Economics for Business

This course is designed to provide students with concepts and tools to analyze countries' macroeconomic performance from an international finance-trade perspective. The main goal of the course is to help students understand (a) how to evaluate general macroeconomic performance measures (b) how monetary and fiscal policies can be used to affect short-run macroeconomic conditions (c) media accounts of macroeconomic events (d) how the market for exchange rates work (e) why central banks intervene in exchange rate markets (f) how digital currencies work. The course is structured around the tools (models) of macroeconomics, using primarily graphs, and occasionally simple equations, and real-world applications.

Class 1: Introduction Basic vocabulary and tools National income accounting and balance of payments Readings: Ch. 13 (KOM), Ch. 5 & 6 (M) Cases/Exercises: Krugman, P. (2009). A Country is not a Company. Harvard Business Press. Self-study questions 1 Class 2: Money and Exchange Rates The foreign exchange market The money market The money market and the exchange rate market in the short run Readings: Ch. 14 and pp. 354-368 on Ch.15 (KOM), Ch.2 (M) Cases/Exercises: Self-study questions 2 Class 3: Long Run Dynamics in the Exchange Rate Market, and Output Effects in the Short Run Exchange rate market in the long run Output and the exchange rate in the short run Readings: Ch. 17 and pp. 368-381 on Ch.15 (KOM), Ch.7 (M) Cases/Exercises: Self-study questions 3 Class 4: Output Effects in the Short Run Output and the exchange rate in the short run Effects of monetary and fiscal policies Readings: Ch. 16-18, Ch. 2, 3, 18, and pp. 69-73 on Ch. 4 (KOM) Ch.7 (M) Cases/Exercises: Self-study questions 4 Class 5: Fixed Exchange Rates and Team Case Study Presentations Fixed exchange rate regimes: monetary and fiscal policy Team case study presentations

Session 1: Lecture Session 2: Lecture + Problem Set Solving + Discussion of Readings Session 3: Lecture + Problem Set Solving + Case Discussion Session 4: Lecture + Problem Set Solving + Case Discussion Session 5: Lecture + Team Case Study Presentations Students are not allowed to use generative artificial intelligence tools in any of the activities that are evaluated within this course.