Macroeconomics
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide tools and analytical frameworks to understand the functioning of a macroeconomic system. To this end, the course presents fundamental concepts and models to analyze the behavior of key macroeconomic aggregates (consumption, savings, investments, public expenditure, money supply, imports and exports, movements of financial capital). The focus will be on the impact of monetary and fiscal policies on short and medium-term macroeconomic dynamics and on the determinants of long-term growth. Special attention will be devoted to the interpretation of real-world macroeconomic data, and to the analysis of contemporary policy issues.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have: i) gained knowledge and understanding of the main models used to interpret short to long-run macroeconomic fluctuations; ii) the ability to comprehend international trade and financial linkages characterizing an open economy; iii) acquired knowledge and understanding of instruments and objectives of monetary and fiscal policy; iv) developed the capacity to autonomously interpret and evaluate documents produced by major research institutions and specialized outlets concerning economic conditions; v) acquired technical language skills enabling them to communicate with industry experts.
Lesson period: First trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First trimester
Course syllabus
Key topics are:
Introduction to Macroeconomics (key macroeconomic variables, foundations of national accounting)
The Short Run (the goods market, financial markets, IS-LM model)
The Medium Run (the labor market, the Phillips curve, the trade-off between inflation and unemployment)
The Long run (key facts on economic growth, saving, capital accumulation, and growth, technological progress and growth)
Open Economy (the goods market in an open economy, economic policy in an open economy, exchange rate regimes).
Introduction to Macroeconomics (key macroeconomic variables, foundations of national accounting)
The Short Run (the goods market, financial markets, IS-LM model)
The Medium Run (the labor market, the Phillips curve, the trade-off between inflation and unemployment)
The Long run (key facts on economic growth, saving, capital accumulation, and growth, technological progress and growth)
Open Economy (the goods market in an open economy, economic policy in an open economy, exchange rate regimes).
Prerequisites for admission
Although there are no other formal prerequisites, knowledge of basic concepts of Mathematics and Microeconomics is strongly recommended.
Teaching methods
The course uses both lectures and review sessions. During lectures, students will be given a theoretical background and policy issues will be discussed. Review sessions are mainly devoted to solving exercises on the topics addressed in the lectures. Slides and handouts will be uploaded on the ARIEL website.
Teaching Resources
- Blanchard, O., Amighini, A., Giavazzi, F., Macroeconomics: A European Perspective, Pearson.
- Slides and handouts uploaded on the ARIEL website.
- Slides and handouts uploaded on the ARIEL website.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Written final exam (approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes). The exam covers all the topics presented during lectures and review sessions and it aims to assess the understanding of basic macroeconomic models and the ability to apply them. The exam consists of exercises and/or open questions and/or multiple choices questions.
Professor(s)