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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding economic policymaking by IE Business School

4.8
stars
1,010 ratings

About the Course

This is the first of the three courses part of the Globalization, Economic Growth and Stability Specialization. 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....

Top reviews

PH

Dec 8, 2015

Excellent overview economics course. Dr. Allard does a fantastic job explaining basic economic concepts and principles so that a novice can better understand this one critical aspect of their world.

KK

Dec 26, 2015

Great insights, I now feel like I am macro-economically literate and I will be using this information when interviewing and now possible grilling certain politicians in my town!

Thank you Gayle!

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1 - 25 of 248 Reviews for Understanding economic policymaking

By Satish J

Jan 3, 2016

This course was very helpful for me to know about the indicators that gives you the hint about how healthy the economy is ! This course allowed me to read the news about economics, how to interpret the figures mentioned in the news, how good the policy makers are whether appropriate/inappropriate considering the situation, where the rest of the countries stand in todays world. On top of it assignments and final exam made my understanding even deeper and precise. Thanks to IE Business school and Coursera platform for offering such a wonderful course for a begineer like me.

By Mar G A

Jun 27, 2018

This is an awesome course for people who forgot how the economy works. The approach of the course was refreshing and in depth without taking too much of your time with useless definitions and exercises. I really liked the models and the simulator because it adds another layer of learning for the students to see the concepts at work. This is highly recommendable for everyone who forgot their basic economics class and to have a richer understanding of economic policy making.

By Pete H

Dec 9, 2015

Excellent overview economics course. Dr. Allard does a fantastic job explaining basic economic concepts and principles so that a novice can better understand this one critical aspect of their world.

By Rey V

Jan 15, 2016

Best course yet, a simple to understand teaching approach to a complex concept.

By Aman T

Sep 27, 2017

# Allard's Understanding Economic Policy making

Working through this course was a delightful experience!

With little background in economics, I got into this to get a strong grip on key macroeconomic concepts and make sense of economic policies in my country (India). This one course exceeded my expectations!

She has a very clear instruction style and the course material (ebook) also helps in developing a solid foundation of the fundamental topics.

My only suggestion would be to throw in a few more quantitative exercises more frequently as part of the weekly assignments.

With my interests in public policy, I look forward to doing more courses in the area of public / urban / land economics. Coursera guys, hope you keep adding more of such great courses in the mentioned areas.

Thanks

Aman Trehan

New Delhi

By Henrique S B

Oct 7, 2016

I found the course very useful to review some basic economic policy concepts and to improve the understanding of major economic and policy making issues that challenge both policy makers and advisers today.

Prof. Gayle Allard has a real gift to explain in a clear and appealing way complex ideas and policy issues.

The only objection I would have regards the peer assignment grading which I found somehow lacking in realism and accuracy. I also found that, on the discussion forums, some of the mentors replies did not completely met expectations. Having said that, I would not hesitate in recommending this outstanding course to both beginners and more advanced students and generally to anybody interested in improving his(her) knowledge of economics. Congratulations!

By Javed R

Jan 15, 2016

Gayle was an outstanding lecturer. I have little economics background and I was able to follow all lessons quite well. Videos were of perfect length, not too long. I enjoyed the graphs, etc in presentations as well as the questions in the middle of a video (to see if we were paying attention). Quizzes were very helpful. The big assignment with the simulator took some time but was worth it. It brought together all ideas and I think it taught me a lot.

This was my 1st coursera course so i think the bar is set very high.

By Christina M

Jun 19, 2016

Although you cannot do the assignments unless you upgrade, I learned so much. Prof. Allard was very clear, and gave many great resources that I have used in other courses. This class shaped my political opinions on fiscal issues and helped me to understand the implications of tax and welfare reform in terms of the general public. This online course was definitely on par with and a great supplement to my Ivy-league education. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is studying social sciences.

By Chen, S

Apr 19, 2020

Super clear and structured course I've ever had on Coursera! many thanks professor Allard. Really appreaciate your way of describing those professional terminologies and examples connected to real world! From a person who knew nothing about economics till now I became capable of reading more and more financial news, trends, and updates, I would love to send all my appreciation to all your teaching along the way! thank you!

