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Macroeconomics III

Code: 102382
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Business Administration and Management OP 4
Economics OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Jordi Caballe Vilella
Email :
jordi.caballe@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Introduction to Economics

Mathematics I

Mathematics II

Statistics I

Microeconomics I

Microeconomics II

Microeconomics III

Macroeconomics I

Macroeconomics II

Objectives

This course presents the models used to analyze economic growth of countries and the determination of long-run income. It examines how fiscal and monetary policy affect economic variables in the long run and provides a brief introduction to economic fluctuations.

Learning outcomes

  1. Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
  2. Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
  3. Describe the determinants of economic growth and the international differences in income per capita.
  4. Formalise the intertemporal decisions of saving, consumption and investment.
  5. Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
  6. A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
  7. Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
  8. Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
  9. Assess the impact of technological and demographic change and accumulation of capital on levels of wellbeing.
  10. Understand the dynamic nature of economic decisions, and the microeconomic foundations of modern macroeconomics.
  11. Explain the effects of fiscal and monetary policies on the economy using dynamic general equilibrium models.
  12. Understand the dynamic nature of economic decisions, and the microeconomic foundations of modern macroeconomics.
  13. Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
  14. Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
  15. Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
  16. Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
  17. Demonstrate motivation regarding the quality of the work performed and sensitivity regarding the consequences on the environment and society.
  18. Describe the determinants of economic growth and the international differences in income per capita. 
  19. Assess the impact of technological and demographic change and accumulation of capital on levels of wellbeing.
  20. Formalise the intertemporal decisions of saving, consumption and investment.
  21. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  22. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  23. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  24. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  25. Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Contents

PART I: DYNAMIC MACROECONOMIC MODELS

1. Introduction to dynamic general equilibrium macroeconomics

2. Infinite horizon models

2.1. The Solow growth model

2.2. The planner's problem

2.3. Efficiency of the competitive equilibrium

2.4. Exogenous technological progress

2.5. The leisure-labour decision

3. Overlapping generations (OLG) models

3.1. The planner's problem

3.2. Competitive equilibrium

3.3. Efficiency of the competitive equilibrium

3.4. The model with production and capital

PART II: MACROECONOMIC POLICY

4. Fiscal policy

4.1. The goverment's budget constraint

4.2. The Ricardian Equivalence theorem

4.3. Proportional taxes

4.4. Financing pension systems

5. Monetary policy

5.1. The OLG model with money

5.2. Money in the utility function

5.3. Money with a cash-in-advance constraint

PART III: BUSINESS CYCLES

6. Economic fluctuations

6.1. The real business cycle model without capital

6.2. The real business cycle model with capital

6.3. Extensions of the real business cycle model

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theory Lectures 32.5 1.3 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12
Office Hours 2 0.08 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12
Studying, reading and homework 94.5 3.78 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Lectures Homework 17 0.68 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

The planned teaching format for this course is in-person instruction.

In this course, we combine lectures supported by ICT tools with more applied sessions focused on solving examples, problem sets, and exercises.



Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Midterm exam 35% of the final grade 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Homework 10% of the final grade 0 0 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 23
Final exam 50% of the final grade 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25
Class participation (attendance and submission of problem sets) 5% of the final grade 0.5 0.02 21, 22, 23, 24

Evaluation Criteria:


1. Continuous evaluation

Course evaluation will be conducted on a continuous basis and will include four evaluation components across three different types: a final exam (50% of the final grade), a midterm exam (35% of the final grade), a set of assignments (10% of the final grade), and class participation - including attendance and submission of problem sets - (5% of the final grade).


Evaluation Schedule

The dates for the different evaluation activities (submission of exercises and assignments) will be announced well in advance during the semester. The dates for the midterm and final exams are set in the School’s official exam calendar.

“The schedule of evaluation activities may not be modified except in exceptional and duly justified circumstances that prevent an evaluation from being carried out. In such cases, the program coordinators, after consulting with the instructors and affected students, will propose a new schedule within the corresponding academic period.” (UAB Academic Regulations)

Students of the School of Economics and Business who, under the conditions described above, need to request a change of an evaluation date must submit their request using the designated form: e-Form for exam rescheduling


Grade Review Procedure

Upon publication of grades, details regarding the procedure, location, date, and time of exam review will be provided in accordance with University regulations.


Re-take Exam

“To be eligible for the re-take exam, students must have previously been evaluated on a set of activities whose combined weight represents at least two-thirds of the total course grade. Moreover, students must have obtained a minimum overall grade of 3.5 and less than 5.” (UAB Academic Regulations).

The date of the re-take exam is set in the School’s official exam calendar. Students who pass the re-take exam will receive a final grade of 5. Otherwise, their original grade will remain unchanged.


Irregularities in evaluation Activities

The completion of assessment activities is subject to the provisions set out in this course guide and in the "Policy of the School of Economics and Business on the Detection of Irregularities during Assessment Activities", which regulates the conditions under which assessment tasks are conducted and the procedures applicable in cases where indications of irregularities are detected. Students are encouraged to consult the policy.

Without prejudice to any additional disciplinary measures that may be deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, “in the event that a student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant alteration of the grade of an evaluation activity, that activity will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may follow. If multiple irregularities occur in the evaluation activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0.” (UAB Academic Regulations)


Use of Artificial Intelligence

Prohibited use: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted in any phase of this course. Any work containing AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in partial or full penalties for the assignment grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.


“Not Evaluated” Course

Students will be considered “Not Evaluated” if they have not participated in any evaluation activities of the course. Therefore, students who complete any component of continuous evaluation are no longer eligible for a “Not Evaluated” designation.


2. Single evaluation

This course offers the option of single evaluation. Choosing this option implies waiving continuous evaluation.

Requests for single evaluation must be submitted to the Academic Administration Office of the School, within the deadlines and following the procedures established in the administrative calendar of the School of Economics and Business.

Students must be present on the day of the single evaluation. The date will coincide with the final exam scheduled in the School’s official exam calendar.

Type of evaluation: Exam

Weight in final grade: 100%

Duration: Maximum of 150 minutes

There is no distinction in the re-take exam between students who followed continuous evaluation and those who opted for single evaluation; all students will take the same exam.

The review of final grades follows the same procedure as for continuous evaluation.



Bibliography

Acemoglu, D. (2009); "Introduction to Modern Economic Growth", Princeton University Press

Blanchard, O. and Fischer, S. (1989); "Lectures on Macroeconomics", The MIT Press.

Caballé, J. i Panadès, J. (1998); "Notas de Política Monetaria", unpublished manuscript, https://ddd.uab.cat/record/233358

Challe, E. (2019); "Macroeconomic Fluctuations and Policies", The MIT Press.

Conesa, J.C. i Garriga, C.; "Teoría económica del capital y de la renta", unpublished manuscript, https://sites.google.com/site/jcconesa/teaching/libro

Galí, J. (2016); "Real Business Cycle Models", class materials, http://www.crei.cat/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rbc_models_april2018.pdf

Krueger, D. (2012); "Macroeconomic Theory", unpublished manuscript, http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~aseshadr/econ714/MacroTheory.pdf

Romer, D. (2002); "Advanced Macroeconomics". Second Edition", McGraw Hill.

Software

Statistical software package (R, Stata, Excel, …)

Word processor with equation editing capabilities (TeX, Word, …)

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 8 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 8 English second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 14 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 14 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon
(PAUL) Classroom practices 51 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon