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2025/2026  BA-BHAAI1022U  Principles of Macroeconomics

English Title
Principles of Macroeconomics

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 30
Max. participants 100
Study board
Study Board for General Management
Programme Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Annaïg Morin - Department of Economics (ECON)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact course responsible Annaïg Morin (amo.eco@cbs.dk)
Main academic disciplines
  • Economics
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 20/11/2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Explain basic macroeconomic terminology in a comprehensive way.
  • Describe and explain the key assumptions and mechanisms underlying the main macroeconomic models (such as the IS–LM model and the IS–LM–PC model). Use graphical illustrations to support your explanation, and provide algebraic solutions to the models.
  • Describe how output is determined in the short run and the medium run. Explain how output is affected by shocks.
  • Describe the main determinants of other key macroeconomic variables—such as inflation, unemployment, real wages, and interest rates—and explain how these variables respond to different types of shocks.
  • Conduct policy experiments (such as changes in government spending or adjustments in the money supply). Explain the underlying mechanisms both verbally and graphically, and provide the corresponding algebraic solutions.
Course prerequisites
None
Examination
Principles of Macroeconomics:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Aids Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring
  • Any calculator
  • Language dictionaries in paper format
The student will have access to
  • Basic IT application package
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination may warrant that it most appropriately be held as an oral examination. The programme office will inform the students if the make-up examination/re-take examination instead is held as an oral examination including a second examiner or external examiner.
n/a
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach
Course content:
 
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the foundations of macroeconomics. We will explore how the economy functions in the short run and the medium run, with a focus on the goods market, the financial market, and the labor market. The course will help students understand how these markets operate individually, how they interact, and how they respond to shocks and macroeconomic policies.
 
Why do economies sometimes expand—raising employment and living standards—while at other times they contract? What happened in 2008–09, when the world experienced its deepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s? More recently, why did we witness a global surge in inflation in 2021, with many countries recording their highest rates in decades? How did governments respond to these different crises, and how effective were their policy measures?
 
More broadly, which shocks shape macroeconomic activity? How do such shocks influence output, employment, investment, consumption, and inflation? To what extent can policymakers foster growth? And can governments and central banks prevent economic downturns, rising unemployment, or surging inflation?
 
These are some of the central questions that drive macroeconomics. If you are curious about how macroeconomists study the world, how they build models, and how those models help answer questions like these, then this course is for you.

 

Pedagogy:

The course will primarily consist of general lectures introducing and explaining key macroeconomic concepts and models. Each mechanism discussed in class will be presented within a simple analytical framework to clarify the underlying logic, while extensive use of graphs will help build intuition and deepen understanding.
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • Models
Research-like activities
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
The course will be taught in person.
Feedback during the teaching period
In-class problem solving activities, case studies, and polling sessions will take place regularly during the lectures.
Student workload
Preliminary assignment 20 hours
Classroom attendance 38 hours
Preparation 121 hours
Feedback activity 7 hours
Examination 20 hours
Further Information

3-week course that cannot be combined with any other course.

 

Precourse activity: 

The course coordinator uploads the Precourse activity on Canvas at the end of May. It is expected that students participate as it will be included in the final exam, but the assignment is without independent assessment and grading.

 

We will discuss and review it during the first lecture.

 
Expected literature

Mandatory readings:

Blanchard O.,  Macroeconomics  (8th Edition, Global Edition), 

 

 

 
Last updated on 20/11/2025