COURSE INFORMATION
Course Title: MACROECONOMICS
Code Course Type Regular Semester Theory Practice Lab Credits ECTS
ECO 206 B 4 3 0 0 3 5
Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: Dr. Arjona Çela acela@epoka.edu.al , Friday 08:45-10:45
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours: NA
Language: English
Compulsory/Elective: Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered) Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Code of Ethics: Code of Ethics of EPOKA University
Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement: 60%
Course Description: Macroeconomics: The aim of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of macroeconomic analysis. The course presents the theory of short-run economic fluctuations which provides the basis for understanding most discussions of monetary and fiscal policy. Also the course gives ample attention to long-term topics including economic growth, the natural rate of unemployment, persistent inflation and government debt. Topics include money supply and money demand, the open economy, the theory of economic fluctuations and debates over various macroeconomic issues. Macroeconomics is a theoretical as well as an empirical discipline, motivated and guided by a wide array of experience. In line with this approach, the course is conducted on the basis of examples related to current issues in Albania.
Course Objectives: This is one of the two macroeconomics courses that the students of faculty of economics and administration sciences are required to take. This course will teach students the basic tools of macroeconomics and apply them to real world economic policy. The goals of the course are for students to (a) understand how to evaluate macroeconomic conditions such as unemployment, inflation, and growth (b) understand how monetary policy and fiscal policy can be used to influence short-run macroeconomic conditions By analyzing macro economic theories, discussing the validity of macroeconomic topics is the aim of this course. It is concerned with the study of real life economic issues and problems. Thus, in this course, the examples from real life will be introduces to the students. It deals with national income, employment and so on. The aim of the class is to develop some basic concepts and tools to study macroeconomics.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE
1 Gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced in an economy, is the broadest measure of economic activity
2 We calculate national saving by summing private saving and government saving
3 In modern economies, the two most important factors of production are labor and capital
4 Solow growth model explains how saving rates and population growth determine capital accumulation, which in turn determine economic growth.
5 endogenous growth theory explains why advances in technology endogenously (from within the system) fuel sustained economic growth.
6 The IS curve traces out the points at which the goods market is in equilibrium.
7 The monetary policy (MP) curve indicates the relationship between the real interest rate the central bank sets and the inflation rate.
8 The negative relationship between unemployment and inflation they found for many countries became known, naturally enough, as the Phillips curve
9 Fiscal policy uses government expenditures and taxes as instruments
10 The unemployment rate measures the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week Topics
1 Welcome and Syllabus
2 Chapter 2. Measuring Macroeconomic Data Pg18-44 In this chapter we examine how economists define and measure the most important data in macroeconomics, areas critical to your gaining a full understanding of macroeconomics. In this chapter, we will examine the following questions: How do we measure economic activity, and specifically gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity? What are the key components of gross domestic product? How do we measure inflation and does it tell us how rapidly the cost of living is rising? What is unemployment and how do we measure it? What are interest rates and which measures of interest rates are the most important in macroeconomics?
3 Chapter 4. Saving and Investment in Close and Open Economies Pg67-93 In this chapter, we answer these questions by tracing the relationship between saving and investment. We take a long-run perspective in which wages and prices are flexible. We will see that lower saving leads to lower investment, slowing the growth of the capital stock and indeed making the United States poorer in the future. We will also see that lower saving leads to greater borrowing from foreigners, requiring future debt payments that reduce the wealth of Americans.
4 Chapter 3. Aggregate Production and Productivity Pg47-66 This chapter provides a framework for understanding production in the overall (aggregate) economy. After examining the fundamental factors of production, we will look at what determines their prices and the income they generate, as well as their share of national income
5 Chapter 6. The Sources of Growth and the Solow Model Pg144-167 Discovering why countries like South Korea and the United States thrive while countries like Haiti stagnate is one of the most important goals of macroeconomics. As Nobel prize winner Robert Lucas has put it, “The consequences for human welfare involved in questions like these [about economic growth] are simply staggering. We start the chapter by examining growth accounting, which builds on the production function we discussed in Chapter 3. From there, we explore the Solow growth model, the basis of all modern research on economic growth, and its limitations. We then go beyond the Solow model in the following chapter to look in more detail at the role of technology and institutions in promoting economic growth.
6 Chapter 7. Drivers of Growth: Technology, Policy, and Institutions Pg175-197 Why do capital and productivity grow at rapid rates in some countries but not in others? To answer this question, we start the chapter by discussing how technology differs from the conventional production inputs of capital and labor, which we discussed in the previous chapter. We will then explore policies to promote productivity growth, such as building physical infrastructure (roads and ports), increasing the knowledge and skills of workers, and providing incentives to stimulate research and development.
