Insegnamento a.a. 2025-2026

• National Accounting and key macro indicators
• The good market: GDP composition, investment, saving and market equilibrium
• The financial markets: demand and supply of money, central bank and commercial banks
• Macroeconomic equilibrium and macroeconomic policies in the short run
• The labor market
• The Phillips curve
• From the short to the medium run
• The role of expectations in the financial and real markets
• The open economy: saving and investment, the exchange rate, trade policies
• Government debt
• The determinants of economic growth
• The great recession and the Covid Crisis

• Explain how the main macroeconomic variables are defined, measured and used in economic analysis.

• Identify the key factors that determine the behavior of aggregate variables in an economy.

• Analyze the effects of monetary, fiscal, and structural policies on macroeconomic outcomes.

• Assess the role of economic policies in mitigating the impact of external and internal shocks.

• Describe the core economic mechanisms underlying major political and policy debates.

• Compare the impact of shocks and policy interventions under different exchange rate regimes.

• Examine the relationship between financial market developments and changes in macroeconomic equilibrium.

• Evaluate the causes and implications of sustainable versus unsustainable public and external deficits.

• Apply the knowledge gained during the course to assess the macroeconomic environment relevant to the firm or organization they join after graduation.
• Search for, interpret, and compare key macroeconomic data, drawing informed conclusions and making basic forecasts.
• Evaluate the likely effects of fiscal policy announcements and interventions on the broader economy.
• Compare macroeconomic performance across countries using consistent analytical frameworks.
• Use theoretical models and analytical tools to understand and address key macroeconomic challenges faced by policymakers.
• Critically assess macroeconomic forecasts and interpretations presented in media and institutional reports.
• Formulate informed judgments about controversial macroeconomic policy issues in uncertain and rapidly changing environments.
• Debate the trade-offs and limitations of different policy options, particularly in the face of crises or structural disruptions.
• Demonstrate awareness of the complexity of macroeconomic policymaking in an interconnected global economy.

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Individual works / Assignments
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

In addition to face-to-face and online lectures, tutorials are scheduled throughout the semester. During each tutorial, the concepts introduced in the lectures are applied to answer questions and solve problems with the structure of a typical written examination.

Furthermore, the instructor provides links to recent articles or blog posts on topics discussed in class, related to the models and concepts introduced during the lectures.

Some of these readings serve as starting points for case-study discussions, aimed at demonstrating how the concepts studied in the course can be used to interpret real-world economic events.

The assessment of whether the student has achieved the intended learning outcomes above is conducted through complementary methods:

1.     Two written partial examinations (typically, each with weight 50%) or a single written general examination. 

o   Each exam consists of open questions and multiple-choice questions. The purpose of the exam is to assess whether the student can employ the analytical tools developed throughout the course, even in seemingly novel contexts, as well as formulate a coherent and logical reasoning using the economic concepts studied in class.

o   Students can either take a midterm and a final exam at the end of the course or one general exam at the end of the course. To pass the exam, the grade on the written exam has to be at least 18/30.

2.     Group assigment: part of the final grade is based on a group assigment with final presentation. The aim of the group assignment is to develop students  team working and multicultural attitude, leadership skills  as well as to improve their capacity of writing formal reports and presenting in an effective way. Students will be asked to evaluate groupmates’ effort in the group project. 

3.     Additional points may be awarded thanks to quizzes throughout the course. Their aim is to help students be up to speed with lectures and it allows the instructor to make sure students are not falling behind.They are thus strongly encouraged and rewarded accordingly.

Detailed information on the assessment will be provided during the first week of the course. 

Note, the grades of group assignment and quizzes  will be valid until September 2026.

• O. BLANCHARD, A. AMIGHINI, F. GIAVAZZI, Macroeconomics - A European Perspective, Pearson Education Limited, 2021, Fourth Edition.
• G. FERRAGUTO, Macroeconomics - Problems and Questions, Egea, April 2020, 7th edition.
• Lecture notes, additional exercises and other readings will be made available during the semester on the course website on Bboard.