MA0910: Macroeconomic Theory

Basic Information

• Location: Helsinki

• Time: Academic year 2009-2010

• Application form

  • Deadline for applications: August 28, 2009

  • Please note that the applicants will be informed of their acceptance after the deadline at the latest

• The course is divided in two parts. In total the course includes 48 hours of lectures and 24 hours of exercises, two midterm exams and/or a retake exam

• FDPE recommends that the course is acknowledged by the student's own university/department with 8 ECTS credit points

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Teaching Staff

• Instructors:

  • Part I: Professor Niku Määttänen (Aalto University School of Economics)

  • Part II: Dr Antti Ripatti (Bank of Finland) and Dr Markus Haavio (Bank of Finland)

• Teaching assistants:

  • Part I : Eeva Kerola (Aalto University School of Economics)

  • Part II: Anni Nevalainen (University of Jyväskylä)

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Course Requirements and Exams

To pass the course the student must:

• take two midterm exams: the first midterm exam is arranged in the autumn term and the second midterm exam is arranged in the spring term;
  AND/OR
• take a retake exam in the spring term (part I and II must be examined together);
  AND
• get 40 % of the combined maximum points of the two midterm exams or the retake exam (at the minimum)
  AND
• The final grade consists of two midterm exams or a retake exam.

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To take the exams the student must:

• solve at least 50% of the given problems (separately for part I and part II) "showing good effort" so that the principles of solutions are correct.
• This is a prerequisite for taking both the midterm exams and the retake exam.

Please note that the students' home departments are responsible for registering the grades according to their own requirements. FDPE gives the students, on request, a certificate of the courses passed within the programme.

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Topics

Topics covered in the course include:

• intertemporal macroeconomic theory

• overlapping generations model

• dynamic programming

• economic growth

• real business cycle theory

• open economy macroeconomics

• credibility of economic policies

• models of labour unions

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How to Prepare Yourself for the Course

• Instructions on how to prepare yourself for the 1st year FDPE core courses

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