Economic Policy  SS 2015  

Lecturer: Dr. Andreas Hoffmann
Tutor: Sophia Latsos
Start: 7.4.2015
Date: Tuesday, 15:15 Uhr - 16:45 Uhr
Room: Seminar room 13 (I274), institute building
Language: English

Objectives

This course is on economic policy in theory and practice with a focus on financial-crisis related economic policy issues in both the advanced and emerging market economies. We discuss topics such as fiscal demand stimulus, the link between monetary policy and credit booms, problems of debt sustainability and liquidation as well as international aspects of the recent crisis and economic policy responses.

Syllabus

Main Text

Bénassy-Quéré et al., Economic Policy: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Requirements

This course is part of the module International Economic Policy. Besides this course the module comprises a class in European Integration as well as a seminar in Development Economics. Grading will be based on an exam covering the two courses worth two-thirds of your grade. For the seminar you will write a short term paper worth one-third of your final grade.

Contents (Subject to changes)

A	Introduction to Economic Policy
1.	A Primer on Economic Policy	07.04.2015
2.	Limits of Economic Policy	14.04.2015
3.	Fiscal Policy A Modern Debate on Demand Stimulus: The Keynes vs. Hayek Video	21.04.2015
4.	Monetary Policy (Note: Problem Set 1)	28.04.2015
B	Economic Policy and the Financial Crisis
5.	Micro Roots of the Financial Crisis	05.05.2015
6.	Monetary Policy, Credit Booms and Financial Crisis	12.05.2015
7.	Global Imbalances and the Financial Crisis	26.05.2015
8.	Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interdependence	02.06.2015
C	Economic Policy Challenges
9.	Dealing with Sovereign Debt Problems (Note: Problem Set 2)	09.06.2015
10.	Guest Lecture: Sahra Wagenknecht: "Eurokrisenpolitik gescheitert, Sozialabbau beendet? Griechenland und die Folgen für Deutschland und Europa" 18:30, HS1	09.06.2015
11.	Low Interest Rates, Capital Flows to Emerging Markets and Policy Uncertainty	16.06.2015
12.	Capital Flow Management in Emerging Markets	23.06.2015
13.	Macroprudential Policy	30.06.2015
D	Exam
14.	Questions and Answers	16.07.2015
15.	Exam	31.07.2015

Problem Sets and Tutoring

Here you can find problem sets on two key topics of the lecture. 

Problem Set 1 (due on 12.05.2015)

Problem Set 2 (due on 03.07.2015)

Sophia Latsos is the tutor for the course. She will help you deal with the material and answer any questions on the problem sets.