EC9C6-12 Topics in Macroeconomics
Introductory description
This is an existing second year option module on the MRes Economics. In the current year students will choose five modules from a pool of eleven option modules. Students are also permitted to take up to two of their option modules from outside the department.
Module aims
The module aims to develop the skills and knowledge of Macroeconomics, necessary for a career as an academic economist and in all areas where advanced research skills in macroeconomics are required. Specifically, it aims to teach the students to understand, appreciate, and ultimately contribute to, frontier research. It is intended to be comparable to modules taught in the best research universities in the USA and elsewhere in Europe.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
"Illustrative topics include:
- Developments in computational macroeconomics, covering the key state of the art techniques to implement and solve macroeconomic models of any kind.
- Developments in growth theory, covering recent developments in issues that characterize the long run economic evoution as well as policy intervention with long run cycles.
- Developments in macro-labour, and developments in fiscal and monetary economics, both topics focusing on business cycle macro-economics and short and medium run labour market and financial frictions as well as policy interventions with short-run targets."
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Have a good overview and a thorough understanding of Macroeconomics.
- Develop a critical knowledge of recent research in some key areas of Macroeconomics.
- Enable students to pursue their own research agenda in the field.
Subject specific skills
Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in:
Analytical thinking and communication
Analytical Reasoning
Critical thinking
Creative Thinking
Problem solving
Abstraction
Policy Evaluation
Analysis of Institutions
Understanding of Uncertainty and Incomplete Information
Transferable skills
Students will have the opportunity to develop:
Research skills
Numeracy and Quantitative skills
Data-based Skills
Written communication
Mathematical, Statistical, data-based research skills
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 30 sessions of 1 hour (25%) |
| Private study | 90 hours (75%) |
| Total | 120 hours |
Private study description
Students will be given readings to prepare for each seminar and will be required to complete assessment for each 15 hour block of classes.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
|||
| Review of Research Paper | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Students will be asked to review a recent research paper |
|||
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Assessment component |
|||
| Review of Research Paper | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Students will be asked to review a recent research paper |
|||
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Feedback on assessment
The Department of Economics is committed to providing high quality and timely feedback to students on their assessed work, to enable them to review and continuously improve their work. We are dedicated to ensuring feedback is returned to students within 20 University working days of their assessment deadline. Feedback for assignments is returned either on a standardised assessment feedback cover sheet which gives information both by tick boxes and by free comments or via free text comments on Tabula, together with the annotated assignment. For tests and problem sets, students receive solutions as an important form of feedback and their marked assignment, with a breakdown of marks and comments by question and sub-question. Students are informed how to access their feedback, either by collecting from the Department of Economics Postgraduate Office or via Tabula. Module leaders often provide generic feedback for the cohort outlining what was done well, less well, and what was expected on the assignment and any other common themes. This feedback also includes a cumulative distribution function with summary statistics so students can review their performance in relation to the cohort. This feedback is in addition to the individual-specific feedback on assessment performance.
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 2 of TECA-L1PL in Economics (Master of Research plus PhD)