Ateneo - UPO

This course covers the fundamentals of monetary economics, with a focus on the importance of central banks' policies, such as the Taylor (interest rate) Rule, forward guidance, and conventional and unconventional monetary policies in general. In the final part, the course introduces some key issues surrounding the political economy of central banking, including central banks' independence and inflation targeting.

The recommended textbook is: Carlin and Soskice, “Macroeconomics: Imperfections, Institutions and Policies”, Oxford University Press. Additional textbooks which are useful include Casu, Girardone and Molineux, “Introduction to Banking”, FT Prentice Hall and Mishkin, “The Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets”, Pearson Please note that ANY EDITION of the above textbooks is fine, so NO NEED to get the latest edition. Further readings and lecture slides will be uploaded on DIR.

By attending the course, students will have the opportunity to develop an advanced understanding of contemporary academic thinking on central banking, gain familiarity with the political economy of central banks, and critically discuss several key issues in the domain of monetary policies.

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics (IS-LM model).

As many as 45 hours of face to face classes (didattica erogative) and seminars (didattica interattiva). Students are expected to attend all classes and seminars.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/students-physical-or-learning- Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The assessment method consists of one final unseen written exam of 90 minutes length to be held at the end of the course. The exam paper consists of as many as three different questions. Question 1 is mandatory, whereas students can choose any question between the remaining two. Each question carries equal weight (i.e. 15 marks for a total of 15+15). Please note that the necessary condition for candidates to succeed in the final exam is to secure at least 10 marks in Question 1.

IS-LM model; Central banks' balancd sheet; retail banks' balance sheet; Money supply and money multiplier; Labour Market and the Philips Curve (gender gap in employment rate, policies to close gender gap); Central bank's Loss Function; MR rule; IS-PC-MR model; Taylor Rule; Unconventional Monetary Policies (QEs, LTROs, etc); Conventional vs Unconventional Policies; The 2008-2022 Decade of Unconventional Policies; The Post-2022 Reversion to Conventional Policies.

After completion of the module, students will have acquired an advanced understanding of contemporary academic thinking on central banking, familiarity with the political economy of central banks like the FED, ECB, and BoE, and ability to critically discuss key issues in this subject area.