Intermediate Macroeconomics
| Module title | Intermediate Macroeconomics |
|---|---|
| Module code | BEE2039 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Carlos Cortinhas (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 400 |
|---|
Module description
Summary:
The module is designed to equip you with the key principles necessary for the analysis of a range of basic economic problems and policies. It seeks, in particular, to increase your abilities to independently pose and solve economic questions, especially those relating to policy issues.
This module follows BEE2038 Intermediate Microeconomics and focuses on macroeconomic issues and aims to both deepen and widen your formal knowledge of economic theory and its application.
You will develop a better understanding of how decisions by consumers, firms and governments are interlinked, and impact on interest rates, exchange rates on the overall level of economic activity. Analysis of contemporary economic events will be a key feature of the module, enabling the procurement of skills to assess the likely trends in macroeconomic variables that will facilitate decision making.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
This module covers economics from a business point of view and incorporates many international examples and the world economy.
Employability
You will gain an awareness of the economy and economic laws and the effects this has on the decision making, which is a key skill required by company managers.
External Engagement
You are encouraged to attend the open lectures from visiting speakers in the Business School.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module addresses the main macroeconomic issues and seeks to provide a general overview of how the macroeconomy works and how the economy adjusts over time to a variety of policy changes and shocks.
The module is designed to equip you with the key economic principles necessary for the analysis of a range of economic problems and policies. It seeks to increase your abilities to independently pose and solve economic questions, especially those relating to policy issues. It emphasises the fundamental conceptual foundations in macroeconomics and provides concrete examples of their applications.
Analysis of contemporary economic events will be a key feature of the module, enabling the procurement of skills to assess the likely trends in economic variables that will facilitate decision making.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. interpret intermediate macroeconomic theory and apply economic reasoning to the analysis of economic questions and policy;
- 2. explain the factors affecting the macroeconomic environment, how they interact, and thus assess the ramifications of a change in one factor on other macroeconomic variables.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. identify, present and explain standard theoretical economic models and apply them to analyse economic questions and policy issues;
- 4. think analytically and be able to interpret economic data.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. develop the capacity for analytical thought and reasoned discussion;
- 6. develop independent study skills.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
- Introduction
- A Tour of the World
- The Goods Market
- The Financial Market
- The IS-LM Model
- The Labour Market
- The Phillips curve, the natural rate of unemployment and inflation
- Putting all markets together: from the short to the medium run
- The Open Economy
- Should Policy Makers Be Restrained?
- Fiscal Policy: A Summing Up
- Monetary Policy: A Summing Up
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | 123 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 22 | Lectures, where key concepts are introduced |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 5 | Seminars, where problem sets are worked through and discussed |
| Guided Independent Study | 123 | To be divided between background reading (e.g. 45 hrs), solving/reviewing problem sets (e.g. 45 hrs) and exam revision (e.g. 43 hrs) |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bi-Weekly problem sets | 1 hour every two weeks | 1-6 | Oral in tutorial class and formative feedback. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 80 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average of Homework Tasks | 20 | 30 minutes | 1-6 | ELE |
| Final Exam | 80 | 2 hours | 1-6 | Grade and indicative answers to exam questions posted on ELE |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average of Homework Tasks (20%) | Average of homework tasks (20%) | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
| Final exam (80%) | Final exam (2 hours) (80%) | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Blanchard, O., Amighini, A. and FR. Giavazzi (2021) Macroeconomics: A European Perspective, fourth edition, London: Prentice-Hall.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | BEE1029 OR (BEE1036 and BEE1037) |
| Module co-requisites | Cannot be taken with BEE2025 and BEE2026 |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/09/2010 |
| Last revision date | 26/11/2024 |
