Macroeconomics II

The course builds on Macroeconomics I.

The course has three main topics; (i) economic growth and the importance of investments, population growth, technology and knowledge for a country’s long-term economic development, (ii) financial markets, interest rates and inflation targeting, (iii) how the petroleum sector affects the economy in the short and long run, as well as issues raised by the restructuring and phasing out of the petroleum industry.

Knowledge

You learn

• macroeconomic models relevant to the Norwegian economy that can be used to study the issues mentioned above
• what determines whether a country has high or low economic growth, as well as how economic policies affect this
• how expectations affect variables such as investments and variables in the financial markets like the value of bonds and share prices
• how the central bank must balance different considerations when deciding which interest rate to set
• how the central bank in an economy with a large petroleum sector may have to take this into account in the way they conduct monetary policies
• how petroleum revenues affect the Norwegian economy in the short and long term
• to relate theory to practical policy analyses, like the National Budget and the Monetary Policy Report

Skills

You should be able to

• use macroeconomic models to discuss economic growth
• analyze how expectations of economic variables affect financial markets and the economy
• analyze what interest rate the central bank should set
• analyze how changing oil and gas prices affect the economy in the short and long term, as well as design economic policies adapted to such a situation

General competence

You should be able to

• follow economic reasoning related to the course in the public debate and professional reports

2 hours of lectures every week. Information about tutorials and compulsory activity will be announced at the beginning of the term.