Topics in Economics (MIM)

aje on September 2026

The course introduces students to several important and contemporary issues that relate to economics. Having already covered the key insights from Micro and Macroeconomics, we will go deeper into the frontiers of the discipline. Students will challenge their understanding of complex and controversial issues and develop their perspective on how to become managers of the future.

 Assessment
️ Content
Topic Before During After
1. Growth

 

 Activity: Global conditions quiz

Watch Growth is like an iPhone

 Lecture handouts More resources
2. Prosperity Activity: America quiz

Watch: The Magic Washing Machine

  • Evans, Anthony J., 2020, Economics: A Complete Guide for Business, London Publishing Partnership (Chapter 12, Section 2)
  • Pre-readings: Quiz
 Lecture handouts More resources
3. & 4. Sustainability Lecture handouts (and Nuclear) More resources
5. & 6. Inequality Activity: Thinking about wealth

Watch: “$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!” Mr Beast

This lecture will also contain an extended discussion of the movie Parasite (2019), Bong Joon Ho

 Lecture handouts More resources
7. Stagnation Activity: Transformative Innovations

Watch “iPhone 1 – Steve Jobs MacWorld keynote in 2007” (the first 17 minutes is sufficient)

 Lecture handouts More resources
8. Progress This lecture will also contain a brief discussion of the movie The Greatest Showman (2017), Michael Gracey

 Lecture handouts More resources

I thought it went without saying that economic growth is good, that America is a phenomenally rich country, and that capitalism is the reason why. But now I’m not so sure. So in this course, I say it!

Other lectures that could be added:

  • Macro Trends – an overview of global growth prospects and a survey of the key challenges facing policymakers.
  • Macro Risk – a look at the key risk factors affecting the global economy, and a survey of which countries are best positioned to deal with macro shocks.
  • Macro Models – how macroeconomic models should integrate climate concerns.
  • The evolution of money: gold, fiat and crypto.
  • Central banks and digital transformation.
  • The Solow model, and how it relates to growth theory.
  • Sustainability Survey – how we are solving our environmental problems.
  • Nuclear power – we could have had it all.
  • Are humans special?

Growth theory

aje on August 2026

Reading: Solow, R. M., 1956, A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65–94
Lecture handout: Growth Theory*

Marginal Revolution have a series of excellent videos on the Solow model, starting here:

But I’m a Solow skeptic!

Activity: Growth activity and Google Slides

Policy impact

  • In October 2025 British Progress released their UK Growth Survey which included interviews with 100 economists on UK growth priorities.

Recommended podcasts

Webinars

aje on July 2026


From time to time I decide to host a public webinar. They are typically based on content that I wouldn’t use in any of my formal courses, but I want to make sense of by presenting to an audience. The topics are often a result of a request or an offshoot from another lecture.

These events and are not intended to be sharp and insightful and I do not profess to have an original take or an important perspective. In most cases I am just trying to make sense of a topic, and am arranging what I’ve read about it. But if you like my lecture style and want the chance to sample some deeper but less rehearsed content then this might be for you.

Unlike my online teaching you do not need video or engagement. You can dip in and out and are welcome to leave when you need to. Consider it a drop in clinic. The format is simple: a 40 minute talk, and I’ll stick around for any questions.

Previous webinars:

  • “Notes on Orban” July 29th 2026 [slides]
  • “Notes on Trump” May 22nd 2025 [slides]
  • “Are we making progress in the battle for sustainability?” January 29th 2025
  • “Scenario Planning for the Energy Industry”, EMFE Masterclass, December 8th 2022 [link | recording]

Best of the internet

aje on June 2026

I can remember the charm and wonder of how the early internet brought people together, and also how it gave large platforms for diverse, funny, and shocking content. At the same time as setting up my own websites I remember:

The two best internet fan sites, exhibiting a ying yang of female/male and Europe/American, and which I still visit regularly, are:

I also thought I’d use this page to collect various websites that I’ve found interesting or those that have been (momentarily) culturally relevant:

Finally, I joke to students that my website (this one) is the third best website in the world. They always want to know the top two. They are:

  1. Wikipedia.org – for knowledge
  2. Amazon.com – for commerce

International Macroeconomics – MEP

aje on April 2026

Course introduction

This course places students in a decision-making context to gain a thorough understanding of international affairs. It considers the role of monetary and fiscal policy in a globalized content and equips students with an array of insightful case studies. The capacity to set and maintain economic policies that deliver a stable macroeconomic environment is more important than ever, and students will gain confidence in their ability to contribute to this field.

As countries attempt to deliver on their sustainability objectives and manage disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, familiarity with the basics of macroeconomic policy will become increasingly useful.

Course assessment

  • 40% group project (instructions here)
  • 60% final exam (on campus and invigilated)

I have also provided links to relevant chapters of the course textbook, “Economics: A Complete Guide for Business“.

Session 1: Growth theory

Session 2: Money

Session 3: Banking crises

Session 4: Monetary policy

Session 5: Fiscal policy

Session 6: Dynamic AD-AS model

Session 7: International economics

Session 8: Currency crises

  • Case: “Currency Crises” Harvard Business School case no. 9-799-088 (£)
  • Discussion question: Which countries are on the verge of a currency crisis?
  • Textbook reference: Chapter 8.3 and Chapter 10.4

Session 9: Debt crises

  • Case: Blustein, Paul “And the Money Kept Rolling In” Public Affairs, 2005 (pp.39-60) (£)
  • Discussion question: As of July 1998 should the IMF suspend their program in Argentina, or continue their support?

