ECO 581, with Benoît Cœuré
Master Economics and Public Policy (Ecole Polytechnique, ENSAE and Science Po Paris).

Textbooks:

Economic Policy: Theory and Practice, by Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Benoît Coeuré, Pierre Jacquet and Jean Pisani-Ferry, Oxford University Press, August 2010.

Politique Economique, par Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Benoît Coeuré, Pierre Jacquet and Jean Pisani-Ferry, De Boeck, avril 2009.

Overview

Reading list

Useful links

1)    CONCEPTS AND LIMITS OF ECONOMIC POLICY (Tue. 5/1/2010)

     Lecture

     Articles reading

-    Robert Lucas (1976), “Econometric Policy Evaluation : A Critique”, in Karl Brunner et Allan H. Meltzer (eds.), The Phillips Curve and Labor Markets, Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, vol. 1, pp. 19-46, North-Holland, Amsterdam
-    William Poole (1970), “Optimal Choice of Monetary Policy Instruments in a Simple Stochastic Macro Model”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, No. 84, pp. 197-216.

2)    FISCAL POLICY (Tue. 12/1/2010)

    Lecture

    Article reading: Olivier Blanchard (1985), “Debt, Deficits, and Finite Horizons”, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 92, No 2, pp. 223-247.

    Policy presentation: “Is public debt sustainable in the Eurozone and in the US?” memo

3)    MONETARY POLICY (Tue. 19/1/2010)

    Lecture

    Article readingg: Richard Clarida, Jordi Galí and Mark Gertler (1999), “The Science of Monetary policy:  A New Keynesian Perspective”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 37, pp. 1661-1707.

    Policy presentation: “Monetary policy when interest rates are close to zero” memo

4)    INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INTEGRATION AND FOREIGN-EXCHANGE POLICY (Tue. 26/1/2010)

    Lecture

    Articles reading: Robert Mundell (1961), “A Theory of Optimum Currency Areas”, American Economic Review, No. 51, pp. 509-517 & Luca Ricci (2008), “A model of optimum currency area”, Economics (Open-Accesss E-Journal), No. 2008-8.

   Policy presentation: “Are foreign-exchange interventions by central banks efficient?” memo

5)    TAX POLICY (Tue. 2/2/2010)

    Lecture

    Article reading: Georges Zodrow and Peter Mieszkowski (1986), “Pigou, Tiebout, Property Taxation, and the Underprovision of Local Public Goods”, Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 356-370.

    Advised complementary reading: Signe Krogstrup (2004), “A synthesis of recent developments in the theory of capital tax competition”, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, available at http://signe.krogstrup.com/Research.htm

    Policy presentation: “Comparing options to finance social protection” memo

6)    GROWTH POLICIES (Tue. 16/2/2010)

     Lecture

     Article reading: Daron Acemoglu, Philippe Aghion et Fabrizio Zilibotti (2006), “Distance to Frontier, Selection, and Economic Growth”, Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 37-74.

    Policy presentation: “Does financial development promote growth?” memo

7)    LABOR MARKET POLICY (Tue. 2/3/2010)

     Lecture

    Article reading: Olivier Blanchard and Francesco Giavazzi (2002), “Macroeconomic Effects of Regulation and Deregulation in Goods and Labor Markets”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 118, n°3, pp. 879-907.

    Policy presentation: “Labor contracts and employment protection in France” memo

8)    FINANCIAL STABILITY (Tue. 9/3/2010)

    Lecture

    Article reading: Rafael Repullo and Javier Suarez (2008), “The Procyclical Effects of Basel II,” CEPR Discussion Paper, No. 6862, June.

    Policy presentation: “The pros and cons of mark-to-market accounting” memo

9)    ENVIRONMENT POLICIES (Tue. 16/3/2010)

    Lecture

    Article reading: Brian Copeland and Scott Taylor (2003), “Trade, Growth and the Environment,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 7-71.

    Policy  presentation: “Carbon markets after Copenhagen”