I .     Basic Course Information

Credit points: 30

Pre-requisite(s): EC1506

Co-requisite(s): None

Note(s): None

II .     Course Learning Aims (Goals) and Objectives

The overall learning aim (goal) of this course is to provide students with the ability to       critically apply macroeconomic theories to solve important international macroeconomic policy problems. The specific learning objectives of the course are:

1 To introduce students to a selection of macroeconomic models which give a framework to explain how monetary and fiscal policies affect a nation’s income;

1 To develop the ability of students to apply these models to novel policy problems;

1 To develop an awareness among students of the key factors which determine how effective fiscal and monetary policies might be under various economic circumstances;

1 To allow students to explore the limitations of these models and critically evaluate the policy prescriptions that they may suggest;

1 To develop the students’ analytical, quantitative, problem-solving and presentation skills that macroeconomic policy advisers require;

1 To provide the student with a sound grounding for honours study in macroeconomics.

III .     Intended Learning Outcomes

The intended learning outcomes of this course are that:

1 Students will be able to explain and illustrate how key macroeconomic models work;

1 Students will be able to apply these key macroeconomic models to analyse contemporary macroeconomic policy problems;

1 Students will be able to critically evaluate these models and the policy prescriptions they provide.

IV .     Course Content

This course focuses on macroeconomic policy in a global economy. The first part builds an open-  economy Keynesian model to investigate what determines the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies, and how exchange rate regimes and capital mobility impact on policy effectiveness. The   second part investigates what determines the level of macroeconomic activity and its growth over time. The final part looks at what determines inflation and unemployment. This intermediate        level course uses live lectures to develop your analytical skills evaluating economic policy in a        rigorous and technical way to equip you with the skills needed for honours level study.

V .     Assessment and Feedback

Teach ing

1 guidance and 3 instructional videos per week (replacing the normal 3 lectures per week) and 1 one-hour tutorial every two weeks.

You can sign up for tutorials using MyTimetable.

Summative Ass ess ment

1st attempt

Continuous assessment (100%) consisting of two 1000-word essays (40% each) and a graded tutorial presentation video (20%)

Resit:

Two 1000-word essays (50% each)

Fo rmative Assess ment

This will take place via tutorial discussions and Q&A sessions.

Feedba ck

Generic feedback is given on the two essays via MyAberdeen. Oral feedback is given on the             tutorial presentation. On a less formal basis, feedback is given verbally during tutorial discussions, and after tutorial presentations.

External Exam ine rs

The external examiner for economics undergraduate programmes is Professor Nils Braakmann,    Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, University ofNewcastle. Students must not contact the external examiner directly and external examiners receiving any direct contactfrom students will report this back to the School.

VI .     Graduate Attributes

Gradua te employa bility

The course provides intermediate knowledge relevant to further study and careers in a broad range of areas including business and finance. The course develops core skills in terms of      numeracy, problem solving, presentation skills, economic modelling, spreadsheet skills and  technical essay writing.

Academ ically Exce llent

For students on economics and also business and finance programmes, this module provides necessary intermediate knowledge that will enable more in-depth study of economic policy

issues and concepts during programme years 3 and 4. It provides an understanding of the macroeconomic policy environment necessary for a broad business understanding.

Critical Th inke rs and Effe ct ive C ommunicato rs

The module encourages the development of both problem solving and communication skills  and also independent conceptual and creative thinking via its tutorial exercises, presentations and assessments.

Open To Lea rn ing and Pe rso nal Dev elopmen t

The module can lead students to develop interest in doing further economics modules or, for those on economics programmes, highlight their initial strengths and weaknesses in relation to this topic area and the skills needed to pursue these programmes in later years. It helps all students in continued development of general skills in presentation, writing and numeracy.

Act ive Cit ize ns

In addition to broadening knowledge, the module helps raise awareness about the role of macroeconomic policy in addressing problems and challenges in a global economy.

Subje ct Ben chma rks

The main external reference point used is the QAA subject benchmarking statement for Economics (2015).

VII .     Administration of the Course

Administration of this course is viaMyAberdeen. Announcements will be made using                  MyAberdeen. If we need to contact you personally, this will be via your university email address (make sure you check this regularly or set up email forwarding to an email address that you do  check regularly) or to your term-time address (ensure you keep these details up to date via your student portal).

