GRA 6634 Advanced Macroeconomics
GRA 6634 Advanced Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. The course offers an introduction to macroeconomic at an advanced level. It provides the students with analytical skills and applied insights to understand important macroeconomic variables such as consumption, investment and aggregate output – domestically as well as internationally. Attention is paid on developing digital tools to help analyzing and understanding economic models. The course is divided in two parts. In the first part, students will acquire insight in models of consumption and investment and introduce general equilibrium. The second part uses a general equilibrium framework to analyze economic growth, sustainability and international income convergence. It also discusses how to understand and analyze the macroeconomic effects of digitalization and robotization.
By the end of the course, students will
- know the main theories of consumption and investment and their empirical relevance. Important topics include the permanent-income hypothesis, consumption based asset pricing and the Q-theory of investment.
- understand the tradeoffs involved in consumption and investment and how the tradeoff depends on income, productivity, interest rates, and uncertainty.
- know the main theories of economic growth.
- be familiar with the main determinants of economic growth and how discounting affects costs and benefits of dealing with long-term challenges such as climate changes.
- understand what is needed to get sustained economic growth and how digitalization affects economic growth.
Students will be able to:
- apply intertemporal macroeconomic models to analyze economic problems.
- develop general equilibrium macroeconomic models.
- calibrate and analyze models using MatLab and compare calibrated models with data.
This course should lead students to reflect about the forces that influence the economy as a whole. What determines consumption and investment? Why do some countries grow faster than others? Furthermore, this course prepares students for more advanced academic work. It is a prerequisite for both GRA 6639 Business Cycles and GRA 6631 Macroeconomic Policy.
The course consists of two parts:
- Consumption and investment theories. Quantitative macroeconomics.
- Economic growth.
Complementary learning tools will be used during the course. There will be tutorials with exercises in addition to lectures. The course will include a joint lecture with the GRA 6626 Decisions, Strategy and Information, during which students will analyze consumption theory problems under both a micro and macro perspective, while practicing with simulation methods using Matlab.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
| Exam category | Weight | Invigilation | Duration | Support materials | Grouping | Comment exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Exam code: GRA66342 Grading scale: ECTS Grading rules: Internal and external examiner Resit: Examination when next scheduled course | 100 | Yes | 3 Hour(s) |
| Individual | Written examination under supervision. |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.