Economics

This course addresses a variety of questions that are relevant in macroeconomics and for our current understanding of the global economy. Students cover five topics chosen in the following (non-exhaustive) list: the very long run and demographics, business cycles, hyperinflation, the liquidity trap,  income and wealth inequalities, sustainable development and Easter Island economics, and Market Economy vs Planned Economy and USSR economic development. In this course, students develop their appreciation of the value of macroeconomic theory and mathematical modelling for the understanding of historical and current economic issues.

Since the mid twentieth century the German welfare state has seen public health outcomes improve with sustained economic growth. But when the pandemic forced governments round the world to consider imposing lockdowns, journalists portrayed the choice in stark terms: either protect the population or the “health” of the economy. Lock­downs were feasible, however, only where governments increased welfare spending substantially, and as the pandemic unfolded other significant links between health and the economy—in Germany, the importance of the biomedical industry, for instance—became patent. Each week, the course focuses on an aspect of the complex interplay between health and “economy” in the history of the German welfare state, arguably the oldest in the world. Topics include the establishment of social insurance; the German coal and chemical industries; the therapeutic revolution during the so-called golden age of the welfare state; population politics, including abortion law, in East and West Germany; surprising trends in public health outcomes in east and west Germany since reunification; and the challenges posed by population ageing and immigration. Along the way, the class discusses questions which the study of the welfare state raises and to which the pandemic has given renewed significance: How should governments act to improve public health outcomes? To what extent should they intervene in people's lives in pursuing such objectives?

This course provides a basic introduction to the study of economics in a practical way, looking at the application of economic theory in the modern world, emphasizing recent trends and developments and putting them in a historical perspective. Material is presented and discussed in seminar sessions, with one-to-one tutorials to develop ideas and understanding. Simulations are introduced as a way of developing awareness of economic issues.