Course Co o rdinator

1 Professor W David McCausland (d.mccausland@abdn.ac.uk, MacRobert 806)

Course Team

1 Professor W David McCausland (d.mccausland@abdn.ac.uk, MacRobert 806)

1 Nelson Nkalu (tutor) (c.nkalu.2[email protected])

VIII .     Common School Policies

This course adheres to the common Business School policies set out below:

1 Attendance Policy

1 Lateness Policy

1 Medical Certification Policy

1 Academic Integrity Policy

1 Common Grading Scale

1 Resit Policy

1 Undergraduate Progression Policy

1 Honours Entry Policy

1 Postgraduate Progression Policy

1 Undergraduate Degree Classification Policy

1 Postgraduate Degree Classification Policy

1 Class Representation Policy

1 Co-Curriculum Policy

1 Appeals Policy

1 Support for Disabled Students

1 Feedback Policy

1 Proofreading Policy

1 Conversion Scales

These are available on the relevant Business School organisation pages within MyAberdeen –

Undergraduate

Students are asked to make themselves familiar with the information on key institutional policies which been made available within MyAberdeen. These policies are relevant to all students and will be useful to you throughout your studies.  They contain important information and address issues such as what to do if you are absent, how to raise an appeal or a complaint and how seriously the University takes your feedback. These institutional policies should be read in conjunction with this programme and/or course handbook, in which School specific policies are detailed. Further information can be found on theUniversity¹s Infohub webpageor by visiting the Infohub. The information included in the institutional areafor 2021/22 includes thefollowing:

1 Absence

1 Academic Appeals & Complaints

1 Assessment (Common Grading Scale)

1  Codes of Practice on Student Discipline (Academic and Non-Academic)

1  Class Certificates

1  Recording of Lectures

1  Exam Results

1  Transcripts

1  MyAberdeen

1  TurnitinUK

1  Feedback

1  Communication

1 Aberdeen Graduate Attributes

1  The Co-Curriculum

We draw your attention particularly to our attendance policy:

All students registered for a course must attend and engage with that course by signing    up for and attending compulsory teaching sessions and submitting in-course                       assessments. Failure to meet these requirements will attract penalty points. If you attract one penalty point you are liable to be deemed “at risk” (denoted by C6 on your student     record). If you attract two penalty points you are liable to have your class certificate           removed (denoted by C7 on your student record) meaning you will not be eligible to sit    the assessments and are effectively removed from the course.

IX .     Further Details

Checklis t

To help you get to grips with the registration procedure for EC2503: Intermediate                      Macroeconomics, you may find it useful to complete the checklist below by filling in the gaps:

By Friday February 4 2022 (end week 27) you should have:

•    signed up for a tutorial - begin in week 28 (even groups) or 29 (odd groups)

Make a note of what you have signed up for here:

Time .......... Day .......... Weeks (odd/even) .......... Class ID No. .......... Tutor ..........

•    checked on your Student Portal that you are registered for EC2503

•    Remember to attend all tutorials: they are compulsory. You must attend the tutorial group that you have signed up for.

•    Deadlines for coursework are:

o Essay 1 (Alternative Assessment): Thursday March 10 2022 (week 31) at 12:00 – this is submitted and graded electronically through MyAberdeen

o Essay 2 (Alternative Assessment): Thursday April 21 2022 (week 38) at 12:00 – this is submitted and graded electronically through MyAberdeen

o Graded tutorial presentation: as allocated via MyAberdeen – the video of     your presentation is submitted electronically through MyAberdeen, but       graded orally during the tutorial. We recommend that you use PowerPoint to   create your slides, and Panopto to record your presentation. Further guidance may be foundhere. You have the option to record or upload files to Panopto, which            provides you with a share link to paste into a Blackboard Assignment submission.

•   All students registered for a course must attend and engage with that course by       signing up for and attending compulsory teaching sessions, and submitting in-        course assessments. Failure to meet these requirements will attract penalty points. If you attract one penalty point you are liable to be deemed “at risk” (denoted by     C6 on your student record). If you attract two penalty points you are liable to have  your class certificate removed (denoted by C7 on your student record) meaning       you will not be eligible to sit the assessments and are effectively removed from the course. There is no facility for rescheduling of presentations, even if the absence is for medical or other good cause. It is also polite and courteous to inform your tutor of     any absences in advance of the tutorial or workshop.

