Macroeconomics: An Introduction



Overview

This course offers a practical introduction to macroeconomics – the study of how entire economies work, from inflation and unemployment to government policies and global trade. 

You'll explore the big-picture forces that shape national and global economies, helping you understand how economic decisions affect our everyday lives. The course looks at key topics like interest rates, government spending, and what happens during a financial crisis using real-world examples such as the 2007–2008 global credit crunch to bring the ideas to life. 

By the end of the course, you'll have the tools to make sense of current economic issues, from rising prices to job markets, and better understand the choices governments make in response. No prior knowledge of economics is needed, and the course is designed to build your confidence for further study,  including courses like Globalisation and New Economic Powers. 

Listen to Dr Sangaralingam Ramesh talking about the course:

 

This course has no live sessions. You will study structured materials at your own pace each week. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

Unit 1: Useful tools and concepts

  • Lecture: Tools, concepts and what economies do
  • Our tools for understanding
  • Economic tradeoffs
  • The role of markets
  • The four essential economic activities

Unit 2: Supply and demand

  • Lecture: Supply and demand
  • Markets and macroeconomics
  • The theory of supply, demand and market adjustment
  • Real-world markets

Unit 3: Macroeconomic measurement: The current approach

  • Lecture: The current approach to macroeconomic measurement
  • GDP: Measuring a country’s aggregate behaviour
  • GDP: Calculating its value
  • Growth, price changes and real GDP
  • Savings, investment and trade

Unit 4: Macroeconomic Useful tools and concepts measurement: Environmental and social dimensions

  • Lecture: Environmental and social dimensions of macroeconomic measurement
  • Accounting for the environment
  • Measuring household production
  • Measuring economic well-being

Unit 5: Employment and unemployment

  • Lecture: Employment and unemployment
  • Measuring employment and unemployment
  • Types and theories of unemployment
  • Employment, unemployment and well-being

Unit 6: Aggregate demand and economic fluctuations

  • Lecture: Aggregate demand and economic fluctuations
  • The business cycle
  • Aggregate demand
  • The Keynesian model

Unit 7: Fiscal policy

  • Lecture: Fiscal policy
  • The role of government spending and taxes
  • Budgets, deficits and policy issues
  • The international sector

Unit 8: Monetary and monetary policy

  • Lecture: Money and monetary policy
  • Lecture: The global credit crunch of 2008 and its aftermath
  • The theory of money, prices and inflation
  • Complications and policy controversies

Unit 9: Aggregate supply, aggregate demand and inflation: putting it all together

  • Lecture: Aggregate supply, aggregate demand and inflation
  • Inflation and aggregate demand equilibrium
  • Capacity and the aggregate supply response
  • Putting the ASR/ADE model to work
  • Competing theories and stabilisation and sustainability

Unit 10: Finance, trade and investment

  • Lecture: Finance, trade and investment
  • Macroeconomics in a global context
  • The case for ‘free trade’
  • Why nations often resist ‘free trade’
  • International finance

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

 

Textbooks

To participate in this course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following book:

Goodwin, N., Nelson, J.A., and Harris, J., Macroeconomics in Context 2nd edition (M.E. Sharpe, 2014)

or

Goodwin, N., Harris, J., Nelson, J., Rajkarnikar, P., Roach, B., Torras, M. (2018), Macroeconomics in Context, 3rd Edition, Routledge

The 3rd edition or the 2nd edition of the book can be used.

Please ensure you are able to access copies of any required textbooks prior to enrolling on a course but please keep in mind that courses with insufficient students enrolled will be cancelled. The Department accepts no responsibility for books bought in anticipation of a course running.

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online courses are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £415.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Sangaralingam Ramesh

Sangaralingam Ramesh is an Economics Tutor in the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford and a Senior Teaching Fellow in Economics at University College London, UK. He has been an Associate Professor in Economics at the Université Paris Dauphine GBD and Economics Module Leader at Kings College London

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Application

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses.

Level and demands

FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information visit our English language requirements webpage.

IT requirements

This course is delivered online; to participate you must to be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support