Principles of Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is ?big picture? economics. It looks at the economy as a whole and examines how it is performing. In this module, we introduce students to measuring the key macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation and unemployment. We explore what determines whether economies experience booms and recessions and the factors that influence unemployment and inflation. We also examine how the government should influence the economy via fiscal policy (decisions about public spending and taxation) and monetary policy (decisions about money creation and interest rates made by a central bank). We also look at longer term trends in living standards and the factors that drive these trends. Note that no assumption is made that students have previously studied economics. This module is a prerequisite for all students planning to take economics as a major at level 2 (second year). This includes (a) economics as a single subject major (b) economics as one of two subjects in a joint major programme (c) economics as a major in a major/minor combination. It is also a prequisite for ECON 20020 (Intermediate Macroeconomics).