IGESSIGESS (Institute for Global Economics and Social Sciences)

Macroeconomics focuses at the national level, examining the determination of important national variables, such as GDP, the rate of inflation, the level of unemployment, as well as flows of imports and exports and the balance of trade. Course participants will also understand the mechanisms for government policies to improve or hinder economic performance at the macroeconomic level.

This course is an introduction to the field of macroeconomics. It will give you the fundamental idea of the range of behaviors that economists investigate, introduce you to the basic tools that we use to analyze the economy, and apply these tools to government policy issues. Most importantly, this course will introduce you to the “economic way of thinking,” an approach to decision making that applies to personal decisions.

英語 / English

Weekly Lecture and E-learning with questions. The e-learning platform, called “Mindtap”,is developed by Cengage Learning. Because of COVID-19 pandemic expansion, the class lectures will be held by ZOOM, the web-based online conference system.

あり / Yes

なし / No

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

Class 1：Introduction

Course Overview (Class Objectives, Goals etc).

Class 2：Measuring a Nation’s Income

The purpose of this lecture is to provide students with an understanding of the measurement and the use of gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is the single most important measure of the health of the macroeconomy. Indeed, it is the most widely reported statistic in every developed economy.

Class 3：Measuring the Cost of Living

The purpose of this lecture is twofold: first, to show students how to generate a price index and, second, to teach them how to employ a price index to compare dollar figures from different points in time and to adjust interest rates for inflation. In addition, students will learn some of the shortcomings of using the consumer price index as a measure of the cost of living.

Class 4：Production and Growth

The purpose of this lecture is to examine the long-run determinants of both the level and the growth rate of real GDP per person. Along the way, we will discover the factors that determine the productivity of workers and address what governments might do to improve the productivity of their citizens.

Class 5：Saving, Investment, and the Financial System

The purpose of this lecture is to show how saving and investment are coordinated by the loanable funds market. Within the framework of the loanable funds market, we are able to see the effects of taxes and government deficits on saving, investment, the accumulation of capital, and ultimately, the growth rate of output.

Class 6：The Basic Tools of Finance

The purpose of this lecture is to introduce the students to some tools that people use when they participate in financial markets. We will show how people compare different sums of money at different points in time, how they manage risk, and how these concepts combine to help determine the value of a financial asset, such as a share of stock.

Class 7：The Monetary System

The purpose of this lecture is to help students develop an understanding of what money is, what forms money takes, how the banking system helps create money, and how the Federal Reserve controls the quantity of money. An understanding of money is important because the quantity of money affects inflation and interest rates in the long run, and production and employment in the short run.

Class 8：Money Growth and Inflation

The purpose of this lecture is acquaint students with the causes and costs of inflation. Students will find that, in the long run, there is a strong relationship between the growth rate of money and inflation. Students will also find that there are numerous costs to the economy from high inflation, but that there is not a consensus on the importance of these costs when inflation is moderate.

Class 9：Open-Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts

The purpose of this lecture is to develop the basic concepts macroeconomists use to study open economies. It addresses why a nation’s net exports must equal its net capital outflow. It also addresses the concepts of the real and nominal exchange rate and develops a theory of exchange rate determination known as purchasing-power parity.

Class 10：A Macroeconomic Theory of Open Economy I

The purpose of this lecture is to establish the interdependence of a number of economic variables in an open economy.

Class 11：A Macroeconomic Theory of Open Economy II

This lecture demonstrates the relationships between the prices and quantities in the market for loanable funds and the prices and quantities in the market for foreign-currency exchange. Using these markets, we can analyze the impact of a variety of government policies on an economy’s exchange rate and trade balance.

Class 12：Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply I

The purpose of this lecture is to develop the model economists use to analyze the economy’s short-run fluctuations—the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Students will learn about some of the sources for shifts in the aggregate-demand curve and the aggregate-supply curve and how these shifts can cause recessions.

Class 13：Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply II

Based on the lecture of Class 13, this lecture introduces actions policymakers might undertake to offset recessions.

Class 14：The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy on Aggregate Demand

The purpose of this lecture to address the short-run effects of monetary and fiscal policies. In Chapter 33, we found that when aggregate demand or short-run aggregate supply shifts, it causes fluctuations in output. As a result, policymakers sometimes try to offset these shifts by shifting aggregate demand with monetary and fiscal policy. Chapter 34 addresses the theory behind these policies and some of the shortcomings of stabilization policy.

Students are required to read the course textbook and supplementary materials before class. Frequently, problem sets are assigned to the class participants for the out-of-class learning purpose. Class participants are required to solve these assigned problems seriously because these problems help to understand the course materials. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each.

N. G. Mankiw (2021) Principles of Economics (9th Edition), Cengage Learning. (about ￥5,600 included e-learning system).

https://www.core-econ.org/　Core Economics

Short Quizzes and Assignments (50%), Final Examination (50%).

This course is English only. Class participants must speak in English.

Assignments are will be provided via the e-learning platform, called Mindtap, MIndtap is the computer-based e-learning platform. So students who are planning to register this course should purchase Mindtap from cengage.com

Class participants are required to read the course textbook and supplementary materials before class. Frequently, problem sets are assigned to the class participants for the out-of-class learning purpose. Class participants are required to solve these assigned problems seriously because these problems help to understand the course materials.

None

Principles of Microeconomics

Introduction to Japanese Economy

Please note that the teaching approach may vary according to which threat level we are at: at level 1, this course will be held on campus, though at level 2, it will be held online.