7 Chapter 9 The IS curve Pg222-239 In this chapter, we develop the first building block to understand aggregate demand, the IS curve, which describes the relationship between real interest rates and aggregate output when the market for goods and services (more simply referred to as the goods market) is in equilibrium. We begin by deriving the IS curve and then go on to explain what factors cause the IS curve to shift. With our understanding of the IS curve, we can examine why the economic contraction during the Great Depression was so deep and how the fiscal stimulus package of 2009 affected the economy. Then in later chapters, we make use of the IS curve to understand the role of monetary and fiscal policy in economic fluctuations.
8 Quizz and review for midterm exam
9 Midterm Exam
10 Chapter 10 Monetary Policy and aggregate demand Pg240-259 The short-run model of the aggregate economy that we are building step by step will allow us to analyse how a central bank’s policy decisions affect the economy. We start this chapter by explaining why monetary policy makers set interest rates to rise when inflation increases, leading to a positive relationship between real interest rates and inflation, which is called the monetary policy (MP) curve. Then using the MP curve with the IS curve we developed in the previous chapter, we derive the aggregate demand curve, a key element in the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model framework used in the rest of this book to discuss short-run economic fluctuations.
11 Chapter 11. Aggregate Supply and the Phillips Curve Pg 267-283 The Phillips curve provides the intuition for the aggregate supply curve, First, we will see how the economic profession’s views on the Phillips curve evolved over time and how it has affected thinking about macroeconomic policy. Then we can use the Phillips curve to derive the aggregate supply curve, which will allow us to complete our basic aggregate demand/aggregate supply framework for analyzing short-run economic fluctuations in the next chapter.
12 Chapter 16. Fiscal Policy and the Government Budget Pg 396-422 Taken broadly, fiscal policy involves decisions about government spending and taxation. In this chapter, we first examine the relationship between the government budget and the growth of government debt. Then we look at the long- and short-run economic effects of budget deficits, tax cuts, and increased government spending.
13 Chapter 20. The Labor Market, Employment, and Unemployment Pg514-539 This chapter begins with a general look at the U.S. labor market over the last halfcentury. It then develops a supply and demand model of the labor market and examines the sources of unemployment. With this analysis, we then start answering many of the questions posed previously.
14 Review for the Final exam
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of principles of micro and macroeconomics.
Textbook(s): Macroeconomics: Policy and Practice - 2nd Edition; Frederic S. Mishkin 2016
Additional Literature: NA
Laboratory Work: N.A.
Computer Usage: N.A.
Others: No
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
1 Students will use macroeconomics knowledge to understand the macroeconomic issues
2 They will learn macroeconomic models of growth, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, open economy, and other extensions
3 They will learn about open economy with government intervention using fiscal policy
4 Students will learn the macroeconomic equilibrium using diagrams
5 They will learn how to end the recessionary and inflation gap using fiscal policy
6 They will learn how monetary policy transmission effectively stabilize the inflation
7 Students will learn the money multiplier and quantitative theory of money
8 They will learn how monetary policy effectively stabilize the exchange rate
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
(Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)
No Program Competencies Cont.
Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years) Program
1 The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace. 5
2 They develop their knowledge and understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets. 3
3 They gain an understanding of the role of financial management in business firms and the essentials of corporate finance and further develop their knowledge in the field. 3
4 They are able to apply valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets, measure risk and describe the risk-return tradeoff. 3
5 They are provided with the knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework and functioning of banking system and central banking as well as international banking system. 4
6 They are able to understand and use fundamental economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry. 2
7 They have the ability to develop and utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve different business problems by making use of basic mathematical and statistical models. 2
8 They are expected to develop their numerical and IT skills as well as knowledge of databases in order to address the significant development in the delivery and use of financial services known as FinTech. 4
9 They develop their ability to think critically, do research, analyze, interpret, draw independent conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team. 4
10 They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to develop professionalism in the banking and financial services industry or to move on to further study within the discipline. 4
COURSE EVALUATION METHOD
Method Quantity Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)
1
40
Quiz
1
10
Final Exam
1
40
Attendance
10
Total Percent: 100%
ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)
Activities Quantity Duration(Hours) Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours) 16 3 48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) 16 2 32
Mid-terms 1 13 13
Assignments 0
Final examination 1 12 12
Other 2 10 20
Total Work Load:
125
Total Work Load/25(h):
5
ECTS Credit of the Course:
5
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

At the end of this course students are able to have a general idea of what is macroeconomics, main concepts, main issues, and main models that explain economic growth, busines cycles, main macroeconomic policies etc.