Course program
I) What is macroeconomics? The data of macroeconomics
Introduction to macroeconomics
Aggregate output Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
GDP production and income
Nominal and real GDP; level vs. growth rate of GDP
The unemployment rate
The inflation rate
The consumption price index
The GDP (or consumption) deflator
The short run, the medium run and the long run
II) The economy in the short run: the goods market
The composition of GDP
The demand for goods and services
The determination of equilibrium output
The goods market and the IS relation
III) The economy in the short run: the financial markets
Financial markets: the demand for money
Determining the interest rate
Financial markets and the LM relation
Nominal versus real interest rates
Risk and risk premiums
The role of financial intermediaries
IV) The economy in the short run: goods and financial markets
Equilibrium in the IS-LM model
The effects of fiscal and monetary policy
Extending the IS-LM model
V) The economy in the medium run
The labor market
Movements in unemployment
Wage determination
Price determination
Inflation, expected inflation and unemployment: the Phillips curve
The Phillips curve and the natural rate of unemployment
The IS-LM-PC (aggregate demand and supply) model and the effects of policy
VI) The economy in the long run: economic growth
Measuring the standard of living of a country
The facts of economic growth
Saving, capital accumulation and output a model of economic growth
The model of economic growth with technological progress
VII) Technological progress and the challenges to growth
The determinants of technological progress
Institutions, technological progress and growth
How to measure technological progress
Growth and inequality
Climate change and global warning
VIII) The open economy: international trade and financial flows
Export and Imports
The exchange rate; nominal and real exchange rates
The balance of payments
The choice between domestic and foreign assets
Prerequisites
Calculus and linear albegra; Microeconomics
Books
Macroeconomics A European Perspective, Olivier Blanchard, Alessia Amighini and Francesco Giavazzi (2021), Pearson Education Ltd, 4th Edition.
Frequency
Class attendance with participation in presence at the lectures is not compulsory but it is recommended
Exam mode
A written exam is the main part of the exam. The exam lasts one and a half hours
The written test features 5 open questions which give the opportunity to students to show his/her knowledge of themes that have been dealt with during the course, also relying on analytical and quantitative tools in answering the questions.
The objective of the written exam is to evaluate the student's ability to understand and illustrate the economic models examined during the course paying attention to both theoretical and empirical aspects as well as to the economic intuition.
Lesson mode
Lectures are held in class by the instructor and are of traditional type.
students participate to lectures sitting in the class
The use of standard instruments like electronic board, projectors is customary,
