ECO4012 - Principles and Applications of Macroeconomics

Objectives:

Identify and explain how household, business, and government behaviour determine aggregate demand and supply in an economy.
Recognise the key factors which contribute to, and detract from long-term economic growth, including market failure and government policy.
Illustrate the operation of open and closed economies, and the processes of balance of payments and exchange rate adjustment.
Use these principles in an array of contexts so as to analyse economic problems (such as unemployment and inflation) and evaluate local and global solutions.

Content:

This module will consider a range of introductory macroeconomic topics, including aggregate demand and supply, income and money flows in the context of closed and open economies to facilitate a deeper understanding of economic activity. Lectures will analyse closely the four main economic objectives: employment, inflation, growth and balance of payments, as well as compare and contrast Keynesian, supply-side, monetarist, and Austrian approaches to macroeconomic policy. Students will learn the basics of national income accounting and the price-specie flow mechanism, and consider the impact of international trade and globalisation in our modern world and its impact on business, employment, and income and wealth distribution.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The module will be delivered via a series of weekly 3-hour teaching blocks, comprising whole-group interactive lecture and seminar covering fundamental theories and applications. Lectures and seminars will be supported by in-depth applied workshops. The module will present students with selected scenarios for basic analysis in order to develop both analytical competence and the ability to identify and apply appropriate techniques in a range of typical situations. Students will be provided case studies and problems in which they will be required to analyse and apply concepts such as aggregate demand and supply, unemployment, inflation, and government policy. Seminars and workshops will also focus on assessment planning, preparation, and research.

The module will make use of current newsworthy case studies and developing political trends and so the nature of the topics and exercises will vary. Students will be provided with, and/or directed to, relevant reading and additional questions/exercises to support their progress through the module material.

Lectures / seminars
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: Cohort

Workshops / tutorials
Hours: 10
Intended Group Size: Cohort or variable-size groups

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
Essay: The assignment tests student's ability break-down the impact and consequences of a particular government policy (e.g. monetary policy) on macroeconomic variables (i.a. inflation, interest rate, unemployment, exchange rates) and long-term growth in a country of their choice. They will be required to illustrate their arguments with recent economic data, charts and graphs, where applicable, to compare and contrast policy alternatives.

Group presentation: the final 30% of the mark for this module is coming from the enterprise challenge, which is conducted during Programme Level Assessment. Students will present and submit a comprehensive business plan including four sections on marketing, operations, finance and economics, and people and organisations. The section on finance and economics will be assessed as part of this module.

Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.

Formative assessment is provided throughout Level 4 modules in the business programmes. Characterised as assessment for learning, formative assessment in early stages influences future learning by allowing students opportunity to act on feedback before receiving their final grade. Weekly lectures and workshops are taught in an interactive manner, providing semi-formal discussion and debates, peer critique and feedback, as well as quizzes and individual or group presentations.

Alternative assessment: for students deferring or re-sitting group presentation (30%), or doing it as part of joint honours programmes, an alternative method of assessment will be used - Essay (1,200 words).

Assessment:

001 Directed activities; throughout semester 2 10%
002 Essay; 2,400 words; end of semester 2 60%
003 Group pesentation; 20 mins & Q&A; end of semester 2 30%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Carmen Dorobat
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2

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