Macro­economics

Course content

The course in Macroeconomics develops the knowledge of main macroeconomic indicators (such as GDP, monetary policy and foreign direct investments) in the wide context of sustainability and green transitions. The ability to put the macroeconomic theory in relation to the broader phenomenon of climate change is highlighted in the learning objective: “Describe the links between economic activity, monetary policy, trade and climate change.” By connecting the concept of economic activity to the ecological ceiling, the students recognize the humanity’s challenge of achieving the desired goal of a sustainable economic growth given the scarse resources of our planet. The course also offers insights on ways policy makers, entrepreneurs and economic actors in general can overcome this challenge. A good example of this type of actions is a green monetary policy that makes it more expensive for polluting entrepreneurs to borrow money and to finance their investments compared to greener entrepreneurs and businesses.

This course also promotes theoretical ideals and objectives of economic efficiency (such as the concept of economic growth that is stimulated through an expansionary monetary policy and competition in the private markets through profit maximization) that go hand in hand with goals of solidarity (such as income equality that is achieved through the fiscal policy, such as income transfers from the public sector). The IS-LM model is an ideal framework to study how a policy maker can trade off economic efficiency and solidarity. These two learning objectives refer to a framework that can help overcome this important ethical dilemma: i) Describe and explain the effects of fiscal and monetary policy within the main macroeconomic models (e.g. the IS/LM model, etc.). ii) Describe and explain the assumptions and mechanisms of the main macroeconomic models (e.g. the IS-LM model, etc.). Illustrate these models graphically and solve them algebraically.

Macroeconomics is also the right venue for boosting critical thinking but in a collaborative setting. On the one hand, the course offers the possibility of developing critical thinking skills by validating the theory studied in class through the discussion of real life examples drawn by newspapers articles and timely cases and debates. What does it mean for example that the Danish Central Bank set a negative interest rate when in fact the standard canonical model described in class only contemplates non negative interest rates? On the other hand, the course also encourages group work assignments (called one-drive competitions, see more details in the course description) throughout the semester that allow the students to be good team player when collaborating with their fellow students.

The main goal of Macroeconomics is to prepare the students to think like a real economist when confronted with macroeconomic data and context. This means that the students will be able to relearn new macroeconomic concepts if new data and events are available. For example, how does the spread of new and dangerous virus affect economic growth, inflation and trade? Or how does a new artificial intelligence technology affect unemployment? These specific and unexpected changes to the economy are not explicitly dealt with in the syllabus. However the general skills developed in the course allow the students to interpret these new phenomenon under the lens of the economic concepts studied in class and re-invent and re-learn their knowledge accordingly.

The part of the course that deals with the case of an open economy emphasizes the fact that local businesses and entrepreneurs (such as successful Danish exporting companies and multinational firms) can create value for the domestic labor and product markets by establishing connections to the global markets through the activities of exporting and importing goods and services and investing abroad/receiving investments from abroad.