FIN-406 / 4 credits

Teacher: Felli Chiara

Language: English

Remark: Special schedule. See the MFE website: https://go.epfl.ch/fe


Summary

This course provides students with a working knowledge of macroeconomic models that explicitly incorporate financial markets. The goal is to develop a broad and analytical framework for analyzing the interaction of financial decisions, macroeconomic events and policy decisions.

Content

1. Consumption and Savings

  • Consumption and Saving Decision in an Endowment Setting
  • Investment
  • Equilibrium Interest Rate

2. Asset Pricing and the Macroeconomy

  • CAPM
  • Equity Premium and Asset Pricing Puzzles
  • Tobin's Q
  • Yield curve

3. Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy

4. Models with Financial Intermediaries

5. Macroeconomic Effects of Global Crises

    Keywords

    Macroeconomics, Financial Economics, General Equilibrium.

    Learning Outcomes

    By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

    • Construct a general equilibrium model of an economy
    • Analyze what drives intertemporal choices (savings, etc)
    • Model financial decisions
    • Develop an economic model encompassing financial decisions
    • Assess / Evaluate the effect of financial decisions on macroeconomic variables
    • Assess / Evaluate the effect of macroeconomic events
    • Expound the role of monetary and fiscal policies and their effects on the macroeconomy
    • Analyze what drives asset prices
    • Derive testable implications for asset prices
    • Search and collect appropriate data
    • Test hypotheses using data

    Transversal skills

    • Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
    • Use a work methodology appropriate to the task.
    • Give feedback (critique) in an appropriate fashion.
    • Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
    • Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
    • Collect data.

    Teaching methods

    Lectures will focus on how to develop a macroeconomic model that integrates financial markets. Lectures will first present the theory and then discuss its empirical relevance and possible applications.

    TA sessions will focus on solving the problem sets, doing exercises related to class material, and carrying out applications of what you learned in class. Students will be divided in groups and given a project that must be returned at the end of the course.

    Expected student activities

    Problem sets will be assigned weekly and will have to be handed in the following week. The solution to the problem set will be posted on the class web page. Late problem sets are not accepted. Problem sets will not be graded, but they are extremely important as they are an important tool to learn the material and assess your preparation.

    Assessment methods

    30% Project

    35% Midterm Exam

    35% Final Exam

     

    Supervision

    Office hours Yes
    Assistants Yes
    Forum No

    Resources

    Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

    Yes

    Bibliography

    Main textbook:

    Foundations of International Macroeconomics by Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff, The MIT Press, 1996.

    Other

    Advanced Macreonomics by David Romer, The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1996.

    Recursive Macroeconomic Theory by Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J. Sargent, The MIT Press, 2nd edition, 2004

     

    Ressources en bibliothèque

    Notes/Handbook

    A full set of course notes will be posted on the class web page after class. Notice that the course material is password restricted.

    Moodle Link

    In the programs

    • Semester: Fall
    • Exam form: Written (winter session)
    • Subject examined: Macrofinance
    • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
    • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
    • Type: optional
    • Semester: Fall
    • Exam form: Written (winter session)
    • Subject examined: Macrofinance
    • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
    • Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
    • Type: optional

    Reference week

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