Economics II

Course Director: Álvaro Jañez Garcia

Purpose
This course provides an introduction to modern macroeconomic theory, emphasizing methods so that after the course you will be able to analyze the major macroeconomic issues. The course covers theories and empirical facts about economic growth, unemployment, inflation, the business cycle, and international finance.

Format and Structure
To support your learning we have 14 lectures, 1 external lecture, and 8 seminars. Participation in seminars and lectures is not mandatory but highly recommended. The lectures focus on the central issues in the course. The seminars focus on weekly problem sets and provides an opportunity to deepen understanding on the material covered in the previous lectures.

Preliminary outline

Part 1: Preliminaries

• L1 Introduction and measurement of the macroeconomy (Chapters 1-2)

Part 2: The Long Run

• L2-5 Economic growth (Chapters 3-6)
• L6 The labor market (Chapter 7)
• L7 Consumption (Chapter 16)
• L8 Inflation (Chapter 8)

Part 3: The Short Run

• L9 Business cycle facts (Chapters 9-10)
• L10 The IS curve (Chapters 11)
• L11 Monetary policy and the Phillips Curve (Chapter 12)
• L12 Stabilization policy (Chapter 13)
• L13 Stabilization policy: Applications (Chapters 13) + External lecture by Anna Seim from the Riksbank
• L14 The Government and the Macroeconomy (Chapter 18)
• L15 Summary

Course administrator: Karl.Strelis@hhs.se, alexandra.svahn.alberts@hhs.se

After successful completion of the course, students will

1. know and understand basic macroeconomic concepts.
2. know and understand basic macroeconomic theories and models.
3. know how to use concepts, theories and models to analyze macroeconomic issues.
4. be able to identify the relevant concept, theory and model to analyze a macroeconomic issue.

General entry requirements.

Jones, Charles (2024), Macroeconomics. Sixth Edition. Norton,

I suggest you buy the paperback version, approximately 1000 SEK ISBN 9781324063636 International Student Edition, (it also exist in hard cover (more expensive)) or as an ebook (somewhat cheaper)

Note: the course is based on the 6th edition. It should be ok to use the 5th edition but note that every new edition differs somewhat from earlier ones and the course is based on the 6th edition.

The main form of examination is a written final exam in May/June. There is also one retake in August.

There is a midterm (max 25 points). If you are not satisfied with the result on the midterm (or did not take the midterm), you have the opportunity to answer additional questions on the final exam. If you decide to answer these questions, you forfeit the result on the midterm.

The final exam (max 75 points) covers all parts of the course.

Your grade depends on the sum of points obtained on the final exam and the midterm (or extra questions in the final exam).

If the previous grade is not enough to pass the course in May/June, there is another opportunity to do so through the retake examination in August. This examination (max 100 points) includes compulsory questions covering all parts of the course. If you decide to answer these questions, the final grade will be based on the points obtained in the retake exam.

The course design, content and examination changes from year to year. The right to be examined on the specific content and according to this specific examination design is therefore restricted to this academic year. Results are only valid the year they were obtained.

Lastly, time constraints in each exam are preliminary and may be subject to a changes upon explicit communication.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).