URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/E_EBE2_MACEC

Course Objective

After successfully completing this course, you can: ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH SKILLS
- have a basic understanding dynamic macro models
- identify strengths and limitations of academic research on the effects of macroeconomic policies. BRIDGING THEORY AND PRACTICE
- Knowledge
- demonstrate empirical and theoretical knowledge concerning the effects of macroeconomic policies. BRIDGING THEORY AND PRACTICE
- Application
- provide an analysis of the macroeconomic consequences of a real-world policy proposal based on existing theoretical and empirical academic findings. PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL SKILLS
- professionally present your analysis of a real-world policy proposal to policy makers. BROADENING YOUR HORIZON
- develop and defend a position on a real-world macroeconomic policy proposal based on its broader social implications. SELF-AWARENESS
- describe what you would like to understand better about the effects of macroeconomic policies. Make a presentation at a 'Roundtable' meeting and discuss and reflect on other students' presentations.

Course Content

We live in uncertain times. The European economies had barely recovered from the effects of the financial and sovereign debt crises of a decade and a half ago when they got hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Going forward, countries face macroeconomic policy challenges related to the climate transition, geopolitical instability and a spike in inflation. What can be learned from earlier experiences, from cross-country variation in policy response, and from the theoretical and empirical literature on fiscal and monetary policy to guide decision makers? Is further fiscal stimulus needed or wanted going forward? Are current levels of government debt too high to ask for more public investment? How can Central Banks balance their responsibility for price stability and financial stability? What policy makers believe are the answer to these questions will shape their response to the current economic crisis and recovery. You will put yourself in the shoes of a policy consultant who has been asked to advise the European Commission on its coordination and oversight of member state’s macroeconomic policy. You will start by providing advice based on your current knowledge and understanding of macroeconomics gained in previous courses. You will reflect on how far this takes you in providing satisfactory advice, and which issues you need to understand better. You will then dig more deeply into the existing empirical and theoretical research by macroeconomists relevant for these issues, reflect on how convincing this research is, and use the findings from this research to develop more satisfactory advice.

Teaching Methods

The course uses a combination of a flipped classroom approach with regular mini-lectures. The idea of the flipped classroom approach is that instead of first encountering new material in lectures and then studying it later at home, you have your first encounter with the material at home and prepare through readings, videos, and exercises. In the class meeting you will engage in interactive activities (exercises, discussion etc.) to better understand and apply the material. We will use this approach when there are good preparation materials available. In addition, we will also use mini-lectures (ca. 15 minutes each) to fill in gaps in the readings, cover issues for which no suitable readings are available, and address especially difficult material. In addition, there will be workgroups and you will write a short policy brief.

Method of Assessment

Problem setsMidterm examPolicy BriefFinal exam

Literature

We will use an open source textbook, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Garin J., Lester R. and E. Sims, available online. We assign readings from academic journals, think tanks, journals, magazines, newspapers and blogs. We also provide notes and videos on important theoretical models and empirical approaches. Since we will be building on what you learned in Macroeconomics I, be prepared to revisit your online textbook, The Economy, from core-econ.org.

Entry Requirements

Quantitative Research Methods I, Microeconomics I, Macroeconomics I.

Recommended background knowledge

Academic Skills.
Academic year1/09/2431/08/25
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Bachelor