MACROECONOMICS AND INSTITUTIONS

This course will provide conceptual and analytical tools to understand the behavior of the main macroeconomic indicators, as output, inflation, employment, interest rates, and exchange rates. These tools are useful to investigate and describe relevant macroeconomic problems, especially related to the European Union. The tools can also be applied to understand the role of the economic and political institutions and to examine the effects of their policy intervention. The goal of the course is training students to think in a structured and rigorous way about the main macroeconomic open questions, and to understand some of the different theoretical viewpoints that can be used to approach them. Finally, the course will prepare students to access graduate education in economic fields and to acquire useful expertise for policy-decision making in economics.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1. Understand the main aggregated economic indicators.
1.2. Understand the main agents interacting in the economy and the concept of macroeconomic equilibrium.
1.3. Understand the relation between the real and the financial/monetary sides of the economy.
1.4 Understand the different time ranges of the economic analysis

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
2.1. Use the main proposed models to compute the equilibrium solutions.
2.2. Use the main proposed models to perform what-if analysis about shocks affecting the economy or economic policies.
2.3. Recognize the limitations to the applicability of the studied tools.

3. Ability to judge:
3.1. Choosing the most suitable model to address a specific problem
3.2. Recognize the impact of different parametrizations on the equilibrium solution.
3.3. Judging the effective reliability of the obtained results.

Basic knowledge of Mathematics. In particular, it is necessary to be familiar with the Cartesian coordinate system and to be able to solve systems of linear equations.

Introduction to the main topics in macroeconomics
The role of technology
Capitalism
Inequality
The environmental problem
Introduction to National Accounting
The Goods Market
The Financial Market
The role of money
IS-LM Model
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
The Labor Market
The Open Economy
Exchange rates
International trade and balance of payments
International financial markets

Macroeconomics, 6th edition, O. Blanchard

Written exam, duration around 120 minutes, with open questions of theory and exercises. A part composed by multiple choice questions may be present. The exam is passed obtaining 18 points. The specific value of each question is indicated in the exam. The exam evaluates the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts and models presented in the course and the ability to analyze economic problems and to find and interpret their solutions.

The course is divided into:
a) lectures with both the projection of slides and the use of blackboards or other instrument for writing.
b) individual study

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development