Face-to-face , second term, 30 hours of theory and 15 hours of exercises.

Second term
Monday from 16:00 to 18:00 at 109 Marais 100

English is the only language used during the course, in problem sessions and during the written exam.

Economics II completes the introduction to economics principles started in Economics I, with the objective of bringing students to understand how market economies work. A common theme links the different parts of the course, namely, the scope for public intervention and economic policies.

It is taught in English and is required in the bilingual French-English baccalauréat curriculum for political and social science students, as well as law students. Students who are not enrolled in the bilingual baccalauréat but who wish to take an economics course in English may substitute their ”Économie II” course for this one.

By the end of the course students should be able to explain the intuition underlying simple graphical and algebraic economic models representing a number of microeconomic and macroeconomic topics. Students should be able to apply each model to solve relevant numerical problems and to answer pertinent theoretical and policy questions.

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Economics II will be devoted
• partly to microeconomic analysis with the study of sources of market failure
such as imperfect competition (situations of monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic
competition) and information asymmetries (illustrated on financial markets),
• and partly to macroeconomic analysis with the study of national income, cost of living and unemployment measurements, production & growth, money creation & inflation, aggregate demand & supply analysis, fiscal & monetary
policies, and public finance.

A companion textbook (Economics, Mankiw and Taylor, Cengage, 2011), hereafter referred to as “M&T”, is available at the “reprographie” desk. The table of contents mentions the corresponding chapters in M&T:

Chapter 0: Introduction

Part I. Microeconomic Analysis
Chapter 1: Imperfect Competition
Monopoly (M&T 15)
Monopolistic Competition (M&T 16)
Oligopoly (M&T 17)

Chapter 2: Asymmetric Information (M&T 22, 26)

Part II. Macroeconomics

Chapter 3: Macroeconomic Indicators
Introduction
Measuring a Nation's Income (M&T 23)
Measuring the Cost of Living (M&T 24)
Measuring Unemployment (M&T 28)

Chapter 4: Long-Run Macroeconomics
• Production & Growth (M&T 25)
• The Monetary System (M&T 29)
• Money Growth & Inflation (M&T 30)

Chapter 5: Short-Run Macroeconomics
• Keynes & IS-LM Analysis (M&T 33)
• Aggregate Demand & Aggregate Supply (M&T 34)
• Fiscal & Monetary Policy (M&T 35)

Chapter 6: Public Finance (Not covered in M&T)

Students are strongly advised to consult the textbook for additional explanations, numerical examples, and discussion of topics covered in the course. The textbook is intended to provide a complement (and NOT a substitute) to course lectures and problem sessions. Students will not be responsible for textbook material addressing topics not covered in course lectures or problem sessions. Note that some parts of the course material are not (or insufficiently) covered in the textbook. Hence, presence during the lectures is highly recommended.

Course schedule: Course lectures are held weekly for two hours. Group sessions on problem sets are held bi-weekly for two hours.

Pedagogical approach:
The course objectives are achieved via weekly lectures in which the professorpresents models relating to the different topics covered in the course and via smaller, group sessions where the teaching assistant works with students on problem sets. Emphasis will be placed in course lectures on theoretical exposition as well as examples taken from business and economics press in which the models under consideration may be applied so as to link theory and practice.

A written examination made up of problems similar to those seen in problem sessions as well as questions relating to course material, will be used to determine each student's course grade. Although students are not formally graded on solutions to problem sets distributed by the teaching assistant, students are strongly encouraged to work on these problem sets prior to attending the session in which they are discussed. The teaching assistant will make available, prior to the end of the semester, solutions to the prescribed problems that were not solved during class.

Textbook: Economics, N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor, Second Edition, Cengage Learning (South-Western), 2011.

Additional material:
a) Set of slides used during the lectures
b) Possibility to access the book's website
c) Course website (eSaintLouis platform) containing remarks, notes and a previous exam