Macroeconomics I (22104)
Yea r 2015- 2016
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
Time: Monday and Tuesday, 11:00am – 12:30pm
Professor:
TAs:
Group: 7
Aula: 40.146
Isaac Baley
Office: 20.161 (first weeks at 20.180)
Office Hours: Tuesday, 14:00pm – 16:00pm
Email: [email protected]
Groups
Felix Mauersberger
[email protected]
701 – 702 - 703
1. 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
GEN ERA L COMPET EN CES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Understanding and interpreting correctly academic texts.
Ability to justify with consistent arguments your opinions.
Ability to use English fluently in all activities (reading, writing and speaking).
Social skills to work in groups (participate in discussions, give opinions)
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.).
SPECIF IC COMPET EN CES
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.
MACROECONOMICS I (22104) – 2015/16
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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):
Pa r t I. T he Open Ec onom y: Exc ha nge r a tes a nd polic y c hoic e
I.1
I.2
I.3
I.4
The IS-LM Model in an Open Economy (Chapter 6)
Output, the Interest Rate and the Exchange Rate (Chapter 7)
Exchange Rate Regimes (Chapter 12)
The European Monetary Union (Chapter 19)
Pa r t II. Expec ta tions
II.1 Financial Markets and Expectations (Chapter 16)
II.2 Expectations, Consumption, and Investment (Chapter 17)
II.3 Expectations, Output, and Policy (Chapter 18)
Pa r t III. Cur r ent topic s
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
Requir ed T ext:
O. Blanchar d, A. Amighini and F. Giavazzi, Macroeconomics: A European
Perspective Pear son/Pr entice Hall, 2nd edition, 2013.
The use of this ver sion of the book is str ongly r ecommended. The use of ear lier
or other ver sions of this textbook is at your own r isk.
The pr of essor will pr ovide additional r ef er ences dur ing the cour se. Teaching
r esour ces such as slides, exer cises, etc. will be made available on Aula Global.
It is r ecommended that students get into the habit of br owsing the daily
newspaper s like The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times, or the weekly
magazine The Economist. This will pr ovide some context f or the cour se.
MACROECONOMICS I (22104) – 2015/16
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5. Evaluation
The evaluation is divided into 2 categor ies:
(i)
Continuing evaluation activities (max. 100 points)
(ii)
Final exam at the end of the quar ter (max. 100 points).
The total scor e will be deter mined taking the highest value between A and B:
- A = 50% *scor e continuing evaluation + 50% *scor e f inal exam, only if the
scor e in the f inal exam is above 40 / 100.
- B = 100% *scor e of f inal exam
5.1. Continuing evaluation activities (100 points):
Dur ing the quar ter , ther e will be 4 types evaluation activities:
a ) Weekly quiz z es (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 r andom questions,
to be answer ed in a limited amount of time. Students ar e allowed to take
the quiz an unlimited number of times bef or e the Final Exam, and only the
highest scor e will be r ecor ded.
b) Pr oblem Sets / Pr esenta tions in Sem ina r s (30 points):
Dur ing seminar s you will be asked to pr esent the solution to a set of
exer cises that will be distr ibuted bef or ehand. The exer cises pr ovide
excellent oppor tunities to apply concepts f r om the lectur es and the
cor r esponding mater ial is likely to appear in the exams. Students can wor k
on these exer cises in teams of at most 6 people, and one or mor e 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 par t of their wor k dur ing each seminar .
The pr esentations will be evaluated accor ding to the f ollowing cr iter ia:
• Exc ellent (3). This gr ade is given if at least 80% of the answer s ar e
cor r ect, the students demonstr ate a deep under standing of the main
concepts, and the pr esentation is clear .
• Suf f ic ient (2). This gr ade is given if at least 50% of the answer s ar e
cor r ect and the students display a suf f icient under standing of the main
concepts.
• Insuf f ic ient (1). This gr ade is given in all other cases.