By Duc T A L

Aug 25, 2015

This is a very useful course for understanding economic policymaking. After studying this course, I can read and understanding many economic articles and infer the consequences of new economic policy issued by government. It also helps me understand how a new economic policy issued by another country can affect to economic situation of my own country.

By Anna S

Nov 1, 2015

Very nicely and comprehensive taught. Material is supported with lots of graphs and multimedia that makes it more exciting. Short quiz questions are incorporated into the videos to keep the students alert, and the articles provided as a mandatory reading keep the link with the real world. I think the corse makers did a fantastic job!

By Krishaan K

Dec 27, 2015

Great insights, I now feel like I am macro-economically literate and I will be using this information when interviewing and now possible grilling certain politicians in my town!

Thank you Gayle!

By Ezekiel A

Oct 19, 2021

I have been able to appreciate the subject of Economic policymaking through this course. I highly recommend this course to any individual who wants to understand Economic policy in much detail.

By Tiago R A

Aug 30, 2015

Very good content, instructors, materials and exercise. I give 5 stars with a small remark: Some technical issues, grading and recognition enhancements, would leave this course even better.

By Mohammad M H

Oct 20, 2019

It a very meaningful comprehensive understanding of basic macroeconomic.

By Thomas W J

Feb 7, 2016

Excellent explanations, and very creative assignments such as the policy simulator and the peer-reviewed assignments.

By Jitendar S

Aug 24, 2016

It improved my knowledge on economic policy making aspects and help me in ready statistics better.

By Shwetha G E

Jan 4, 2018

Excellent course. It really helps you in giving a good understanding of the policymaking process.

By Diana S

Jun 17, 2017

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!

By Teka D T

Aug 27, 2017

Excellent and awesome course !!!. I will say special great thanks to Professor Gayle Allard and other instructors, and learner mentors to collectively gives you exactly the insight and indepth of Macroeconomics diagnostic and Economic policy making forever real in theory, practice and real world countries economic data and Analysis. This course had given to me all not leaving no stone unturned the knowledge and training in Diagnostic and Economics policy making which I have greatly in search of to blend me as an Economic policy Expert in that domain. I strongly recommend this course to friends who intend to build or blend their Economic knowledge internationaly . It worth more that penny amount. Much Thank Prof. G. A.

By Alexandre S

Feb 16, 2020

The IE Bussines School Course was excellent and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Political Economy. I learned that the formation of public policies for the development of a country's economy is not a simple matter of “opinion formation” and that there are several techniques that can greatly assist our performance in the face of an arduous professional task. In addition, getting used to the published news about economics is essential and the Course addresses this content in a very practical way in a very satisfactory workload. It was certainly a very useful and excellent course for my academic, professional and personal life!

By Dan A

Jul 9, 2022

Gayle Allard is an outstanding lecturer. The course structure is clear and informative. By the end of the course, I could analyze a country's economy based on OECD indicators and make sense of them. Now, I understand the meaning and reasons which drive monetary and fiscal policies. I want to thank IE business school and Coursera sincerely for their efforts in creating such an informative course. Before that, I would watch the news and assume what was going on in the economy based on feelings. Now I barely watch the news and deduce my economic views based on data and models.

By Joachim W

May 18, 2023

From a non-economist perspective, I've found this course to be a real life changer. I really love this course especially in terms of the conceptual explanation, quizzes, interactive assignments and the overall presentation of the course. I really enjoyed it and learned so many great concepts which are applicable in our everyday lives. I'm confident and ready now to apply those gained insights into practical reality. Big thanks to Professor Gayle Allard, IE Business school and the Coursera team for the wonderful Job. Keep up the good spirit!❤️

By Blend D

Jun 24, 2017

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.

By Luz C H A

Jun 23, 2021

Es un curso bastante completo, y pese a que únicamente toca los temas de forma superficial resulta sumamente útil para entender diversos temas sobre políticas económicas. Por otro lado, cumple a la perfección su objetivo respecto al entendimiento de los creadores de políticas. En suma, muy recomendable, la instructora Allard explica bastante bien y las evaluaciones son apropiadas, pues busca demostrar que se entendió el tema.