EC1B3      Half Unit
Macroeconomics I

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

Requisites

Mutually exclusive courses:

This course cannot be taken with EC1B5 at any time on the same degree programme.

Pre-requisites:

Students must have completed EC1A3 before taking this course.

Additional requisites:

A-level mathematics, or equivalent.

This course is an introduction to macroeconomic analysis. We will study how countries’ economic performance is determined in the long run. We will learn why we observe economic growth and development in some countries but not in others. We will discuss how the labour market works and how unemployment is determined. We will analyse how the largest components of GDP, consumption and investment, are formed. We will also cover the role of policy and how it affects the economy. We will look at fiscal challenges in the long run. Emphasis will be given to concepts and tools used by macroeconomists in the analysis of macroeconomic phenomena. This course, in combination with either EC1A3 or EC1A5, exempts those who complete them from BA1 Fundamentals of Business Economics of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
This course, combined with EC1A3, contributes to the CB2 Exemption of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). 

1 hours of classes in the Spring Term.
20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

There will be a reading week in Week 6 of WT only (no lectures or classes that week).

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 30 hours across Winter Term and Spring Term.  

There will be weekly assignments and feedback will be given on two.

There is no set textbook for the course. The required reading material will sample from the textbooks listed below and it will possibly include e.g. reports from international organisations, academic research articles, video presentations, and academic blog posts. Lecture material may occasionally be complemented by supplementary readings, either required or optional, discussing the topics in more detail.
• Mankiw, G. (2019), Macroeconomics, 10th edition or later, Macmillan, London. Available online on the LSE Library website
• Jones, C. (2020), Macroeconomics (Fifth Edition), 5th Edition or later, W. W. Norton. Available online on the LSE Library website
• Williamson, S. (2019), Macroeconomics, 6th Edition, Pearson Education. Available online on the LSE Library website

Exam (90%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period

Continuous assessment (10%)