Learning objectives

The course will provide students with the knowledge of the basic concepts used in modern macroeconomics. By considering how the microeconomic units, namely consumers and firms, make their decisions and how their choices yield economy-wide outcomes, students will acquire a better knowledge and comprehension of why unemployment, production, prices and other important macro variables fluctuates over time, and more generally what governs the way good and financial markets work. By the end of the course students will be able to build a small theoretical model for the entire economy using the representative agent paradigm. This will allow them to analyse demand, supply and equilibrium in three macro markets: the aggregate goods and services market, the aggregate labour market, and the aggregate financial market. They will also be able to analyse the effects of macroeconomic policies on employment, output and prices, and to apply what they have learned to specific cases.