Course content

The focus in this course is on how economic aggregates evolve over time and on how this evolution is shaped by economic agents who are taking account of how their present decisions will affect their own future. Among the topics are:

  • saving and investment decisions
  • labor supply decisions
  • capital accumulation and the determination of real interest rates
  • business cycle theories

The course covers a range of models that are among the most widely used tools in macroeconomic thinking. It is meant as an introduction to macro theory at the masters’ level and provides a useful background for the other macro courses.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

You should know:

  • the Solow model
  • theories of saving and investment
  • the basic neoclassical growth model
  • theories of business cycles

Skills:

You should be able to:

  • solve dynamic optimization problems
  • use intertemporal equilibrium models to discuss qualitatively the effects over time of exogenous shocks to the economy

Competence:

You should:

  • be able to read and understand project reports and journal articles that make use of the concepts and methods that are introduced in the course
  • be able to make use of the course content in your own academic work, for example in analyses that are part of the master’s thesis

Admission to the course

Students admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students not admitted to the Master’s programme in Economics or the Master’s programme in Economic Theory and Econometrics (Samfunns?konomisk analyse), can apply for admission to one of our study programmes, or apply for guest student status.

You can not attend this course if you have already passed specific ECON-courses at a higher level.

Formal prerequisite knowledge

You must fulfill one of these prerequisites:

Overlapping courses

  • 10 credits overlap with S?K411.
  • 10 credits overlap with SO?411.
  • 10 credits overlap with ECON411.
  • 10 credits overlap with ECON411.

Teaching

Lectures and seminars.

Compulsory tuition activities:

  • A compulsory term paper.

The assignment deadline will be specified in Canvas. If you submit your answer to the assignment, but do not pass, you may get another attempt. The new attempt will have a short deadline.

When the compulsory term paper is approved, the result will be registered. The?approved compulsory term paper is valid for 9 semesters, starting with the semester in which it is passed.

See The Faculty of Social Sciences` rules regarding compulsory tuition activities.

Candidates who have passed the course before autumn 2016 and wish to re-take the exam need to get the term paper approved before they can re-take the exam.

Absence from compulsory tuition activities

If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory tuition activities, the compulsory activity may be postponed.