| Unit name | Macro 3 - Macroeconomics with an Extended Essay |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ECON30002 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Demery |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Economics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit is only available to Graduate Diploma students. The course is organised in three broad sections: the first two concern the short-run behaviour of the macro-economy and the third examines the long-run. In the first section we cover topics in the theory of aggregate demand. We begin with an application of the IS/LM model: the choice of monetary instrument under uncertainty. We then look in greater detail at the 'component parts' of the IS/LM model: the consumption function, the investment function and the demand for money. In the second section we examine competing models of short-run aggregate supply, concentrating on New Classical and New Keynesian theories. In the final broad section we cover the theory of economic growth and the empirical literature on convergence.
Students should appreciate the determinants of long-run economic growth and the associated empirical evidence on convergence; They should understand the long-run implications of different fiscal policies, of debt and of different social security systems. They should discover recent developments in modelling aggregate consumption and investment. They should understand how monetary policy works and have a good grasp of modern theories of unemployment.
Students should appreciate the determinants of long-run economic growth and the associated empirical evidence on convergence; They should understand the long-run implications of different fiscal policies, of debt and of different social security systems. They should discover recent developments in modelling aggregate consumption and investment. They should understand how monetary policy works and have a good grasp of modern theories of unemployment.
Formative assessment: 6 assignments (one per topic) + 2 x1000-word essays.
Summative assessment:
Diploma students follow the same programme of study as second year undergraduates taking Intermediate Macroeconomics. In addition to the exam students will complete an extended essay (5,000 words maximum) on a set topic. This is to give students an opportunity for more extended study and the writing of a critical survey of more recent research, and will provide a useful basis for any future work at postgraduate level.
Final assessment of the unit will be based on a weighted average of the examination and extended essay and the unit as a whole will be worth 30 credit points.
All intended learning outcomes will be assessed in both the summative and formative assignments.
The course is not text book based. Lecture notes are available in a course pack which may be obtained from the Information Office. The pack contains lecture notes for each of the topics covered in the course together with associated worked exercises. As preparatory reading students are directed to relevant chapters in Olivier Blanchard, Macroeconomics (Prentice Hall).
