Understanding economic policymaking

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Understanding economic policymaking

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: This course will employ a non-technical approach to analyze how governments use policy to influence a country's economy. Upon completing the course you should be able to discuss national debts and deficits, examine fiscal and monetary policy and their appropriateness to the situation of an economy, and anticipate the results of fiscal and monetary policies and structural reform on a country. These concepts will give you the tools to develop your own position in many current economic debates, such as fiscal stimulus vs. austerity, the merits of quantitative easing, the need for higher interest rates or the future growth path of many modern economies.

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: This course will employ a non-technical approach to analyze how governments use policy to influence a country's economy. Upon completing the course you should be able to discuss national debts and deficits, examine fiscal and monetary policy and their appropriateness to the situation of an economy, and anticipate the results of fiscal and monetary policies and structural reform on a country. These concepts will give you the tools to develop your own position in many current economic debates, such as fiscal stimulus vs. austerity, the merits of quantitative easing, the need for higher interest rates or the future growth path of many modern economies.

Created by:  IE Business School
  • Taught by:  Gayle Allard

Commitment 8 hours Language English, Subtitles: Spanish, Turkish How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said 课程作业

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IE Business School IE Business School is an internationally recognized business school where the leaders of tomorrow shape their ideas and learn to become global citizens. For over 40 years, IE Business School has promoted innovation and change in organizations, equipping managers with an entrepreneurial mindset that generates employment, wealth, and social well-being. Regularly featured among the top business schools in the world, IE Business School has an urban campus in Madrid and a faculty of more than 400 professors who teach students from approximately 90 countries in its undergraduate and master programs. IE uses innovative online, face-to-face, and blended learning formats, including the IE Communities Platform where knowledge and experiences are exchanged with over 50,000 IE graduates that currently hold management positions in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Macroeconomy Overview



We are surrounded by news and commentary on the macroeconomy. To understand it, we need to grasp the meaning of GDP, inflation and unemployment and see what their “normal” levels are and how they relate to one another. Though these levels and relationships are far from mechanical, they provide an essential foundation to understanding what governments are doing in a macroeconomy.


11 videos, 4 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module 1
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 1
  3. 阅读: Grading Policy
  4. 阅读: Course Staff
  5. 阅读: Contact Us
  6. Video: What is GDP - The Circular Flow Diagram
  7. Video: Potential GDP as a Reference Point for the Business Cycle
  8. Video: GDP Gaps and Policymaking
  9. Video: What Does a Business Cycle Look Like?
  10. Video: What Drives the Business Cycle - Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand
  11. Video: Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand II
  12. Video: Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand III: Shifts in Aggregate Demand
  13. Video: Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand IV: Shifts in Aggregate Supply
  14. Video: GDP Growth in the Real World and Future Prospects
  15. Video: Conclusion: Module One

Graded: Macroeconomy Quiz

WEEK 2


The Fiscal Policy Tool



Welcome to Module 2! We will be going into fiscal policy, which is one of the key tools that authorities have to influence the economy and bring GDP closer to its ideal growth rate. It consists of changes in government spending and taxes. To try to gauge how much spending and taxes need to change to bring GDP to potential, we use two concepts: the multiplier, and crowding out. However, spending and tax revenues also move automatically across the business cycle, helping make the economy more stable. Thanks for being with us! Enjoy learning!


7 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module 2
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 2
  3. Video: Restrictive and Expansive Fiscal Policy Tools
  4. Video: The Multiplier Effect of Fiscal Policy
  5. Video: Crowding Out
  6. Video: Automatic Stabilizers
  7. Video: Fiscal Policy in the Real World
  8. Video: Conclusion: Module Two

Graded: Fiscal Policy Tool Quiz

WEEK 3


Deficits, Debts, Myths and Realities



Welcome to Module 3! Now we know how fiscal policy is supposed to work in the economy, to close recessionary or inflationary gaps. In this module we will get into the nuts and bolts of deficits and debts in the real world and I am sure we will have some interesting follow-up discussions! How is it really used? What are government deficits and debts? When governments run deficits and need to borrow money, how and where do they do it? When are these deficits and debts more of a problem? This module will look at the US and other leading economies in recent years to answer these questions, clear up some common misconceptions, and point to what the most important concerns are with deficits and debts at the present time. Good luck and see you online!


