Macroeconomics (2019/2020)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to introduce students to the fundamental topics of macroeconomics. This discipline deals with the aggregate functioning of economic systems determined by the collective behaviour of consumers and firms, by the state intervention on the economy and by the international relations with the rest of the world. The course provides students also with a knowledgeable understanding of the scientific language and methodology adopted by macroeconomics. Its theory is made up of mathematical tools and models that formalize mechanisms behind the markets of goods, money and labour, since their interaction determines the level of national income, employment, and prices. At the end of the course students will be able to make use of such analytical tools to understand and interpret the factors steering the evolution of economic systems at aggregate national level and to evaluate the macroeconomic effects of Central Bank and fiscal policy interventions.

1. Introduction to National Accounting.
2. Aggregate demand and income multiplier.
3. Goods and money market: The IS-LM model.
4. Consumption, investment and government spending.
5. Aggregate Supply: The AS-AD model.
6. Inflation and Unemployment.
7. Introduction to International Economics.
8. Growth theory.
9. The role of expectations.

The aim of the exam is to verify the student’s understanding of the theory analyzed in class, as well as the ability to apply the theory to solve numerical exercises.
The final exam consists of two parts: a multiple-choice test (30% of the final grade), and two exercises (70% of the final grade). The multiple-choice test is made up by 15 questions and is graded as follows: correct answer +2, wrong answer -2/3, no answer 0. Students receiving a grade of 9/30 or below in the multiple-choice test fail the exam. If the score in the multiple-choice test is 10/30 or greater, the final grade will be given by the weighted average of the grades from the two parts. Both the multiple-choice and the exercises will be based on the entire program covered during the course.

------ mid-term exam -------

There will be a non-compulsory mid-term evaluation, in the form of a multiple-choice test (like in the final exam) that will evaluate students' knowledge of the topics covered in the first half of the course. Students achieving a grade of 15/30 or higher will be exempted from doing the multiple-choice test during the 1 appello of the summer session. The final grade will be given by the weighted average of the mid-term grade (30%) plus the grade achieved on the two exercises during the final exam (70%).
Students that chose to not do the mid-term, or that achieve a grade below 15/30, will have to do the entire exam during the exam sessions. Students that have achieved a grade of at least 15/30 in the mid-term exam, but still decide to do the multiple-choice test during the official exam session can do so. However, in this case the grade of the mid-term exam will be lost.