Session 10: Presentations

Note:

Cases marked with a pound sign (£) are either available via Blackboard or through the library.

Macro Risk

aje on December 2025

Lecture handout: Macro Risk. Here is the quiz.

To keep up to date with my thoughts on economic issues either follow me on X/Twitter or see Kaleidic Economics.

Recommended reading

  • Carlsson-Szlezak, P., and Swartz, P., “How to assess true macroeconomic risk” Harvard Business Review, July-August 2024
  • You can read the 2025 AXA Future Risks Report here.
  • IMF Annual Report 2025 here.

Recommended audio

  • The Economy in 2026: What Risks Lies Ahead? with Gita Gopinath, The Economics Show, Financial Times, January 23rd 2026 – Martin Wolf interviews the IMF economist. The discuss post-Brexit impact, elevated debt levels and rising fiscal dominance.
  • The limits of monetary policy, with Agustin Carstens, The Economics Show, Financial Times, November 14th 2025 – Carstens talks about the critical importance of macro stability for emerging markets and expresses concern that a system of national central banks may no longer be fit for purpose in a world of more complex global financial instability.

Don’t forget that macro risk is only one component of global risk!

Here is the 2025 AXA Future risks report:

Macro Policy Seminar

aje on November 2025

Lecture handout: Macro Policy Seminar

The purpose of this session is to bring together the twin elements of Aggregate Demand (AD) management in a practical and action based format.

Group activity: ECB Simulation, April 2025

You can read more details about the Bank of England’s MPC here. I used to regularly participate in the Shadow MPC. A useful resource may be the Kaleidic Dashboard.

Group activity: Canadian Multiplier, April 2025 (used with “Fiscal Multiplier Worksheet“, March 2018)

In the lecture I briefly mention the relevance of a specific Reinhart-Rogoff paper for the austerity debate. For more on that see here:

Group activity: BoP Identification, September 2026 (and BoP Worksheet)

The following is a comprehensive recap of key learning outcomes:

Group activity: “Macro Policy Assignment“, November 2021 and complete the Macro Policy Assignment Form.

The concepts discussed in this session should help students to understand the rationale for Georgia’s “Law on Economic Freedom”, which limited the government to the following (see Lawson and Powell, 2019, p. 114):

  • Annual budget deficit of no more than 3% of GDP
  • National debt of no more than 60% of GDP
  • Annual government spending of no more than 60% of GDP
  • No new tax without voter approval

AI integration

Anthropic have an Economic Advisory Council which helps to create the Anthropic Economic Index.

Also:

Recommended podcast

  • The limits of monetary policy, with Agustin Carstens, The Economics Show, Financial Times, November 14th 2025 – Carstens talks about the critical importance of macro stability for emerging markets and expresses concern that a system of national central banks may no longer be fit for purpose in a world of more complex global financial instability.

To keep up to date with my thoughts on economic issues either follow me on X/Twitter or see Kaleidic Economics.

EMBA Economics for Managers – ESCP

aje on September 2025

This course presents key economic models, concepts and tools that managers need to master to analyse, understand and predict trends affecting the corporate environment. We address the major contemporary macroeconomic issues with the objective to enhance the capability of each participant to imagine how they may affect their own business environment.

Course textbook:

Schedule: download here

Instructions for the group report: download here

Lecture handouts: download here

Practice final exam: to come

Pre-class activities
All cases need to be read and prepared in advance. Textbook chapters are not mandatory but are highly recommended for students without a strong background in economics. I’ve also provided a few videos and quizzes which should be helpful.

To verify you have the maths skills necessary for this course, complete this quiz.
Day 1: Micro
1. Incentives matter* (+)

2. Understanding cost* (+)

3. Auctions (+)

4. Market applications (+)

Extra activity: Aalsmeer – the Dutch flower auction
Day 2: Macro theory
5. Macro Policy – Monetary*

6. Macro Policy – Fiscal*

7. Macro Policy – International*

8. Macro Policy Assignment (+)

Most of this days teaching materials can also be found in Macro policy seminar.

Extra activity: NGDP Masterclass
Day 3: Macro practice
9. Macro Risk*

  • Carlsson-Szlezak, P., and Swartz, P., “How to assess true macroeconomic risk” Harvard Business Review, July-August 2024 (£)
  • Discussion question: Which risk did the authors neglect?

10. Macro stability

11. & 12. Group preparation and presentations
Revision
An optional online version of this course, which may be helpful for revision, is available here.

Note:

Cases marked with a pound sign (£) are available via the learning platform.

Neoliberalism

aje on August 2025

I believe that the term “neoliberalism” is a valid one, both as a concept and as an ideology. In other words, it can be used in a descriptive and neutral sense, and also the thing that it describes is (relatively) desirable. I am one of very few academics to hold both of these positions!

Indeed I am an early pioneer of using the term “neoliberal” in a non-pejorative way, with my co-authored book from 2009 “The Neoliberal Revolution in Eastern Europe“. Since then, it has become more common, and I continue to research neoliberal ideas and neoliberalism as a distinct political and economic philosophy.

Here is an old interview about the book:

 

Some recent academic publications that focus on neoliberalism include:

  • 2025 “Four phases of neoliberalism” Journal of Private Enterprise, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 55-71
  • “A survey of recent critical histories of neoliberalism” forthcoming in Critical Review

I have also published a couple of formal book reviews:

I have also taken seriously a potential consequence of neoliberalism: state capitalism. See:

And I have used Medium to publish some notes about books that discuss neoliberalism:

Here is my webpage about The Museum of Neoliberalism.