Development of Macroeconomic Thought

COURSE OBJECTIVE
The objective of this course is to introduce core concepts and theories of modern macroeconomic analysis including their development within the economic and social context of the past centuries.

Specific learning outcomes upon completion of this course are:
- students know of and understand macroeconomic theories about growth, inequality and unemployment within their historical contexts;
- students know of core macroeconomic concepts, including national accounts and other frequently used aggregates
- students are familiar with recent empirical macroeconomic work on growth, inequality and unemployment.

COURSE CONTENT
Macroeconomics is about the behavior of economic aggregates, i.e., variables that capture the development and change of the entire economy over time. The course starts with discussing the historical development of macroeconomic theories about growth, inequality and unemployment

Next the course proceeds with the introduction of core macroeconomic concepts and theories including illustrations from recent empirical macroeconomic work on growth, inequality and unemployment:

• Circular flows and national accounts;
• Aggregate incomes and inequality;
• Growth accounting: labor productivity, technological progress, human capital, Solow model;
• Institutions and economic development;
• Unemployment: measurement, types, costs of unemployment, wage rigidity.

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures and tutorials

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
Grade is average of problem sets (30 %) and written examination (70%), with written exam grade of at least 5.0.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Basic knowledge of math and statistics, as provided in the academic core of any academic program at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam or equivalent