This course will focus on the policy and economic environment of firms with particular emphasis on economic variables such as GNP, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and international trade. The course is divided in five parts: The first presents the basic tools of macroeconomic management by focusing on historical episodes, particularly in the United States. The second looks at national economic strategies for development. The third section concentrates on the recent financial and currency crises in emerging markets. The fourth part looks at the problems faced by transition economies. Finally, the last module looks at challenges of developed countries.

Most of the material is based on cases. For some classes, however, we will rely on readings from two excellent books:

• King, Philip G. International Economics and International Economic Policy: A Reader. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 1999. ISBN: 0-07-236069-0.
• Eichengreen, Barry. Toward a New International Financial Architecture: A Practical Post-Asia Agenda. Institute for International Economics, 1999. ISBN: 0-88132-270-9.

Moreover, the professor has also prepared a list of optional / additional readings: These focus on the analytical material and often go beyond what we will cover in class. They are based on:

• Blanchard, Olivier. Macroeconomics. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-067100-2.
• Dornbusch, Rudiger, Stanley Fisher, and Richard Startz. Macroeconomics. 7th ed. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 1997. ISBN: 0-07-017985-9.
• Krugman, Paul R., and Maurice Obstfeld. International Economics: Theory and Policy. 6th ed. Addison-Wesley Longman, 2002. ISBN: 0-201-77037-7.
• Mankiw, N. Gregory. Macroeconomics. 4th ed. Worth Publishers, 1999. ISBN: 1-57259-644-9.