Course Details
Course Information Package
Course Unit Title | INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS | ||||||||||
Course Unit Code | ABSE102 | ||||||||||
Course Unit Details | |||||||||||
Number of ECTS credits allocated | 5 | ||||||||||
Learning Outcomes of the course unit | By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
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Mode of Delivery | Face-to-face | ||||||||||
Prerequisites | NONE | Co-requisites | NONE | ||||||||
Recommended optional program components | NONE | ||||||||||
Course Contents | Introduction to macroeconomics: Objectives of macroeconomic analysis. Main macroeconomic variables: output, employment, price level. Employment vs. unemployment. Aggregate supply and aggregate demand Measuring macroeconomic activity: Identifying GDP: final goods vs. intermediate goods; value added. Three approaches to measuring GDP. The expenditure approach. Economic decision makers and their spending. The Income approach. Primary income vs. final income. Factor payments vs. transfer payments. Income approach vs. expenditure approach. NDP and domestic income. Private income and disposable income. GDP deflator: real vs. nominal GDP. GDP shortcomings Aggregate expenditures: Consumption spending: consumption function and consumption curve. Factors, determining the slope of the consumption curve and factors, determining its position. The savings function. Gross private investment demand – definition, components and determinants. Government spending. The import’s function. The dynamics of macroeconomic equilibrium: Macroeconomic equilibrium: AE = Y. Planned vs. actual spending and disequilibrium. The role of inventories. Injections and leakages. The equilibrium condition: Injections = Leakages. The simple multiplier. The complete multiplier and its constraints. Macroeconomic fluctuations and the business cycle. Fiscal policy: Definition and typology. Goals and instruments of fiscal policy. The government budget. Deficits and surpluses. The demand side fiscal policy: determinants and effectiveness. The budget multiplier. Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of fiscal policy. | ||||||||||
Recommended and/or required reading: | |||||||||||
Textbooks |
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References |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods | Ex cathedra lectures and discussions in class, by means of traditional tools or using computer demonstrations. Some of the key issues are revealed on the basis of simulation games. Auditory exercises, where examples regarding matter represented at the lectures, are solved and further, questions related to particular open-ended topic issues are compiled by the students and answered, during the lecture or assigned as homework. Topic notes are compiled by students, during the lecture which serve to cover the main issues under consideration and can also be downloaded from the lecturer’s webpage. Tutorial problems are also submitted as homework and these are solved during lectures or privately during lecturer’s office hours. Further literature search is encouraged by assigning students to identify a specific problem related to some issue, gather relevant scientific information about how others have addressed the problem and report this information in written or orally. | ||||||||||
Assessment methods and criteria |
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Language of instruction | English | ||||||||||
Work placement(s) | NO |