

https://sites.google.com/site/mariaelenabontempi/teaching/macroeconomia

Office hours

See the website of Maria Elena Bontempi