International Macroeconomics – MEP

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 context 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“.

 

1. Growth theory

Background reading: Solow, R. M., 1956,. A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1), 65–94 Lecture handouts: Growth Theory and Growth Activity More resources Bonus content: Minecraft, Truss Textbook reference: Section 12.1

2. Money

Lecture handouts: Money and CBDC More resources Textbook reference: Section 7.3

3. Banking crises

Background reading: Diamond, D.W., and Dybvig, P.H., 1983, “Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity”, Journal of Political Economy, 91(3):401-419 Lecture handouts: Banking crises and Activity More resources

4. Monetary policy

Case: “The Euro in Crisis: Decision Time at the European Central Bank” Harvard Business School case no. 9-711-049 Case preparation: The ECB During the Crisis, July 2021 Lecture handouts More resources Textbook reference: Section 7.1, Section 7.5 and Section 8.1, Section 8.2

5. Fiscal policy

Lecture handouts More resources Activity: US Multiplier (used with Fiscal Multiplier Worksheet) Textbook reference: Section 9.2, Section 9.3, Section 9.4

6. Dynamic AD-AS model

More resources Activity: A Dynamic AD-AS Analysis of the UK Economy, 2002-2010 and Dynamic AD-AS Exercises

7. International economics

Case: Josko Joras (A), December 2012 Instructions: Complete exercises 1,2, and 3 Textbook reference: Section 10.1, Section 10.2 Activity: BoP Identification and Worksheet Activity: Dollar Dominance

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? Lecture handout Textbook reference: Section 8.3 and Section 10.4 More resources

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? Lecture handout More resources

10. Review session

Kahoot! Macro Policy Workshop Country Comparisons

Revision

The best way to revise for this course is to go through the content covered in class and reflect on the key learning objectives of each session. If you need to go deeper in the materials then you should read the relevant sections from the textbook. If you wish to read the whole textbook, you can find links to all chapters on Blackboard. I also teach an International Macroeconomics course for the MBA program and there is significant overlap with this course. You are therefore welcome to enroll on that course (you need to set up a free WordPress account) and use the content and quizzes as revision material.

Note:

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

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