Macroeconomics

Subject: 2020/2021 - 1S

Programmes

Hours Effectively Taught

LGE2N

LGE2D

Teaching Language

Portuguese

Aims, Skills and Learning Outcomes

Descriptive summary of course unit
This curricular unit aims to provide the student with basic knowledge for understanding the aggregate movement of the economies of contemporary markets and tackling macroeconomic problems. It also allows to have a macroeconomic view of global economic activity.

Objectives and expected learning outcomes

With this curricular unit is intended to prepare students with a body of conceptual, analytical and practical knowledge to enable it to have basic knowledge of analysis of macroeconomic problems techniques.

In this sense this course's main objectives are:
1. Describe the macroeconomics as a science and analyse its object;
2. Identify the key macroeconomic variables and the main problems and macroeconomic issues, including unemployment, the economic cycle and inflation;
3. Measure and describe the overall operation, by calculating the main macroeconomic aggregates;
4. Analyse the basic macroeconomic models, both in a situation of closed and open economy, particularly in terms of the balance between the real market and the monetary market, and understand how economic policies are oriented to achieve that equilibrium;
5. Recognize the economic cycles and the determinants of the economic growth.

Skills to be develop
At the end of the curricular unit students should be able to:
1. To assimilate the terminology and technical language used in macroeconomics;
2. Interpret studies, reports and news of today's macroeconomic however;
3. Adopt a panoramic view of the global economic dynamics and realize how economies are interconnected;
4. Know when and how to use the instruments of macroeconomic policy at the disposal of economists in order to obtain certain results expected;
5. Be able to interpret the global macroeconomic developments, identifying causes and consequences of measures taken at national or global level.

Programme

The program is organized as follows:

1. INTRODUCTION 

1.1  Concepts and macroeconomic objectives 

1.2 Major macroeconomic issues 

1.3 The evolution of economic thought 

2. MEASUREMENT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 

2.1 The National Accounting: aggregates and fundamental identities 

2.2 Inflation 

2.3 Unemployment 

2.4 Balance of Payments 

3. MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SHORT-TERM IN A CLOSED ECONOMY 

3.1 The Market for goods and services and the IS curve 

3.1.1 Consumption 

3.1.2 Investment 

3.1.3 The equilibrium in the market of goods and services 

3.2 The monetary market and the LM curve 

3.2.1 Demand for currency 

3.2.2 Supply of currency 

3.2.3 Equilibrium on the monetary market 

3.3 Aggregate demand and equilibrium IS-LM 

3.3.1 The real and monetary market equilibrium: the IS-LM model 

3.3.2 The monetary and budget policies 

3.4 Fundamentals of aggregate demand and supply 

3.4.1 The AD and AS curves 

3.4.2  The classical and Keynesian perspectives 

4. MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SHORT-TERM IN OPEN ECONOMY

4.1 The exchange market 

4.1.1 The exchange rate regimes 

4.1.2  Exchange rate and competitiveness 

4.2 The IS-LM model in an open economy 

4.2.1 The IS-LM-BP 

4.2.2 Implications of budget, monetary and exchange policies in each exchange regime 

4.2.3 The Mundell-Fleming model 

5. MACROECONOMICS IN THE MIDDLE AND LONG TERM 

5.1 Inflation and unemployment: the Phillips curve 

5.2 Economic growth.

5.3. Economic Cycles.

Demonstration of the syllabus coherence with the curricular unit's learning objectives

Main literature

Supplementary Bibliography

Learning Methods

The macroeconomics contents will be mainly explained in theoretical-practical classes, which combine the theoretical exposition and the discussion of practical cases, and the resolution of exercises, as well as the consultation of the macroeconomic databases. 

Over the course of classes, students will be motivated to express their opinion about the contents exposed and current economic affairs.

Assessment Components

Avaliação distribuída com exame final

Assessment Components

Continuous Assessment

Final Exam

individual writing exam with the weighting of 100%.

Demonstration of the coherence between the teaching methodologies and the learning outcomes