About this course: This course will employ a non-technical approach to analyze how governments use policy to influence a country's economy. Upon completing the course you should be able to discuss national debts and deficits, examine fiscal and monetary policy and their appropriateness to the situation of an economy, and anticipate the results of fiscal and monetary policies and structural reform on a country. These concepts will give you the tools to develop your own position in many current economic debates, such as fiscal stimulus vs. austerity, the merits of quantitative easing, the need for higher interest rates or the future growth path of many modern economies.
Created by: IE Business School
Taught by: Gayle Allard
| Commitment | 8 hours |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Spanish |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Macroeconomy Overview
We are surrounded by news and commentary on the macroeconomy. To understand it, we need to grasp the meaning of GDP, inflation and unemployment and see what their “normal” levels are and how they relate to one another. Though these levels and relationships a...
11 videos, 4 readings
Graded: Macroeconomy Quiz
WEEK 2
The Fiscal Policy Tool
Welcome to Module 2! We will be going into fiscal policy, which is one of the key tools that authorities have to influence the economy and bring GDP closer to its ideal growth rate. It consists of changes in government spending and taxes. To try to gauge how ...
7 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Fiscal Policy Tool Quiz
WEEK 3
Deficits, Debts, Myths and Realities
Welcome to Module 3!
Now we know how fiscal policy is supposed to work in the economy, to close recessionary or inflationary gaps. In this module we will get into the nuts and bolts of deficits and debts in the real world and I am sure we will have some inte...
10 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Deficits, Debts, Myths and Realities Quiz
WEEK 4
Monetary Policy
Welcome to Module 4!
This week we're tackling a fascinating issue, which is monetary policy, and I anticipate some very interesting debates. Monetary policy is the other main tool that governments can use to influence the economy. Monetary authorities work t...
7 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Monetary Policy Quiz
WEEK 5
Combining Policies and Other Policy Tools
Welcome, Courserians, to our fifth module in the Understanding Economic Policy course! We have so many tools in hand now that we can spend our last sessions putting the pieces together and tackling real-world policy questions. There is little that could be mor...
8 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Combining Policies and Other Policy Tools Quiz
Graded: Peer Graded Assignment - Economic Policy Simulator
WEEK 6
Policymaking in the Wake of the Financial Crisis
You are now in the last module of our Understanding Economic Policymaking course! Having reviewed the theory behind economic policymaking, we devote the last module to discovering what policymakers are actually doing in the leading developed countries of the ...
9 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Final Exam
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
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Creators
IE Business School
IE Business School is an internationally recognized business school where the leaders of tomorrow shape their ideas and learn to become global citizens. For over 40 years, IE Business School has promoted innovation and change in organizations, equipping managers with an entrepreneurial mindset that generates employment, wealth, and social well-being.
Regularly featured among the top business schools in the world, IE Business School has an urban campus in Madrid and a faculty of more than 400 professors who teach students from approximately 90 countries in its undergraduate and master programs. IE uses innovative online, face-to-face, and blended learning formats, including the IE Communities Platform where knowledge and experiences are exchanged with over 50,000 IE graduates that currently hold management positions in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
This course is a great example of a what successful online learning experience can be. Professor Gayle Allard does not go easy on you but otherwise... why would you bother to take the time to take the course? You don't have to spend that many hours a week taking the course but the time you do dedicate to it, you really have to pay attention and take notes (and pause a couple of times!). The quizzes are a great way to assess if you're being able to keep up. Week 5 is a bit more time consuming because you have an assignment that truly tests your knowledge (peer-graded) - but if you pass, you feel like a million dollars because it's hard! You really DO learn the basics of Macroeconomics effectively. ---- IE Business School is #1 Online MBA (Financial Times ranking, 2016 and 2017) so they have a lot to prove when they use this media. This course is not an MBA but you can see that they take it seriously and it definitely has valuable content. Thank you!
Excellent course
Its a great course. Tells you about, s
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It seems like a lot of work for people who don't have a formal education in economics. Don't get me wrong here, the professor is extremely good and she knows how to break complex things and explain them in a simplified manner, but the problem I see is that people who haven't taken at least a course in economics will feel overwhelmed by the material.
That being said, the course is very well organized, it is very practical and the professor is an example for other economics professors/lecturers/teachers.