Advanced Macroeconomics 2019 – 2020

Lecture:

Li, Dan, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. in Economics, Johns Hopkins University, USA, Email：11danli.linda@gmail.com, Office：D332, Eco Building, Xiamen University.

Prerequisites and co-requisites: none

 Learning outcomes and competences: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to explain and work with:

  • Explain the determination of output and prices (and their change, inflation) in the long and short run.
  • Describe the characteristics of the business cycle, and discuss the role of shocks and government policy in the cycle.
  • Understand the workings of fiscal and monetary policy and the way such policies can be used to moderate the business cycle.
  • Explain the determination of the exchange rate and interest rates in the long and the short run.
  • Discuss the global financial crisis and the successes and failures of government policy to contain it.

Course content:

  1. Introduction to the workings of an economy from a macroeconomic perspective
  2. The determinants of an economy’s output in the long run
  3. The role of money in the long run and short run
  4. The determinants of the price level
  5. The role of interest rates and exchange rates in the U.S. economy and in small, “open” economies
  6. The causes and nature of the business cycle
  7. The Keynesian model of the economy and how it differs from the classical theory of the economy
  8. The role of fiscal and monetary policy in stabilizing the economy and ensuring full employment
  9. The recent meltdown of the economy, stemming from the collapse of housing prices and the financial system.

Assessment methods:

  • Active lecture/seminar/workshop/tutorial participation 20%
  • Mid-term test 40%
  • Final test 40%

Literature:

  • N. Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 9th ed., 2015, Worth Publishers.
  • David Romer, Advanced Macroeconomics 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012 (ISBN:0073511374)
  • Robert J. Barro and Xavier I. Sala-i-Martin, Economic Growth 2nd Edition, The MIT Press, 2003 (ISBN: 0262025531)
  • Daron Acemoglu, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press, 2008 (ISBN: 0691132925 )