Macroeconomics I

Macroeconomics I

専門教育科目

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国際商経学部

学年指定なし

KCCBG1MCA1

2.00単位

講義 (Lecture)

2025年度前期

(Spring semester)

坪井 美都紀

School of Economics and Management

英語

目標8

By appointment.

1◎／2〇／3〇

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【Course Objectives】
This course gives you the background necessary to understand the broad movements in the Japanese and global economies. You will learn about the short-run business cycles and economic policy.


【Learning Outcome】
By the end of the course, students should be able to understand discussions of macroeconomic issues in newspapers and news reports they encounter on a daily basis: for example, will the yen appreciate or depreciate against the US dollar after the next BoJ policy meeting?

【Subtitle】Short-run Macroeconomics: Business Cycle

【Keywords】Labor Market; Financial Markets; Open Economy Macroeconomics; Economic Policy

In this course, we study the short-run business cycle and economic policy in both closed and open economies. For this purpose, we will study labor market, financial markets, the monetary system, countercyclical macroeconomic policy, and exchange rate market. Using the evidence-based-economics boxes from the textbook and up-to-date data from the FRED database, we will learn economic theory and how the theory can explain or sometimes conflict with the data. We will also study some case studies, such as the global financial crisis of 2008, the European debt crisis, and the recent COVID-19 crisis and its policy responses.

Lecture 1 - Equilibrium in the Macroeconomy
Lecture 2 - Employment and Unemployment: Equilibrium in the Labor Market
Lecture 3 - Employment and Unemployment: Wage Rigidity and Structural Unemployment
Lecture 4 - Credit Markets: Equilibrium in the Credit Market
Lecture 5 - Credit Markets: Banks and Financial Intermediation
Lecture 6 - The Monetary System: The Functions and Types of Money
Lecture 7 - The Monetary System: Inflation and the Central Bank
Lecture 8 - Short-Run Fluctuations: Labor Demand and Okun's Law
Lecture 9 - Short-Run Fluctuations: Multipliers and the Recession of 2008 and 2020
Lecture 10 - Macroeconomic Policy: Monetary Policy and Effective Lower Bound
Lecture 11 - Macroeconomic Policy: Fiscal Policy and Taxation
Lecture 12 - Macroeconomics and International Trade: Absolute and Comparative Advantage
Lecture 13 - Macroeconomics and International Trade: The Current and Financial Account
Lecture 14 - Open Economy Macroeconomics: Nominal and Real Exchange Rates
Lecture 15 - Open Economy Macroeconomics: Net Exports and Net Capital Outflow

Acemoglu, D., Laibson, D., List, J., 2022. Macroeconomics. 3rd edn. Pearson.

Blanchard, O.J., 2024. Macroeconomics. 9th edn. Pearson.
Jones, C.I., 2024. Macroeconomics. 6th edn. W.W. Norton & Company.
Mankiw, N.G., 2023. Principles of Macroeconomics. 10th edn. Cengage Learning.

Pre-learning entails reviewing class slides uploaded in advance and completing assigned readings (5 hours per week).
Post-learning involves completing problem sets (5 hours per week).

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There will be occasional problem sets throughout the spring semester that collectively account for 30% of your final grade. The exact number of assignments will depend on your understanding. Also, there will be an open-book take-home final exam that accounts for 70% of your final grade. Engagement in class activities may be considered in grading.

You will be graded on a four-rank scale: S rank (above 90 points) is reserved for a small fraction of students who perform well above the average level, A rank (above 80 points) will be the most common score and indicates successful completion of the course, B rank (above 70 points) indicates satisfactory performance but a lower final exam score, and C rank (above 60) signals either a lack of understanding of the material or insufficient effort.

AI Use:
You are allowed to use AI tools such as ChatGPT. These tools will be useful in your future studies and careers, and it is important to learn how to use them wisely; for example, I extensively use these tools in my research to improve my writing and to assist with programming. At the same time, be aware that using AI tools as a crutch can hinder your own learning. You are making a significant financial and opportunity cost investment in your education. Keep in your mind that what matters is not grades but learning – an S rank without real understanding is meaningless. Bottom line: Use AI tools to support your work, but never let them do your work.

I use Google Forms for assignment submissions. After the deadline, I will notify you of your score via the form. If you want to know details on how your work was graded, please contact me.

The class can cover only essential materials from the textbook, not everything. You should read the textbook multiple times and solve the end-of-chapter problems.

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