Macroeconomics

The objective of this course is that students learn the main theories of economic growth and the most important stylized facts of Western economies At the end of the course the student will be able to. 1 Identify the main stylized facts of groth. 2 To understand the importance of capital (physical as well as human) accumulation for growth. 3 To understand the importance of new ideas for growth. 4 To understand the effects of economic policies; transitory or permanent? 5 To understand the effects of institutions on growth. With respect of the skills adquired we will clasify them in two: generic or specific. Generic skills acquired: 1 Ability to solve complex problems. 2 Improving student capability to formulate an economic problem in theoretic terms. 3 The ability to translate economic data to theory. Specific skills 1 Learn to work with economic data. 2 Learn to work with models in continuous time. 3 To implement qualitatively and conduct computer simulations of the theories discussed in class.

1. Stylized facts of growth. 2. A theory of stagnation. 3, Growth and capital accumulation. 4. Growth accounting. 5. The role of human capital, education. 6. Limits to growth: Natural resources. 7. Innovation and growth.

Our methodology is (1) Lectures where the theory material is presented and discussed. (2) Analytical exercises to evaluate the student apprehension of the concepts studied. (3) Quantitative exercises with computer software to evaluate the theories studied during class.