Macroeconomics: Growth

Stylized facts of economic growth. Saving, capital accumulation, and production. The Solow exogenous growth model. The role of technological progress. Endogenous growth. The ultimate causes of growth: the role of institutions. Growth and sustainability: the Green Solow Model. Inequality: trends and causes; the role of automation and globalization. The topics covered in the course will be continuously related to current macroeconomic events, with particular attention to the relationship between Switzerland and the broader European context

The second-semester Macroeconomics course aims to provide students with advanced conceptual and analytical tools for interpreting long-term macroeconomic phenomena, with particular emphasis on the environmental and social sustainability of economic growth. The first part of the course presents economic growth theory and the related empirical evidence. The second part focuses on the relationship between growth and pollutant emissions, and subsequently on the phenomenon of inequality and its causes. By the end of the course, students will have acquired advanced tools for analyzing the functioning of the macroeconomic system and the economic policies aimed at steering long-term growth toward a sustainable path

• No poverty
• Decent work and economic growth
• Reduced inequalities

In presence

The pedagogical approach of the course is based on a rigorous analysis of the issues covered in the syllabus, with constant connections between theory and data. The main educational objective of the course is to encourage students to critically engage with the topics under discussion. Periodic exercises will be carried out throughout the course to assess students’ understanding of the material

Written exam