Learning objectives
The students will learn the main tools of the analysis of international trade, will acquire the ability to understand the dynamics and the influence on them of trade policy. He will learn the determinants of the dynamics of public debt, acquire the ability to assess the factors that cause stability or instability. He will also learn the problems related to economic policy choices in intertemporal contexts. He will acquire skills related to saving choices and the use of funds in presence of risky assets. The students will ultimately be in a position to understand the main phenomena of the financial markets-credit, the determination of the yields of the main assets and liabilities, and their interrelationships with the real sector and the policies of central banks.
At the end of the course, students will have acquired:
Applying knowledge and understanding
• Acquisition of specialized tools for macroeconomic analysis of intermediate and advanced macroeconomic models.
• Acquisition of the basic tools for assessing the impact of interventions of fiscal and monetary policy and trade policy.
Making judgments
• Ability to assess the conclusions and results of macro-economic analysis and the effects of alternative economic policy actions and interventions.
communication skills
• Ability to present and explain the results in a critical form of macroeconomic studies, the implications of different policy choices and scenarios described by the economic statistics is to be qualified persons to non-experts.
Ability to learn
• Ability to explain complex topics in a concise manner through the use of graphs and mathematical formulas.
Course unit content
The course is divided into two parts. The former (bullets 1-7) is lectured by prof. Mario Menegatti, the latter (bullets 7-16) by prof. Giovanni Verga. 1) The balance of payments and the relationship between different economies 2) international trade and exchange of goods between economies, with a focus on Ricardo, Heckscher, Ohlin 3) Trade policy 4) The cost of short-and long-term public deficit and the long-term stability of public debt 5) Time inconsistency in monetary policy 6) Consumption choices with multi-period horizons and the Consumption Capital Asset Pricing Model 7) Assets, financial markets and financial intermediaries 8) The time structure of interest rates and long term interest rates (164-175) 9) The demand for money 10) Central bank communications and there impact on market expectations 11) The operating procedures of the ECB, the behaviour of banks and the determination of bank interest rate 12) The monetary policy transmission mechanism: from the "money view" to the "credit view" 13) the objectives and conduct of monetary policy 14) The exchange rate 15) ECB and Fed monetary policy. 16) The financial crisis
Bibliography
Primo modulo (prof. Mario Menegatti)
De Arcangelis G. “Economia Internazionale”, Mc Graw-Hill,ed. 2013 chapters 3,4(escluded 4.7 and appendice), 5(till a 5.8, excluded 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.5.1, 5.7.1),6.1,6.2,6.3,6.4,9.3,10.1 e 10.2 -Blanchard O. “Scoprire la macroeconomia vol. 2”, Il Mulino, ed. 2011, chapters 3.1, 3.2 e 8 –
Blanchard O. “Scoprire la macroeconomia vol. 2”, Il Mulino, ed. 2003, chapter 7.2 –
Blanchard O. e Fisher S. Lezioni di Macroeconomia, chapters 10.1.1 e 10.1.2 –
Romer D., Advanced Macroeconomics 4th edition, chapter 8.5
Secondo modulo (prof. Giovanni Verga)
-Alessandrini P. (2015), “Economia e politica della moneta”, Seconda edizione, Il Mulino, Bologna: capitoli. I-III, V-VI, 7,2, VIII, IX-XI, 13.1-13.2, XIV-XV.
-Verga G. dispense: “Central banks and the public: the importance of communication”, “La domanda di moneta (integrazione)”, “La politica monetaria della BCE”, “La politica monetaria della Fed”, available at the department photocopy service.
Teaching methods
• Knowledge and understanding: lectures
• Applying knowledge and understanding: examples applied to real economic problems
• Making judgements: during this module, students will be encouraged to identify strengths and weaknesses of the main economic theories and their usefulness in real world applications
• Learning skills: each topic will be addressed first, explaining the problem to be solved, and then critically analyzing the adopted solutions
• Communication skills: the teacher will illustrate
the meaning of the most common terms used by the economic community.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written examination.
The exam will consist of four general questions, divided in different parts, some of which applications.
The acquisition of knowledge and technical language will be assessed by the answers to the theoretical sections of the questions. The ability to apply the knowledge and learning skills will be evaluated in the application and in the treatment of specific cases and problems. Making judgement will be evaluated in the explanation and comments of cases analyzed.