Student teams can be f or med f r eely, as long as the f ollowing is satisf ied:
- all the member s should belong to the same seminar gr oup;
- the team must r emain the same thr oughout the quar ter ;
- volunteer s f or pr esentation will be accepted, conditional on
guar anteeing that all member s pr esent an equal number of times;
MACROECONOMICS I (22104) – 2015/16
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c ) A c tiv e pa r tic ipa tion (10 points):
Active par ticipation r equir es attending the theor y classes and seminar s, and
par ticipating to the discussion with meaningf ul inter ventions. In par ticular ,
both dur ing theor y classes and seminar s, ther e will be the oppor tunity to
par ticipate to r eal-time online questionnair es that can be answer ed using an
electr onic device (cell phone, laptop, tablet). To be eligible f or a f ull scor e, it
is necessar y but not suf f icient to answer (no matter if cor r ectly or not) at
least 80% of the questions posted in class and seminar s.
d) Midter m Exa m (50 points): On October 19th, 11:00am – 12:30pm (dur ing
theor y class) ther e will be a wr itten examination on the mater ial of Par t I of
the cour se (see Section 3 above). Students will have 60 minutes to r espond
to the questions, and 30 minutes would be used f or administer ing pr ocedur es
(access to the r oom, checking identities, distr ibuting and collecting exams,
etc.).
5.2. Final examination (100 points)
The f inal exam will take place on December 17th, 11.30-13.30, and will cover the
entir e mater ial of the cour se. Students will have 90 minutes to r espond to the
exam questions, and 30 minutes would be used f or administer ing pr ocedur es
(checking identities, distr ibuting and collecting the exams, etc.).
5.3. Make–up exam (Recuperació)
Students who took the f inal exam, but did not pass the cour se (getting a f inal
gr ade of “suspens”) will have a second chance dur ing one of the two Satur days
set in the academic calendar (Febr uar y 6th or 13th 2016). The make-up exam will
cover the entir e mater ial of the cour se, and will count f or 100% of the gr ade
(the continuing evaluation gr ade will not be valid). Students who alr eady obtained
a passing gr ade cannot take the make-up exam; and those who did not take the
f inal exam in December will have to take the cour se again the f ollowing year .
Ther e will be no make-up exam in September 2016.
6. Methodology
The cour se will last f or 10 weeks. The pr of essor will teach 16 theor y classes f or
the joint gr oups. In addition, ther e will be 6 seminar s in smaller subgr oups
dedicated to deepening the under standing of the class mater ial, to discuss
solutions to sample pr oblems, and implement r eal wor ld applications of the main
concepts studied in class.
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7. Activities Planning
Week
Textbook
Material
Topic
Mon
Tue
21 Sep
22 Sep
Introduction
The IS-LM model in an Open Economy
Ch. 6
2
Mon
Tue
28 Oct
29 Oct
Output, the Interest Rate and the Exchange Rate
Ch. 7
3
Mon
Tue
5 Oct
6 Oct
4
Mon
Tue
Wed
Mon
Tue
12
13
14
19
20
Mon
Tue
Wed
Mon
Tue
Wed
Mon
Tue
Wed
Mon
Tue
Wed
Mon
Tue
Wed
26 Oct.
27 Oct.
28 Oct
2 Nov
3 Nov
4 Nov
9 Nov
10 Nov
11 Nov
16 Nov
17 Nov
18 Nov
23 Nov
24 Nov
25 Nov
1
5
6
7
8
9
10
Oct
Oct
Oct
Oct
Oct
Exchange Rate Regimes
The European Monetary Union
Ch. 12
Ch. 19
HOLIDAY
NO CLASS
Seminar #1
MIDTERM EXAM (Ch. 6, 7, 12 and 19)
Financial Markets and Expectations
Ch. 16
Expectations, Consumption, and Investment
Ch. 17
Seminar #2
Expectations, Output, and Policy
Ch. 18
Seminar #3
The Financial Crisis
Ch. 20
Seminar #4
Debt Crises
Ch. 21
Seminar #5
Monetary and Fiscal Policy Rules
NO CLASS
Ch. 22-23
Seminar #6
Final Exam: Thursday, December 17 th , 11.30 – 13.30
Make-up Exam: either Feb 6 or Feb 13 (exact date TBA)
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