Current Term

Econometric Analysis of Economic Growth

Seminar

This seminar is a project seminar. In this seminar, students do not simply present papers and discuss them, rather they analyze macroeconomic data sets using statistical and simple econometric methods. The aim of the analysis is to find, from a cross-country perspective, patterns or regularities in growth processes, to interpret the results economically and to formulate and test hypotheses.

Introduction to Dynamic Macroeconomic Models

Lecture and Exercise

Business cycles, economic growth, inflation and growth of government dept are examples of key macroeconomic variables that change over time. Macroeconomic models must therefore be dynamic, meaning they must model variables as functions of time, e. g. y=y(t), where t denotes time. All dynamic models (not only macroeconomic ones) therefore rely on either difference or differential equations. These constitute the true mathematical “core“ of any dynamic model.

The lecture provides an introduction to the solution of – primarily linear – difference and differential equations. . The mathematical theory and the corresponding solution techniques are presented step by step, each illustrated with examples of important macroeconomic models that exhibit the relevant mathematical structure.

No more mathematical knowledge is required than A level knowledge and some further knowledge from the two mathematics lectures taught in the Bachelor’s program. However, students should have an interest in mathematics and a willingness to engage in problem-solving thinking.

The exercise session for the course will be held in English.

Empirical Business Cycle Analysis

Interactive Lecture

This course provides an introduction to empirical business cycle analysis using descriptive and structural models from time series econometrics. No prior knowledge of time series econometrics is required, but students should be familiar with basic econometrics. The course surveys the development of business cycles theory in recent decades and shows how theories can be tested empirically using modern time series methods. The lecture focuses on the application of methods, it does not cover the underlying estimation theory. In class, we will replicate the results of several seminal papers. In the interactive part of the lecture, students are asked to double-check previous results in the literature in the light of newly available data.