James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2020

EC5206 - Macroeconomic Policy

Subject Description

Changes to the interest rate or government expenditure levels intend to change business and consumer behaviour. The sought-after skill to correctly anticipate such changes requires an in-depth knowledge of monetary and fiscal policy, which this subject provides. The subject evaluates the views of various schools of thought on the desirability of conducting monetary and fiscal policy using current real world policy dilemmas. The subject provides important skills to students in economics, to students interested in international trade and to students interested in banking and finance.

Learning Outcomes

• critically evaluate the trade-offs that governments and central banks must negotiate when conducting fiscal and monetary policy and predict their decisions
• show advanced and integrated knowledge of theoretical models to demonstrate the effects of fiscal and monetary policy in a closed or open economy
• identify, analyse and interpret macroeconomic (national accounts) data for a selected country to produce advanced-level advice on the appropriateness of its current fiscal and monetary policy stance

Subject Assessment

• Invigilated > End of semester exam - (30%)
• Non-Invigilated > Essays - (40%)
• Mid semester test - (20%)
• Individual Presentation - (10%)

Note that minor variations might occur due to the continuous subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.

Assumed Knowledge:  Introductory subjects in Economics and Statistics

Inadmissible Subject Combinations:  EC2000 and BX2022

Availabilities