• Be able to do ad-hoc based economic analysis.
• Understand different economic models and be able to chose appropriate models for real economic problems.
• Understand the dynamics of money, debt and finance in the modern economy.
• Be able to point out future scenarios for the economy as a whole and provide recommendations for economic decisions.

In this course we will investigate, analyse and discuss some of the most present economic challenges and issues – such as the current international debt-crisis, increasing inequality, diminishing growth as well as the current use of unconventional economic policies, using an inductive and pluralistic economic methodology.

The course pursues an advanced analysis of the effects of globalisation and financialisation on the contemporary macroeconomic development by presenting the student for practical questions such as; how have the economy developed during the last couple of decades? Is the modern developed economy in a state of no-growth? how have inequality changed during the last couple of centuries, and how can we explain the development? Why is there so much debt in the economy and what are the implications of the international debt structures between countries? How does unconventional monetary policy, Quantitative Easing, currently run by the world largest centralbanks work in practice and how does it seem to affect the economy?

The students are expected to show understandings of these different economic problems from a practical and intuitive perspective as well as the ability to choose from a variety of economic models and theories to explain the economic processes, outcomes and solutions.

The syllabus will consist of a combination of academic texts as well as topical articles from sources like The Economist, The Financial Times and Institute of New Economic Thinking (INET).

Themes covered:

• Introduction – Economic methodology – Inductive vs. deductive methods  - How to understand the economy.
• Money, Credit - What is money? How is it created?  And what is the impact of money?
• Unconventional monetary policy – QE – Why? How? and What?
• Inequality – how have it changed during the last couple of centuries? Piketty -  How can we explain the development? And what problems does it raise?
• Growth and inflation.
• Modern debt –Crises – What are the international debt structures between different countries?
• International in-balances and the evolving “Currency War”.
• Economic Policy, regulations and reforms – Positive Money/Hudson.
• Environmental problems.
• Modelling the economy – Bezemer/Hudson/Keen vs. neo-classical. Dynamic and financial modelling.
• Economic development – Schumpeter/Keen vs. neo-classical growth models – technological innovations.

Bezemer, D. (2012) Finance and Growth: When Credit Helps, and When it Hinders. Conference paper at the Paradigm Lost, Institute of New Economic Thinking, conference in 2012.

Jackson, A. And Dyson, B. (2012) Modernising Money- Why our Monetary System is Broken and How it Can be Fixed. Positive Money

Ryan-Collins, Josh; Werner, Richard; Jackson, Andrew (2012). Where Does Money Come From?: A Guide to the UK Monetary & Banking System (2nd ed.). London:  New Economics Foundation. p. 178. 

Standing, Guy  (2011) The Precariat – The new dangerous class. Policy Network Observatory

Werner, R. (2012) Lessons from the Bank of England on ‘quantitative easing’ and other ‘unconventional’ monetary policies. International Review of Financial Analysis, 25, s. 1-17

Hudson, M. (2012) Scenarios for Recovery: Scenarios for Recovery: How to Write Down the Debts and Restructure the Financial System. Conference paper at the Paradigm Lost, Institute of New Economic Thinking, conference in 2012.

Jackson, T. And Victor, P. (2013) Developing an Ecological Macroecomics. Centre for International Governance Innovation.