Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Description
The course seeks to introduce students to the basis principles of supply and demand and the market, as well as to the components of national income and some principles of growth theory. The bulk of the course, however, will be on macro-economic problems and appropriate policy instruments. The course will be reinforced by use of an interactive game, The Global Game of Economics, in which students attempt to keep their economies in a low inflation, high growth trajectory while facing different challenges and (as the course develops) gaining access to a wider range of policy instruments.
<table><tr><td>5 February</td> <td>What is economics? (5-44) </td> </tr><tr><td>12 February</td> <td>Supply and demand (61-89) </td> </tr><tr><td>19 February</td> <td>The market strikes back (93-116) </td> </tr><tr><td>26 February</td> <td>International trade (117-143) </td> </tr><tr><td>5 March</td> <td>Macroeconomics: The big picture (153-171)</td> </tr><tr><td>12 March</td> <td>Unemployment and inflation (199-221) and Events and ideas (469-489) </td> </tr><tr><td>26 March</td> <td>Long-run economic growth (225-253)</td> </tr><tr><td>2April</td> <td>Savings, investment, finance (257-284) </td> </tr><tr><td>9April</td> <td>Aggregate demand and supply (315-347)</td> </tr><tr><td>16 April</td> <td>Fiscal policy + inflation (351-375) (443-467) </td> </tr><tr><td>23 April</td> <td>Money, banking, Fed (381-411) </td> </tr><tr><td>7 May</td> <td>Open economy (493-521)</td></tr></table>### Course objectives
By the end of this course students will have a thorough understanding of the most important macroeconomic issues and mechanisms. You will get accustomed to economic key terms like the invisible hand, market failure, equilibrium price and labor productivity. This knowledge will enable you to get insights in most economic problems, issues and debates. You will be able to read not only the economic pages of newspapers and weekly’s like for example the International Herald Tribune or the Economist but more importantly, you will obtain sufficient skills to analyze economics related literature concerning the region that you will 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.
Assessment method
Tutorials 30%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 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. Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
Krugman and Wells, Macroeconomics, 2012 Third Edition , Worth Publishers. ISBN 13:978-1-4292-8343-4
Registration
Students are requested to register through uSis, the registration system of Leiden University for this course. General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Remarks
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