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Introductory Macroeconomics

  • Summer schools
  • Department of Economics
  • Application code SS-EC102
  • Starting 2020
  • Short course: Open
  • Location: Houghton Street, London

UPDATE: Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic we will no longer be offering this course in summer 2020. Please check our latest news on this situation here.  

You can still register your interest in this course for 2021 using the ‘Sign up’ button to the right.  

This course takes both a short and a long-term view of the economy, and aims to help you understand recent developments in macroeconomics using graphic analysis and simple algebra.

It focuses on the stylised facts of business cycle fluctuations, economic growth and unemployment; discusses what light modern macroeconomics can shed on these facts; and finally evaluates the scope for policy to improve macroeconomic performance.

The economy in the long run

This first part of the course introduces the building blocks of the macro economy, and provides an overview of the performance of the economy in the long-run. Topics focus on the determination of national income, the determinants of long term economic growth, inflation and unemployment and economic pathologies such as persistent unemployment and hyperinflation.

The economy in the short run

An overview of the behaviour of the economy in the short term. This part of the course reviews business cycle fluctuations, the design and effects of monetary and fiscal policy, budget deficits and government debt and the open economy.

Session: Two
Dates: 13 July – 31 July 2020
Lecturers: Dr Canh Thien Dang and Dr Dimitra Petropoulou

Session: Three
Dates: 3 August – 21 August 2020
Lecturers: Dr Canh Thien Dang and Dr Antonio Mele

(Due to popularity, this course is repeated and can be taken in either of the sessions outlined above.)

 

Programme details

Key facts

Level: 100 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees:  Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours 

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment*: Two written examinations

Typical credit**: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

*Assessment is optional

**You will need to check with your home institution

For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of mathematics (i.e. elementary calculus).

Programme structure
  • Economic fluctuations and stabilisation policy
  • The evolution of stabilisation policy
  • Government debt
  • Financial intermediation
  • The credit crunch
  • General equilibrium
  • Money and inflation
  • Labour markets and unemployment
  • Economic growth
  • The open economy

Course outcomes

This course will help you understand recent developments in macroeconomics using graphic analysis and simple algebra.

 

Teaching

The LSE Department of Economics is one of the biggest and best in the world, with expertise across the full spectrum of mainstream economics. A long-standing commitment to remaining at the cutting edge of developments in the field has ensured the lasting impact of its work on the discipline as a whole. Almost every major intellectual development within Economics over the past fifty years has had input from members of the department, which counts ten Nobel Prize winners among its current and former staff and students. Alumni are employed in a wide range of national and international organisations, in government, international institutions, business and finance.

The Department of Economics is a leading research department, consistently ranked in the top 20 economics departments worldwide. This is reflected in the 2014 Research Assessment Exercise which recognised the Department's outstanding contribution to the field. According to the REF 2014 results, 56 per cent of the Department’s research output was graded 4 star (the highest category), indicating that it is 'world-leading'. A further 33 per cent was designated 'internationally excellent' (3 star).

On this three week intensive programme, you will engage with and learn from full-time lecturers from the LSE’s economics faculty.

Reading materials

The main textbook for this course is:

N. Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, Worth Publishers, Ninth Edition (International Edition), 2016.

Another useful textbook for browsing data and case studies is:
Olivier Blanchard, Macroeconomics, Sixth Edition, (Pearson International Edition), 2012.

*A more detailed reading list will be supplied prior to the start of the programme

**Course content, faculty and dates may be subject to change without prior notice

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Related Programmes

Introductory Microeconomics

Code(s) SS-EC101

Introduction to Econometrics

Code(s) SS-EC212

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