MACROECONOMICS - 1

This course will provide conceptual and analytical tools to understand the behavior of the main macroeconomic indicators, as output, inflation, employment, interest rates, and exchange rates. These tools are useful to investigate and describe relevant macroeconomic problems, especially related to the European Union. The tools can also be applied to understand the role of the economic and political institutions and to examine the effects of their policy intervention. The goal of the course is training students to think in a structured and rigorous way about the main macroeconomic open questions. Finally, the course will help students to access graduate education in economic fields and to acquire useful expertise for policy-decision making in economics.

In particular, this first module will present some basic theoretical models about the real side of the economy (goods market and labor markets), the financial side of the economy (money and bonds). Students will understand how to compute the equilibrium of the economy and how this equilibrium is affected by shocks or policy interventions.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1. Understand the main aggregated economic indicators.
1.2. Understand the main agents interacting in the economy and the concept of macroeconomic equilibrium.
1.3. Understand the relation between the real and the financial/monetary sides of the economy.
1.4 Understand the different time ranges of the economic analysis

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
2.1. Use the main proposed models to compute the equilibrium solutions.
2.2. Use the main proposed models to perform what-if analysis about shocks affecting the economy or economic policies.
2.3. Recognize the limitations to the applicability of the studied tools.

3. Ability to judge:
3.1. Choosing the most suitable model to address a specific problem
3.2. Recognize the impact of different parametrizations on the equilibrium solution.
3.3. Judging the effective reliability of the obtained results.

Mandatory priority exam: Microeconomics.
Pre-requirements: basic knowledge of Mathematics. In particular, it is necessary to be familiar with the Cartesian coordinate system and to be know the basic operations of calculus.
See https://www.unive.it/pag/21218/

The complete syllabus of the two modules, for a total of 12 credits is the following:
First module:
- Introduction to the main topics of macroeconomics.
- Introduction to national accounting. Price index ad inflation.
- The goods market
- The financial market
- The IS-LM model
- The labor market
- The Phillips curve
- From short to long run: the AD-AS model and IS-LM-PC

Second module:
- Introducing expectations into the IS-LM model
- Expectations, production and economic policy
- Expectations and financial markets
- The open IS-LM model
- The goods and financial markets in an open economy
- Production, interest rate and exchange rate
- Exchange rate regimes
- Economic policy in open economies
- Long run growth. The Solow model.

Macroeconomics, O. Blanchard, 6th or 7th or 8th edition

Written exam, duration around 120 minutes, with open questions of theory and exercises. The exam is passed obtaining 18 points. The specific value of each question is indicated in the exam.
The exam can be taken in two written partial exams, halfway through and at the end of the course.
The exam evaluates the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts and models of the discipline presented in the teaching and the ability to analyze macroeconomic problems and to identify and interpret their solutions.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

18–23
The student answers multiple-choice and short-answer questions correctly on core topics (growth, business cycles, economic policy), demonstrating essential mastery of definitions and fundamental mechanisms.

24–27
In addition to correct answers, the student provides logically coherent reasoning in open-ended questions, interprets data and graphs, and shows critical autonomy in applying models to simple scenarios.

28–30
The student delivers precise, well-structured responses, integrates real-world examples, draws connections among different macroeconomic models, and tackles complex problems with clarity.

30 cum laude
An outstanding performance in the open-ended questions, featuring original responses and personal insights that exceed the syllabus, with advanced analytical rigor and innovative observations.

The course is divided into:
a) lectures with both the projection of slides and the use of blackboards or other writing instruments.
b) weekly exercise classes
c) individual study

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development