EC9D5-30 Macroeconomics B
Introductory description
EC9D5-30 Macroeconomics B
Module aims
Students will have had the opportunity to develop a rigorous understanding of the principles of macroeconomic analysis and some important applications.
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.
This module covers the two main branches of Macroeconomics: Business Cycles and Economic Growth. It introduces key facts, models, and methods used to analyse short-run fluctuations and long-run development.
The syllabus includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
Part 1: Business Cycles
Introduction to business cycle facts and main economic questions
Dynamic optimisation in discrete time
Households' behaviour: consumption and saving
Firms' decisions: investment, profits, and dividend policy
The Real Business Cycle (RBC) model: structure and performance
Introduction to solving and simulating macroeconomic models
Part 2: Economic Growth
Key facts and questions in the study of long-run growth
The Solow model, convergence, and growth accounting
The Overlapping Generations (OLG) model
Endogenous growth theory: AK models, technical change, and R&D
The relationship between inequality, poverty, and growth
Deep determinants of development
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Subject Knowledge and Understanding:...have a rigorous understanding of the theoretical foundations of macroeconomic analysis.
- Subject-specific Skills/Professional Skills:...demonstrate a rigorous understanding of how modern macroeconomic models relate to policy and empirical evidence.
- Cognitive Skills:...demonstrate a rigorous and critical understanding of growth and modern macroeconomics.
Indicative reading list
Reading lists can be found in Talis
Specific reading list for the module
Subject specific skills
Applied Economics
Economic Information
Economic Principles
Research and Debate
Abstraction
Analysis of Incentives
Analysis of Institutions
Analysis of Optimisation
Analytical Reasoning
Analytical thinking and communication
Creative Thinking
Critical Thinking
Policy Evaluation
Problem Solving
Strategic Thinking
Transferable skills
Data-based skills
Numeracy and Quantitative Skills
Information Technology
Mathematical, statistical, data-based research skills
Oral Communication
Written Communication
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 36 sessions of 1 hour (12%) |
| Seminars | 8 sessions of 1 hour (3%) |
| Private study | 256 hours (85%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Private study will be required in order to prepare for seminars/classes, to review lecture notes, to prepare for forthcoming assessments, tests, and exams, and to undertake wider reading around the subject.
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 D4
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test 1 Macro B | 10% | No | |
| Test 2 Macro B | 10% | No | |
| Centrally-timetabled examination (On-campus) | 80% | No | |
|
3 hour examination + 15 mins reading time
|
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Assessment group R3
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-person examination | 100% | No | |
|
3 hour examination + 15 mins reading time
|
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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.
Pre-requisites
The module demands a deep understanding of core undergraduate macroeconomic principles.
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 1 of TECA-L1P6 Postgraduate Taught Economics
- Year 1 of TECA-L1P7 Postgraduate Taught Economics and International Financial Economics
This module is Optional for:
- Year 4 of USTA-G300 Undergraduate Master of Mathematics,Operational Research,Statistics and Economics