32423 - Advanced Macroeconomics

Academic Year 2009/2010

  • Docente: Paolo Luciano Adalberto Manasse
  • Credits: 10
  • SSD: SECS-P/01
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: In-person learning (entirely or partially)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Economics, Industry and Financial Institutions (cod. 8044)

Learning outcomes

The  course aims at familiarizing the student with the most important  macroeconomic models with an effort to apply them to real world problems. At the end of the course the student is expected to: be familiar with the standard  growth models amd their ability to account for exixting differences , in time and across countries, in levels and growth rates of percapita incomes; be familiar with endogenouse growth models; the student is also expected to have studied the theory of  the main components of aggregate demand, consumption and investement, as well as the microeconomic foundations of price stickiness. Finally  the student is expected to be able to analyze problems concerning unemployment and the labour market.

Course contents

The course aims at studying a number of the most important macroeconomic models with a particular emphasis on "real world" issues. The course is made of three parts. The first one introduces the main economic models for growth , the Solow model, the Ramsey model and the Overlapping Generation model. The lectures focus on the ability of the theories to account for the observed differences across countries and time in level and growth rated of per capita gdp.Endogenous growth models are briefly introduced, in particular the "R&D" model of Romer and the "learning by doing " model. The second part of the course is devoted to the theory of aggegrate demand's main components: consumption (permanent income) and investment (tobin's Q). The third section discusses the microeconomic foundation of price stickiness, and the thoery of unemployment. We consider the Lucas "islands" model, as well as  keynesian models with imperfect competition and staggering contracts. Efficiency wages and search theries of the labour market are also discussed.

Readings/Bibliography

Basic Textbooks:

David Romer, (R) Advanced Macroeconomics, Mc Graw-Hill, 2006 3rd edition),

Robert Barro, Xavier Sala-i-Martin, (BS), Economic Growth MIT Press

Solow: R chap1, escluded sect. 1.8

Ramsey & OLG: R, chap 2 

Endogenous Growth BS,  AK model (Cap 4), Human Capital (cap 4.2), Learning by doing (4.3.1-4.3.5,  4.5.1, e 4.6)

Consumption:  R chap 7

Investment: R chap 8

Noinal Rigidities: R chap 6 (6.1-6.4, 6.9)

Unemployment: R chap 9 (9.1-9.5 e  9.8-9.9 )

Assessment methods

Written exam , 3 questions of which at least on exercise, time: 1 h and 30m

Links to further information

http://www2.dse.unibo.it/manasse/index.htm

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Luciano Adalberto Manasse