Seminar: Inequality and Macroeconomics
Course content
The seminar invites students to study theoretical and/or empirical topics related to inequality and macroeconomics. Possible topics include:
- The macroeconomic implications of household heterogeneity
- The transmission of monetary policy to household spending
- The implications of debt on household behavior
- Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian models
- The determinants of housing booms and busts
- How to design mortgages to stabilize the economy?
- The long-run determinants of inequality
- Why has inequality increased during recent decades?
- Who gains or losses from recessions or from macroeconomic policy?
- How does inequality amplify macroeconomic shocks?
- Computational methods to solve macro models with heterogeneity
- Economic policy response to the 2008 financial crisis and 2020
covid pandemic
I encourage students to write papers in pairs. Here are a few examples of what papers may do:
- Produce a thorough review of papers on a specific topic
- Simulate a macroeconomic model to evaluate the effect of alternative policies
- Replicate and extend the empirical analysis of an existing article
- Pursue independent empirical analysis using micro data on household behavior
- Write a policy paper on a relevant topic
The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics
- After completing the seminar the student is expected to be able
to fulfill the learning outcome specified in the
Master curriculum and to be able to:
Knowledge:
- Identify relevant literature within the distributional macroeconomics literature
- Determine how to convert a research question into a research strategy
- Define and discuss the structure of a good paper
Skills:
- Use existing knowledge to study new problems related to macroeconomics and inequality
- Evaluate the feasibility of empirical or theoretical research
- Present research to peers
Competencies:
- Independently develop and execute a research project
At the seminar the student is trained independently to
- identify and clarify a problem,
- seek and select relevant literatur,
- write a academic paper,
- present and discuss own paper with the other students at the
seminar.
Mandatory activities in the seminar:
- Kick-off meeting
- Finding literatur and defining the project
- Writing process of the seminar paper
- Presentation of own project and paper
- Giving constructive feedback to another student´s paper
- Actively participating in discussions at the presentations and
other meetings.
The aim of the presentations is, that you use the presentation as
an opportunity to practice oral skills and to receive feedback at
the paper. The presentations are not a part of the exam and will
not be assessed.
The seminar project paper must be uploaded in Absalon before the
presentations, as the opponents and the other seminar participants
have to read and comment on the paper. It is important that you
upload a paper that is so finalized as possible due to the fact
that the value of feedback and comments at the presentation is
strongly associated with the skill level of the seminar paper.
The teacher defines what materials may be used for the
presentations.
After the presentations, you can with a few corrections improve the
seminar paper by including the feedback and comments emerged during
the presentations. It is NOT intended that you rewrite or begin the
writing of the seminar paper after the presentation has taken
place.
Pandemic:
In case of a pandemic like Corona the teaching in this seminar may
be changed to be taught either fully or partly online. For further
information, see the course room on Absalon.
Key Literature:
- Attanasio, O. P. (1999). Consumption. Handbook of
macroeconomics, 1, 741-812.
- Guvenen, F. (2011). Macroeconomics with heterogeneity: A
practical guide.
- Kaplan, G., Moll, B., & Violante, G. L. (2018). Monetary
policy according to HANK. American Economic Review, 108(3),
697-743.
- Krueger, D., Mitman, K., & Perri, F. (2016). Macroeconomics and household heterogeneity. In Handbook of Macroeconomics (Vol. 2, pp. 843-921).
BSc in Economics or similar
Schedule Fall 2021:
- Kick-off meeting:
8 September, 10.15 – 12.00
- Deadline for submission of commitment paper / project
description:
1 October.
- Deadline for uploading a seminar assignment paper in the Absalon:
No later than one week before the presentations.
- Presentations:
In the period 1 – 21 November.
- Exam date:
1 December at 10.00 (am) - latest uploading of Seminar paper to the
Digital Exam portal for assessment.
All information regarding the seminar is communicated through
Absalon including venue. So it is very important that you by
yourself logon to Absalon and read the information already when you
are registered at the seminar.
For enrolled students: More information about registration, schedule, rules etc. can be found at Master (UK) and Master (DK ).
More information about seminars is available at Seminars (UK) and Seminars (DK).
Read about the study programme and curricula at MSc in Economics
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
Written examinationA seminar paper in English that meets the formal requirements for written papers stated in the curriculum and at KUNet for seminars.
_____ - Aid
- All aids allowed
for the seminar paper.
The teacher defines the aids that must be used for the presentations.
____
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
_____
Criteria for exam assessment
Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the Curriculum of the Master programme.
To receive the top grade, the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material.
- Category
- Hours
- Project work
- 186
- Seminar
- 20
- English
- 206
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- AØKK08422U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
-
1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedulegroup
-
and venue:
Go to "Remarks"
Exam and re-sits: Go to "Exam" - Capacity
- max. 1 class of 20 students
- Studyboard
- Department of Economics, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Economics
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinator
- Patrick Moran (13-7a6b7e7c736d753877797c6b784a6f6d797838757f386e75)
Teacher
Patrick Moran (Patrick.Moran@econ.ku.dk)
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Courseinformation of students