Course Texts

Recommended Text (you are recommended to purchase this text):

•           Gärtner, M., Macroeconomics, Prentice-Hall (5th edition 2016)

You may choose to use older editions of this text if you prefer, but the chapter, equation and page numbers will vary from those quoted in the lectures.

Other Texts (useful alternative sources, availablefor consultation in the library):

Mankiw, N.G. and Taylor,  M.P. (EU 2nd edition, 2015, Worth)

Blanchard, O (5th ed 2009) Macroeconomics, Prentice-Hall

Gordon, R. J (12th ed 2012) Macroeconomics, Harper Collins

Burda & Wyplosz (6th ed 2013) Macroeconomics: A European Text, Oxford      Froyen R. (9th ed 2009) Macroeconomics, Theories and policies, Prentice Hall Jones, C.I. (2nd ed 2011) Macroeconomics, WW Norton

Jones, C.I. (2nd ed 2002) Introduction to Economic Growth, Chapters 1 and 2

Full details may be found athttp://www.readinglists.co.uk/rsl/student/index.dfp?

Students should be aware that in earlier editions of the above texts, chapter and page references may vary from those stated. The references indicated above are given as an initial guide to          relevant reading, and students are encouraged to seek further sources.

MyAbe rdee n

MyAberdeen is the  University of Aberdeen’s  Virtual Learning Environment.  This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with the courses you are studying.

MyAberdeen also provides direct access to SafeAssign, the originality checking service, through which you may be asked to submit completed assignments.

You can log in to MyAberdeen by going to www.abdn.ac.uk/myaberdeen and entering your University username and password (which you use to access the University network).

Further information on MyAberdeen including Quick Guides and video tutorials, along with information

about SafeAssign, can be found at:www.abdn.ac.uk/students/myaberdeen.php

Information    about    academic    writing    and    how    to    avoid    plagiarism    can    be    found    at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism.

Lectu re Programm e

The lecturer on this course is Professor W David McCausland (DM).

Lectures provide an overview over the material covered in the course. Lectures aim to provide  guidance and insight, but they must be supplemented by further reading and tutorial                 participation. Do not rely on your lecture notes as the sole source of your knowledge. This year each lecture is replaced by a short video, and are released in batches of three on a weekly basis. Each week there is a short guidance video to explain what you should be studying that week.

All instructional videos are in the format of taking you through the key models and policy applications on a visualiser, to closely approximate to what would have been done in a live lecture.

The following indicate the contents and structure of the course. The lecturers may vary the time devoted to each topic as deemed appropriate. Chapter references are to Gärtner, M.,                     Macroeconomics (5th edition, 2016).

Introdu ction (1 in tro ducto ry vid eo)

Lecturer: Professor W David McCausland (DM)

(i)  Course Overview

(ii) Course Assessment

A1 Develo ping an open e co nomy ma cro mod el (the Mu ndell - Fl eming

Model) (15 inst ru ctional videos)

Lecturer: Professor W David McCausland (DM)

(i)  The Closed Economy LM curve (chapter 3)

(ii) The Closed Economy IS curve (chapter 3)

(iii) IS-LM equilibrium in the Closed Economy (chapter 3)

(iv) The Open Economy IS Curve (chapter 3)

(v) The Foreign Exchange Market and FE curve (chapter 4) (vi) IS-LM-FE equilibrium in the Open Economy (chapter 4)

a.   Policy Analysis under Flexible Exchange Rates

b.   Policy Analysis under Fixed Exchange Rates

(vii) The government budget: budget deficits and public debt (chapter 14)

B1 Econ omic G rowth (3 inst ructio nal vide os)

Lecturer: Professor W David McCausland (DM)

(i)  The facts about economic growth: modern growth rates in perspective (chapter 9) (ii) Savings, investment and growth (chapter 9)

(iii)Technological progress and growth (chapter 10)

C1/C2 Agg regate S upply an d the Lab our Ma rket ( 6 inst ru ctional

videos)

Lecturer: Professor W David McCausland (DM)

(i)  Aggregate Supply: demand for labour, supply of labour, equilibrium and the derivation of the aggregate supply curve (chapter 6)

(ii) Inflation and unemployment: short and long-run Phillips curves (chapters 8 and 15  - specifically equations 8.1/2 and 15.1/3/4 and afour-panel diagram on MyAberdeen)

C3 - C5 The AS -AD Model ( 5 inst ru ct ional v ideos)

Lecturer: Professor W David McCausland (DM)