Macroeconomic Growth, Cycles and Policy

Code

BUSI2197

School

Nottingham University Business School China

Level

2

Credits

10

Semesters

Autumn China

Summary

PRE-REQUISITE   

Please note that for this module, the following pre-requisite applies:

      BUSI1114 Business Economics OR

      BUSI1115 Economic Principles OR 

      BUSI1117 Introduction to Economics

(Please ignore    Requisites: N/A     below)

The module will examine, discuss and compare developments in the United States, Europe, Japan and China to explore

• Issues about long growth, including the productivity paradox, the macroeconomic consequences of intangible capital, the debate about secular stagnation, and the prospects for convergence of middle-income countries. 
• Theories and evidence on business cycles, including the role of financial crises, debt levels, household consumption and fixed investment. Debates about the effectiveness of fiscal policy and dangers of large public debt will also be examined.
• Inflation and monetary policy. We will examine demand-pull and cost-push mechanisms of inflation and consider controversies and evidence about their roles in earlier and more recent inflationary episodes. This, together with the earlier insights on business cycles, will inform a discussion of the role and effectiveness of monetary policy.
• The external economy, beginning with a review of balance of payments accounting. We examine trends in international balances, consider what constitutes sustainability, and the respective roles of exchange rates and macroeconomic policy in external adjustment. Debate and evidence on the performance of alternative exchange rate regimes will be considered.

Re-assessment format is decided by the school.

Target Students

Part I Business Students and Exchange students with background equivalent to pre-requisites.

Classes

• One 1-hour seminar each week for 4 weeks
• One 2-hour lecture each week for 12 weeks

Assessment

• 50% Project 1
• 50% Exam 1 (1-hour)

Assessed by end of autumn semester

Educational Aims

Learning Outcomes

• Describe and assess aspects of the macroeconomic environment in which businesses operate.
• Interpret time-series graphs of macroeconomic data, defining the variables, describing trends and fluctuations in their evolution, and comparing circumstances between countries.
• Elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying macroeconomic theories, demonstrate how such mechanisms are combined to create predictive models, and apply such models to explain or predict the evolution of the endogenous macroeconomic variables.
• Articulate competing arguments in debates about economic growth, the causes of business cycles, and the design of fiscal and monetary policy.
• Collaborate in a team to develop an argument, supported by evidence, about a controversial issue.

Conveners

• Dr James Farrell