University of the West of England

MODULE SPECIFICATION

    (Revised November 2002)               

 

Code:   UPEN47-15-M               Title: Monetary Economics                    Version: 1       

 

Level:  M                                 UWE credit rating:       15                     ECTS credit rating:   7.5

 

Module type: Standard

 

Owning Faculty: HLSS             Field: Economics         

 

Valid from:       September 2004                        Discontinued from:

 

Pre-requisites:                         None

 

Co-requisites:                           None

 

Excluded combinations:          None    

 

Learning outcomes:

 

Having successfully completed the module, students should be able to:

 

·         Show a critical awareness of the latest literature and current developments in monetary economics (components A and B).

·         explain the theoretical and practical difficulties involved in defining monetary assets (component A)

·         distinguish between exogenous and endogenous paradigms of money supply and show a critical awareness of the shortcomings of both. (component B)

·         explore critically the link between the exogenous paradigm and the demand for money literature (component B)

·         appreciate the arguments underlying different views of the transmission mechanism (component A)

·         take a critical view of the current policy framework including the roles of  independence and transparency (component A)

·         contribute critically to the current debate about the measurement of transparency  (component B)

·         deal with a complex literature and show evidence of self-direction and originality in tackling the problems thrown up by the latest insights in monetary theory and policy (components A and B).

 

 

Syllabus outline:         

 

·           Money: definitions and measurement. Advantages. Disputes as to role.

·           Exogenous and endogenous money. Current central bank practice. Innovation and endogeneity.

 

·           Demand for money studies. Theoretical and empirical issues. The connection with exogenous money.

·           The transmission mechanism. Classical and Keynesian views. The irrelevance hypothesis.  Current views and practice.

·           The problem of ‘credibility’. Central bank independence and other strategies. The arguments for transparency: inflation targeting etc. Measuring independence and transparency.

 

 

Teaching and learning methods: Several different teaching and learning methods will be used.

 

Lectures will be used to communicate core material and to deal with central concepts and models. Some lectures may be interactive, giving a chance for questioning and debate on economic and financial issues raised in this module. Use may also be made of video recordings, with student tasks being linked where relevant to material in the videos.   

 

Seminars will involve a number of different formats as group reporting on case study material, formal debates, discussion of assigned reading and presentations.

 

 

Indicative sources:

 

P Arestis and S C Dow (eds), 1992, Money, Method and Keynes, Macmillan.

K Bain and P G A Howells, 2003, Monetary Economics, Palgrave.

C A E Goodhart, 1995, The Central Bank and the Financial System, Macmillan.

C J Green and D T Llewellyn, (eds), 1991, Surveys in Monetary Economic, (2 vols, Philip Allan.

P G A Howells and K Bain, 2002, The Economics of Money, Banking and Finance, FT-Prentice                               Hall.

D Laidler, 1990, Taking Money Seriously,Philip Allan.

M K Lewis and P D Mizen, 2000, Monetary Economics, Oxford.

The Manchester School (supplement), 2003, 71.  

J Stiglitz and B Greenwald, 2001, Towards a New Paradigm in Monetary Economics, Cambidge                               UP.

 

Students will be expected to draw on current journal articles from:

 

Applied Economics

Applied Financial Economics

Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin

Economic Journal

ECB Monthly Report

European Economic Review

Journal of Post Keynesian Economics

Scottish Journal of Political Economy

 

And from the websites of the Bank of England, the ECB, the BIS and the US Federal Reserve.

 

Assessment

 

Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only)   A:  50%     B: 50%

 

 

ATTEMPT 1

 

First Assessment Opportunity

Component A

Description of each element                                                                Element weighting

1.  Unseen exam, 2 hours                                                                                   50%

 

Component B

Description of each element                                                                Element weighting

1.  Individual coursework assignment of up to 1500 words                          50%

 

Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes is not required)

Component A

Description of each element                                                                Element weighting

1.  Unseen exam, 2 hours                                                                                   50%

 

Component B

Description of each element                                                                Element weighting

1.  Individual coursework assignment of up to 1500 words                          50%

 

 

SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT: Attendance at taught classes is not required.

 

Specification confirmed by  …………Module approved at VARSC 13.05.04.

 

Date ……………………………

(Associate Dean/Programme Director)