International Monetary Economics

6 ECTS credits
156 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 1000378BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

For students Business Economics: Students who want to enroll for this course, must have passed ‘intermediate macroeconomics', must be registered or have passed for 'Financial Markets and Institutions' and must have obtained at least 30 ECTS-credits on bachelor level.

Taught in

English

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Applied economics

Educational team

Leo Van Hove (course titular)
Eduardo Daniel López Vila

Activities and contact hours

39 contact hours Lecture
11 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
130 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The following topics will be covered: national accounts, the balance of payments and the issue of the ‘global imbalances’; spot exchange rates and the foreign exchange market; the law of one price, purchasing power parity, real exchange rates, and long-run nominal exchange rates; economic policy in an open economy; pros and cons of floating vs. fixed exchange rates, the effectiveness of interventions on the foreign exchange market; exchange rate systems through the ages; European monetary integration, the ECB and the euro.

Time permitting, attention will also be devoted to topics of a more 'money & banking' nature, such as: the balance sheet of a central bank, seigniorage, currency use and payment behaviour, etc.

Guest lectures are possible.

Course material

Handbook (Required) : International Finance, Theory and Policy, Krugman, P. R., Obstfeld M. en M. J. Melitz, 11de global, Pearson, 9781292417004, 2022
Digital course material (Required) : Slides, Canvas

Additional info

Required reading: Chapters 1-8 & 10 from Krugman, P. R., Obstfeld M. and M. J. Melitz, International Finance: Theory and Policy, Global Edition, 11, Pearson, 2018 (ISBN 13: 978-1292238739).

Slides and additional material - such as clippings from the financial press (Financial Times, The Economist, etc.), ECB documents, ... - will be made available via the Canvas website of the course.

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

At the end of this course, students should understand the functioning of the foreign exchange market, the money market, exchange rate systems, and monetary (and fiscal) policy in an open economy. They should also be able to apply the theories studied on real-life cases.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Note: Theoretical questions + implementations

Additional info regarding evaluation

The exam will be written, and will be composed of theoretical questions and applications.

Old exam questions will be solved during the practical sessions.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context