Aggiornato A.A. 2016-2017
B.A. in Business and Economics
Macroeconomics
&
B.A. in Business Administration
Global Economics
Academic Year 2016-2017
Lecturer: Prof. Barbara Annicchiarico
Teaching Assistants: Francesca Diluiso and Matilde Giacchierini
E-mail address: barbara.annicchiarico@uniroma2.it
Phone: +390672585731
Room: Building B, 2nd floor, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Room 45/B.
Credits: 9
Syllabus Updates and Material: Students are advised to regularly check the course webpage for possible syllabus updates.
Exams: Written examination. See Exam Rules for details. A specimen exam is available in the class material.
Academic Honesty: Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade. See Exam Rules.
Grading Policy: Please note that a grade of 30/30 represents an achievement that is outstanding (students must show an excellent knowledge of the subject, all written work must be well written, competent and accurate; sloppiness of any kind will prevent a student from getting 30/30 as final grade, no matter if the student feels she/he is well prepared). Bargaining on grading is not allowed. Notice that grading is based on performance rather than effort. If you are not happy with the grade, just improve the performance.
Office hour: We do not have an open-door policy. Please respect the following office hours. Barbara Annicchiarico: Friday from 13:30-14:30 during the first term, seethe online notice board during the rest of the year. Teaching Assistants' office hours: The Teaching Assistants office hours are immediatly after their respective practice classes (Room: Sala TEI, third floor, Building B, Dottorato TEI). Office hours are devoted to clarifications not to private lessons.
E-mail policy: see my e-mail policy in the class material. When yoy write an e-mail to the TAs you must always put my e-mail address in the CC field. TAs will do likewise when replying to you..
Attendance: attendance is not mandatory, however is recommended. If you miss classes it is your responsability to make up all work missed. Office hours are devoted to clarifications not to private lessons.
Course Objectives and Teaching Method
Knowledge and Understanding
The course aims:
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to develop an understanding of how various markets interact in the short, in the medium and in the long run to determine the behavior of the main macrovariables, such as output, employment, investment, consumption, interest rates, inflation and exchange rates, and monetary aggregates;
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to introduce students to simple theoretical models to be used to analyze data;
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to teach students how to relate the basic macroeconomic theory to current economic issues and evaluate economic policy.
Applying Knowledge and Understanding
To give students familiarity with a broad range of macroeconomic issues; to ensure a good knowledge of the economic grounding of modern macroeconomics; to show students the usefulness of simple analytical models in understanding the relevant aspects of the economy; to give them the ability to apply these analytical tools intelligently. What is learned can be applied to other situations and to actual work in the context of private businesses, consulting, international institutions, national and local public administrations.
Making Judgements
What is learned can be used to assess critically and without prejudices the activity and the decisions of national and international policy makers.
Communication Skills
Be able to clearly present macroeconomic facts and complex mechanisms of economic policy transmission; learn how to present macroeconomic tendencies in a comprehensive manner and communicate the relative conclusions, knowledge and rationale to non-specialized audiences.
Learning Skills
The course aims at providing students with the tools necessary for future learning. At the end of the course students are expected to be able: to read and understand official documents and interpret charts and graphs. Students are also expected to develop autonomous learning abilities to make informed judgments.It is expected that students work on their own to develop a sound understanding of the material through lecture notes, readings, and assignments.
Teaching Method
Lectures with strong emphasis on the interaction with students in class and on real world economic issues; practice classes devoted to exercises.
Syllabus
IMPORTANT: This syllabus may be subject to minor changes and updates during the semester. It is students responsability to check for the updates.
LAST UPDATE: December 2nd 2016
Readings and material
- Textbook - BAG - Blanchard, O., Giavazzi, F., Amighini, A., Macroeconomics: A European Perspective, Pearson, 2nd edition. Required readings: Chapters 1-11,13-18, 20-21; Compulsory appendixes: Appendixes to chapters 5, 10, 14.
- Presentations and extra readings will be available online in the Teaching Material section and listed in the present syllabus in due course.
- Extra readings are optional and are provided for your interest and benefit.
Detailed Reading List by Topic
1. The world economy
Readings: BAG 1
2. Macroeconomic variables
Readings: BAG 2
Presentation #1
Extra readings & Data:
3. The short run
Readings: BAG 3-7, Class Note "Balanced Budget Multiplier"
Presentations: 2, 3.
Extra readings & Data:
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Holiday readings:
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Carlo M. Cipolla, Le avventure della lira, 2012, Il Mulino.
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Thomas J. Sargent and Robert Townsend, Questioning Carlo Cipolla, available online here
4. The medium run
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Inflation, money growth and interest rates - BAG 11: Section 11.1 (skip the subsection on "The aggregate demand relation"), Section 11.2, Section 11.3, Section 11.6.
Readings: BAG 8-11, Presentation 4,Class notes on Wage and price setting curves.
Extra Readings & Data
5. The long run
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The facts of growth - BAG 13 + Presentation 5
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Saving, capital accumulation and output - BAG 14 + Appendix to chapter 14
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Technological progress and growth . BAG 15 + Class Note "Technological Progress and Growth"
Readings: BAG 13-15, Appendix to chapter 14
Extra readings & Data:
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Penn World Table
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Maddison Project
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EU KLEMS
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Holiday readings:
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Niall Ferguson , Civilization: The West and the Rest, 2012, Penguin Books.
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Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, 1999, W. W. Norton & Company .
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Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, 2014, Belknap Press.
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Edward Skidelsky and Robert Skidelsky, How Much is Enough?: Money and the Good Life, 2013, Penguin.
6. The role of expectations
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Financial markets and expectations BAG 16: Sections 16.1-16.2 + Presentation 6
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Expectations, consumption and investment BAG 17 + Class Notes on "Nominal and real interest rates"
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Expectations, output and policy BAG 18 + Presentation 7
Readings: BAG 16-18
Extra readings:
7. Public debt and fiscal solvency
Readings: BAG 21 (sub-sections "Current and future taxes" "Debt and primary surpluses" and "The debt ratio in the long run" can be skipped, but read caraefully the FOCUS on Debt and foreign spreads); + Presentation 8
Extra readings & Data:
8. The great recession and the Euro crisis
Readings: BAG 20 + Presentations 9 & 10
Extra readings & Data:
Prof.ssa Lucia Leonelli
