Course type
IWH-DPE Foundation Course, CGDE First-year Course
Lecturers
Professor Dr Roland Winkler (FSU)
Summary
This is the second course of the first-year triple sequence in Macroeconomics.
The course introduces students to modern dynamic macroeconomic models used to analyze business cycle fluctuations, fiscal and monetary policy, and labor market dynamics.
The first part introduces the real business cycle (RBC) paradigm, beginning with key empirical facts about aggregate fluctuations and co-movement patterns, and develops the baseline stochastic dynamic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, which attributes macroeconomic fluctuations to exogenous technology shocks. It then incorporate the government into the macroeconomic framework and analyzes the economic effects of taxation and debt, and introduces the theory of optimal taxation. The third part develops the New Keynesian model to understand the effects of monetary policy and its role as a tool for macroeconomic stabilization. Finally, the course examines unemployment and labor market frictions through the search and matching model and the Shimer puzzle.
Schedule
01.06.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
15.06.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
29.06.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
13.07.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
Content
- Real Business Cycles
- Government and Public Policy
- Nominal Frictions and Business Cycles
- Frictional Labor Markets
Course requirements
Attendance at all lectures is mandatory and a prerequisite to submit solutions for the assignments.
After each session, students will be assigned a task, which must be submitted within two weeks. To successfully complete the course, students must pass at least three out of four assignments.
Required Reading
1. Real Business Cycles
Azzimonti, M., Krusell, P., McKay, A. & Mukoyama, T. (2025). Macroeconomics. Chapter 14. https://phdmacrobook.org/
2. Government and Public Policy
Azzimonti, M., Krusell, P., McKay, A. & Mukoyama, T. (2025). Macroeconomics. Chapters 15. https://phdmacrobook.org/
3. Nominal Frictions and Business Cycles
Azzimonti, M., Krusell, P., McKay, A. & Mukoyama, T. (2025). Macroeconomics. Chapter 18. https://phdmacrobook.org/
Gali, J. (2015). Monetary Policy, Inflation, and the Business Cycle: An Introduction to the New Keynesian Framework and Its Applications. Second Edition. Princeton University Press.
4. Frictional Labor Markets
Azzimonti, M., Krusell, P., McKay, A. & Mukoyama, T. (2025). Macroeconomics. Chapter 20. https://phdmacrobook.org/
Registration
Please register for the course until March 31, 2026 by sending an e-mail to cgde@iwh-halle.de.