Economic Policy

Recommended Prerequisites

     Microeconomics I, II, Macroeconomics I, II; Calculus I, II; Statistics and Econometrics; Monetary and Financial Economics; Public Economics; Economic Growth and Development; English knowledge.

 

Teaching Methods

Lectures and tutorials. Tutorials are organized in accordance to the assessment regime and students’ tasks are the following: exercises on the blackboard: individual work – two exercises; presentation and discussion of papers: individual work – three papers; written summing-up of the presentation and discussion of a paper by other students: individual work – 1 summing-up; written and presentation of a mini survey of the literature: team work – 1 survey of the literature; written report and presentation or comment and discussion – 1 written report and 1 presentation or 1 comment:  team work

Learning Outcomes

Overall objectives

To understand the foundations and principles of economic policy; macroeconomic stabilization policies and growth policies; and to analyze a relevant subject of economic policy (EP)

Specific objectives

To understand the behaviour of policymakers; fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies, transmission mechanisms and efficiency; infrastructures, education and innovation policies; to analyse and discuss the possible impacts of macroeconomic stabilization and growth policies at the country ,  economic and monetary union and world levels.

Generic competencies

To be able to read, communicate and discuss economic policy documents in Portuguese and English using the most appropriate languages.  

Specific competencies

To be able: to verify stylised facts with GRETL, to solve problems about stabilization and growth policies with the help of AD/AS and growth models; to write a short survey of the literature with

Mendeley and to write a synthesis report

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

I. Foundations of Economic Policy

I.1. Individual decisions, efficient outcomes and the rationale for goverment intervation.

I.2. Powers and actors in economic policy

I.3. A brief story of economic policy

II. Principles of Economic Policy

II.1 A synthetic analysis of economic policy

II.2. The institutional framework of economic policy

II.3. Economic policy constraints

II.4. Conducting economic policy

II.5. Economic policy approach through objectives

III. Macroeconomic Stabilization Policies

III.1. Principles of monetary policy

III.2. Principles of budgetary policy

III.3. Principles of exchange rate policy

IV. Growth Policies

IV.1. Principles of infrastructure policy

IV.2. Principles of education policy

IV.3. Principles of R&D policy

V. Economic Policies for the XXI century: “The Global Financial Crisis”

The subject changes but might be the same for several academic years.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Adelaide Pedrosa Silva Duarte

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Final Exam or Exam, Problem resolving report, Research work, Synthesis work: 100.0%

Bibliography

AMARAL, João Ferreira do - Política económica : metodologia, concepções e instrumentos de actuação. Lisboa, Cosmos, 1996. [BP 338.2 AMA]

BARBOSA, António Soares Pinto - Economia pública. Lisboa : Editora McGraw-Hill de Portugal, 1998. [BP 336.12 BAR]

CRISE (A) financeira internacional. Fernando Alexandre [et al.]. Coimbra : Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2009. [BP 339.9 CRI]

DE GRAUWE, Paul - Economics of monetary union. 9th ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012. [BP 339.7 DEG]

ECONOMIC policy : theory and practice. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré [et al.]. New York : Oxford University Press, 2010. [BP 330.1 ECO]

JONES, Charles I. - Introduction to economic growth. 2nd ed.. New York : W. W. Norton & Company, 2002. [BP 330.3 JON]

SANTOS, Emanuel - Sem crescimento não há consolidação orçamental : finanças públicas, crise e programa de ajustamento. Lisboa : Edições Silabo, 2012.