Contemporary Macroeconomic Issues

Objectives

Understand the importance of measurement in economics.

Be able to find data relevant to the study of concrete macroeconomic issues.

Adapt models to phenomena observed in reality.

Interpret the link between data, models and observed realities.

Course outline

The aim is to study a series of contemporary problems using empirical and theoretical models. In fact, economic theory is useful for interpreting events ("reality" does not always appear directly), but at the same time these events will enable us to see what the "right theory" is for understanding them. The course consists of a theoretical and formal presentation of the main models, which will then be used mainly in case studies of the main contemporary macroeconomic problems, such as the Great Recession or the CoVid-19 crisis, but also older ones, such as the oil shocks, the Great Depression or the Great Inflation, or in a historically more transversal way, such as the persistence of unemployment in Europe. The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of major macroeconomic issues through the use of both theoretical and empirical tools.

Prerequisites

None