Macroeconomics II

This is a mandatory graduate course for all students pursuing a master's degree in economics at the University of Bern.

Course Description

Location: A-126 UniS
Time: Wednesday 08.15 - 10:00 (Exercises), Wednesday 10.15 - 12.00

This course introduces Master students to modern macroeconomic theory. Building on the analysis of the consumption-savings tradeoff in dynamic economies and on concepts from general equilibrium theory, the course covers workhorse general equilibrium models of modern macroeconomics: the representative agent framework, the overlapping generations model, and the Lucas tree model. Readings: The course follows the lecturer’s textbook "Macroeconomic Analysis”, MIT Press, 2019.

Suggested textbooks:
D. Niepelt: Macroeconomic Analysis, MIT Press, 2019. (Amazon)


Learning outcome:

  1. Students understand central determinants of a household's savings decision under certainty and under risk
  2. Students understand the concept of general equilibrium and how it manifests itself in the equilibrium conditions of a dynamic economy
  3. Students understand the central workhorse models of dynamic macroeconomic theory and are able to apply them to macroeconomic questions
  4. Students can use the models to derive implications for aggregate consumption, capital accumulation, asset prices and other macroeconomic variables
  5. Students are able to manipulate and work with the equation systems that characterise these models

Exercises

Next exercise session is on October 7. We will cover Problem Set 2. Solutions will be provided on the evening before the exercise session.


Solutions