Tags
GED
Admissions requirements
Principles of Economics
Description
Macroeconomics is about aggregates, employment, inflation, economic growth; it is about the economy as a whole. The major actors in the policies concerning these aggregates are governments and central banks, and the playing field is made up of several institutions, such as financial markets, labour markets, policymaking arena’s and so on. The study of macroeconomics provides both the theoretical framework to study the economy as a whole as the instruments to discuss economic policies that are used to achieve the policy goals, such as full employment, price stability, stable growth among others.
In this course, we will analyze the three major themes in macroeconomics in both the short term and the long term framework. We will introduce and use the standard macroeconomic tools to discuss the economic policies that governments and central banks use to achieve the goals. We will also elaborate on the markets that are relevant for macroeconomic policy, in particular the financial markets and the labour markets.
Course objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Explain the underlying concepts of economic output, employment, and inflation.
Analyze how an economy grows in a long run, applying basic growth theories.
Identify the link between output, employment, and inflation in the short run.
Demonstrate how fiscal and monetary policy may stabilize the economy against short run business cycle and identify their policy limitations and trade-offs.
In practical sense, students will also be able to:
Review relevant long run and short run macroeconomic indicators.
Critically interpret contemporary macroeconomic news/reports in the media.
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course uses a variety of teaching methods: interactive lecturing, student presentations, class debate and is writing-intensive.
Assessment
Final written exam (30%), week 8
Three written class assignments and three peer reviews (10% and 5% each)
Class participation (10%), ongoing
Term paper (15%), week 8
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
N. Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 10th edition (2019), Macmillan international ISBN – 13: 978-1-319-24358-6
Additional material made available through Blackboard.
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.