To understand more fully especially the mundell-fleming model and understanding the formula with reading curves

Macroeconomics of Development

Course Description

The focus of this course will be an exposition and evaluation of recent macroeconomic policies in developing countries. Macroeconomic policies comprise of fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy, and trade policy.

The course will analyze and evaluate the success or failure of these policies, paying special attention to debt and exchange rate crises. In addition to national policy responses, the course will also examine the evolution of the policy recommendations of major international organizations like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations.

This course has either ECON-301 or ECON-401 as a Prerequisite.

Course Objective

After taking this course, you should be able to (1) know the stylized features that differentiate the economies of developing countries from advanced industrialized countries, (2) understand the rationale for and the effectiveness of developing countries' macroeconomic policies in an increasingly globalized economy, (3) explain the emergence of debt and exchange rate crises, and (4) evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of alternative solutions to overcome macroeconomic crises in developing countries. Please see the more specific learning objectives for each class in the detailed course outline below.

Student Learning Outcomes

Building on the course objectives, after taking this course, students are expected to be able to

- a) define the main stylized features of the development process, b) examine the options and limitations of fiscal and monetary policies, and c) analyze trade policies of developing countries (these three outcomes will, respectively, be evaluated via three research projects);

- a) apply the Mundell-Fleming model to analyze the impact of macroeconomic policies, critically examine exchange rate policies, and c) examine the emergence of macroeconomic crises (these three outcomes will respectively, be evaluated via three Homework sets); and

- compare and contrast various macroeconomic strategies (which will be evaluated via guided discussions).

Course Structure

This course is structured into seven weeks, representing the seven main topics of this course. Given that this is an online course, there are no fixed times for classes to meet. However, classes still meet asynchronously on the first day of the class periods (as detailed below). Hence, on the first day of the given 2-day-class periods, you should a) go through the PowerPoint presentations, b) do the required readings, and c) make substantial contributions to the online discussions. Please see further details on the course structure in the Detailed Course Outline below. With exception of the first and last week, there are 3 online classes each week; each class covers one of three sub-topics of each week's main topic.