10 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module Three
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 3
  3. Video: Government Deficits and Surpluses
  4. Video: How Do Governments Borrow Money? (I)
  5. Video: How Do Governments Borrow Money? (II)
  6. Video: Who Owns Public Debt in Advanced Economies?
  7. Video: How Much Deficit is Too Much?
  8. Video: US Debt
  9. Video: Strengths and Weaknesses of Fiscal Policy
  10. Video: Conclusion: Module Three
  11. Video: Office Hours Modules 1 to 3

Graded: Deficits, Debts, Myths and Realities Quiz

WEEK 4


Monetary Policy



Welcome to Module 4! This week we're tackling a fascinating issue, which is monetary policy, and I anticipate some very interesting debates. Monetary policy is the other main tool that governments can use to influence the economy. Monetary authorities work through the money supply and can use open market operations, their own lending rates and reserve or cash ratios to influence money markets and hence the real economy. Just as with fiscal policy, once the gap in the economy is identified, expansive monetary policy should be used in a recessionary gap and restrictive monetary policy in an inflationary gap. Monetary policy is superior to fiscal policy in many ways, but its greatest weakness is that it does not work nearly as well in recessionary gaps as in inflationary gaps. Keep up the good work!


7 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module Four
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 4
  3. Video: What is Money and What are Central Banks
  4. Video: Central Banks in the World
  5. Video: What are the Tools of Central Banks?
  6. Video: How Does Monetary Policy Work Across the cycle and Why Does it Sometimes Fail?
  7. Video: Strengths and Weaknesses of Monetary Policy
  8. Video: Conclusion: Module Four

Graded: Monetary Policy Quiz

WEEK 5


Combining Policies and Other Policy Tools



Welcome, Courserians, to our fifth module in the Understanding Economic Policy course! We have so many tools in hand now that we can spend our last sessions putting the pieces together and tackling real-world policy questions. There is little that could be more relevant, and I hope you will enjoy it. In the real world, fiscal and monetary authorities may move in the same policy directions or they may act in opposition to one another. We will explore what happens as fiscal and monetary policies interact in the real economy. Additionally, economic decision-makers have two other policies that they can use to influence the economy, which are exchange-rate policy and structural policy. We will discuss how these work, and what special complications and advantages they present. There is also a peer-evaluated assignment for this course, and it’s included in this module. You will use the Economic Policy Simulator, a free interactive exercise, to make policy for an unknown country. Use all of the tools that we have learned together, and enjoy getting a chance to run a country! Thanks for your enthusiastic participation, and enjoy these last two modules of the course!


8 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module Five
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 5
  3. Video: How Do Different Combinations of These Policies Affect the Macroeconomy?
  4. Video: Policy Mixes and Outcomes
  5. Video: Exchange Rates
  6. Video: Structural Policy
  7. Video: Policy Mix in the Real World
  8. Video: Practicing Policymaking with the Economic Policy Simulator
  9. Video: Conclusion: Module Five

Graded: Combining Policies and Other Policy Tools Quiz
Graded: Peer Graded Assignment - Economic Policy Simulator

WEEK 6


Policymaking in the Wake of the Financial Crisis



You are now in the last module of our Understanding Economic Policymaking course! Having reviewed the theory behind economic policymaking, we devote the last module to discovering what policymakers are actually doing in the leading developed countries of the world. We will discuss whether interest rates have been appropriate in a group of countries, and what the consequences are if they are not. We will also discuss quantitative easing, the main “unconventional” monetary policy, and anticipate some of its consequences. We will have a look at deficits and debt in some countries and use the tools to determine whether they are problematic; we will analyze the “austerity” policies applied in many European countries; and we will have a look at the combination of fiscal, monetary and structural policies being used in Japan, dubbed “Abenomics”. We´ll also consider the perils of policymakers´ aggressive pursuit of growth at a time when it is becoming more elusive. The final exam will have questions from this module and from each of the previous modules, so you can study your earlier quizzes to prepare. Good luck as you complete the course! I´ve enjoyed getting to know you a little. Warm regards.


9 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Introduction: Module Six
  2. 阅读: Syllabus: Module 6
  3. Video: Monetary Policy in the United States
  4. Video: Monetary Policy in Spain and Germany
  5. Video: Quantitative Easing
  6. Video: Fiscal Policy in the Real World: When is Debt Too High?
  7. Video: Abenomics
  8. Video: Policy and the Eternal Pursuit of Growth
  9. Video: Summary of the Course
  10. Video: Extra: The situation in Greece

Graded: Final Exam
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