Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Description
This course is designed to introduce students in the BA International Studies to the major concepts, principles, and models of introductory macroeconomics. The course will familiarize students with the central concepts and applications of economics, equip them with the necessary tools to apply these concepts to economic trends in the global economy, and set a foundation on which students may build their capacity in assessing local, regional, and international economic affairs. Course Schedule & Required Readings
1. What is Economics? 3 February – Chapters 1 & 2
2. Supply and Demand 10 February – Chapter 3
3. International Trade 17 February – Chapter 5
4. Meddling with Markets 24 February – Chapters 4 & 6
5. Economic Performance 3 March – Chapters 7 & 8
6. Long-run Economic Growth 10 March – Chapter 9
7. Savings, Income, Investment, and Finance 17 March – Chapters 10 & 11
MIDTERM
Aggregate Demand, Aggregate Supply, and Crises 31 March – Chapters 12 & 17
- Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy 7 April – Chapters 14 and 15
- Fiscal Policy and Keynesian Economics 14 April – Chapters 13 and 18
- Open Economy 21 April – Chapters 16 & 19
- Summary and Review 28 April
Course objectives
By the end of this course students will have a thorough understanding of the most important macroeconomic issues and mechanisms. They will get accustomed to economic key terms like the invisible hand, market failure, GDP, CPI, equilibrium price and labour productivity. This knowledge will enable students to gain insights into most economic problems, issues and debates. They will be able to read not only the economic pages of newspapers and weeklies like for example the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, or the Economist but more importantly, they should obtain sufficient skills to analyze economics-related literature and learn how to interpret data sets on such things as trade flows and inflation rates concerning the region that they study from year 2 onwards.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.
Mode of instruction
One two hour lecture per week; bi-weekly tutorials.
Attending lectures and tutorials is compulsory. If you are not able to attend a lecture or tutorial, please inform the tutor of the course. Being absent without notification can result in a lower grade or exclusion from the final exam or essay.
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 5 EC x 28 hours is 140 hours, broken down by:
12 lectures: 24 hours
6 tutorials: 8 hours
Preparation lectures and tutorials: 40 hours
Preparing exams: 68 hours
Assessment method
This course is divided into two parts: lectures and tutorials. Details on the tutorials will be provided in a separate document. The overall course assessment is as follows:
I. Tutorials (participation and assignments) 30%
II. Mid-semester examination 30%
III. Final examination 40%
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier mid- and endterm grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
Paul Krugman & Robin Wells, Macroeconomics, 3rd edition, 2012
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.