Prof Peter Sinclair

Dr Michael Vlassopoulos

This course is available on the BSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, BSc in Economics, BSc in Economics and Economic History, BSc in Economics with Economic History, BSc in Government and Economics, BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and BSc in Social Policy and Economics. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available to General Course students.

Students should have completed Microeconomic Principles I or II (or equivalent) and Macroeconomic Principles (or equivalent).

The course will concentrate on selected important economic policy issues and relevant economic tools. It will treat the issues at a level appropriate for students with the knowledge of economics provided by the courses already taken. The specific topics will be of contemporary interest, and will be announced by the start of each year. In any year the topics covered are likely to include some of the following:  Globalisation: effects on welfare, development and income distribution. ii Inequality iii. International negotiations and trade policies iv. Global imbalances v. World trade collapse vi. Tax, fiscal policy and unemployment. vii. Monetary policy and exchange rate frameworks viii. Financial integration and currency unions ix. Financial crises and relevant policies x. endogenous growth, exhaustible resources and relevant policies.

15 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the MT. 15 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

Two hours of revision lectures will be held in week 11 of both the MT and LT.

Students are urged to attempt the assigned problems before attending classes. At least four pieces of written work will be required.

There is no course textbook. Detailed reading will be provided in the syllabus at the start of the year. Books that provided useful background reading  Lent Term 2013/14 included: (a) General books on the European economy / Union and the Eurozone: R. Baldwin, C. Wyplosz The Economics of European Integration, 3e McGraw Hill 2009 P. de Grauwe The Economics of Monetary Union 8e Oxford UP 2009 F. Allen, E. Carletti, G. Corsetti (eds), Life in the Eurozone with or without Sovereign Default, Wharton School, U Penn 2011 (b) Other financial crisis books V. Acharya et al, Guaranteed to Fail Princeton UP 2011 (USA: the mortgages debacle) D. Mayes, R. Pringle, M. Taylor (eds), Towards a New Framework for Financial Stability, Central Banking Publications 2009 (global / analytical) A. Sheng, From Asian to Global Financial Crisis Cambridge UP 2009 (c) Other books J. Gruber Public Finance and Public Policy 3e Worth 2011 P. Krugman and M. Obstfeld International Economics: Theory and Policy 7e Pearson 2010 L. Mahadeva and P. Sinclair How Monetary Policy Works Routledge Taylor and Francis 2005.

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.