Global Business Envirnonment

Global Business Environment
B01.2303.25
Spring 2003

Professor Nouriel Roubini
Office: KMC 7-83
Phone: (212) 998-0886
E-Mail: nroubini@stern.nyu.edu

Overview of the Course (Objectives Texbook and Materials Requirements Assignments Office Hours and Tutorials Rules Important Dates Suggested Grade Distribution)

Reading List

"MBA Lectures in Macroeconomics" by Roubini and Backus

Handouts Used in Class

Roubini's Web Site on Global Macroeconomic and Financial Policy

Major Macroeconomic Controversies and Current Policy Debates

Links to WEB materials complementing the topics in the lecture notes

Links to Macroeconomic Data and Information

Hypertext Glossary of Business Cycle Indicators

Business Cycle Indicators

Assignments

Interactive Charts and Graphs of Macroeconomic Series

Interactive quiz/practice test

Search Engine for the Macroeconomics Home Page

My Guestbook: sign and give your feedback on this page

1. Overview

Objectives

Review and analysis of current macroeconomic issues and events from the perspective of the business community and government policymakers, including: strategies for growth; forecasting business cycles, interest rates and exchange rates; causes of trade deficits; consequences of government deficits; short- and long-term effects of monetary policy; and the globalization of financial markets. These topics are integrated into a theoretical framework that introduces international factors from the start. Examples from the US, Europe, Japan and emerging market economies are used to enhance knowledge of the world economy and skills in solving practical problems. Lectures are complemented with group projects.

This year we will make intensive use of the WEB and Internet resources as a learning tool in the course.

Textbook and Materials

Textbook:

On-line lectures notes: Nouriel Roubini and David Backus MBA Lectures in Macroeconomics, New York University, 2000.

and/or:

David Miles and Andrew Scott, Macroeconomics: Understanding the Wealth of Nations, Wiley Publishers, 2002.

We will also use the following materials in the course:

Reading package
Singapore: HBS case study and supplement

The Miles-Scott textbook will be available in the bookstore. The Roubini and Backus "MBA Lectures in Macroeconomics" are available on-line at the course home page; a printed version can be bought at the bokstore. Note that the on-line version includes the links to other WEB materials that are missing in the printed version. The reading and case package can be bought at the bookstore. The Singapore case study can be bought at the bookstore. Let me also recommend very strongly The Economist, the best single source of international business news and commentary; call (800) 456-6086 and ask for the student rate. A subscription to the print edition of The Economist also gives you full access to the Web edition of the magazine. The on-line WEB version of the Financial Times is available for free to registered users. To subscribe to the print edition of the FT at a discounted academic rate, you can click here.

Requirements

Grades will be based on three assignments, a group class presentation on a policy topic of macroeconomic interest, a midterm exam and the final examination according to the formula:

Assignments & Presentation	30 percent
Mid tern Exam	30 percent
Final Exan	40 percent

Class participation will be rewarded as part of the 30% of the grade that goes to the assignments.

Assignments (click here to download the assignments).

There are three assignments which are included in this package. The assignments should be done as part of a group.

Group class presentation on a policy topic

Each study group will make a short (5-10 minutes) oral presentation in class on a topic of interest and relevance for the course.

Some suggested topics are listed below (you can suggest other ones for your group but discuss the topic with me in advance):

- Is the U.S. trade and current account deficit large enough to worry about?
- The preliminary announcement of 4th quarter 2002 GDP data was made recently, what did we learn from it?
- Are we going to have a double dip recession this year?
- What will be the effects of a war with Iraq on the economy, the stock market, the bond market and the
value of the dollar?
- Why is the US unemployment rate always lower than in Europe?
- What does it mean to privatize social security?
- How should dividends be taxed?
- Is the dollar overvalued?
- What should Japan do about its bad loan problem?
- Will Brazil default on its international obligations?
- Should there be a Chapter 11 bankruptcy mechanism for countries?
- What does the IMF really do? Do its policies resolve crises or create moral hazard?
- What is NAFTA and what did it do?
- Does the stock market affect consumption?
- Why do Americans save so little?
- What are the Maastrict treaty and the Growth and Stability Pact? What fiscal policy should be followed in Europe?
- Should we pay attention to the rate of growth of the money supply?
- Why is the CPI inflation rate biased upwards?
- What will the Bush administration’s permanent tax cuts do to the
deficit and the economy?
- How does the US economic performance in the last 2 years and the last 10 years compare with Euroland?
- What will the FOMC do on March 18th and why?
- The January employment data will be announced on February 7th, what
will it tell us?
- How did the Fed just change its practices for lending to banks?
- Which emerging market economies may experience a financial crisis in 2003 and why?
- Is the "New Economy" dead? What is the long run productivity growth of the US economy?
- What are the prospects for another round of global trade liberalization?

Office Hours and Tutorials

My office hours are Wednesday 4.30-5.30pm, or by appointment. I can also be reached through e-mail at nroubini@stern.nyu.edu
There will also be a Teaching Fellow for each section of the course, who you will find very helpful.
Name and info about the TF to be announced soon.

Rules

Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangement. If necessary, you can fax them to me at (212) 995-4218 or e-mail them to me.
Material handed out in class will not be available in the next class. You can get copies of old handouts from classmates and during office hours. Most class materials will also be available on-line in the home page for the course.
Excuses. Your rule of thumb should be: Would I try this on my boss ? If not, please don’t try it on me; i.e. use excuses judiciously.

Important Dates (TBA)

Assignment # 1 due in class on Monday February 17th

Assignment # 2 due in class on Wednesday March 26th and class discussion of the Singapore case study

Assignment # 3 due in class on Wednesday April 9th

Mid Term Examination: in class on Wednesday March 12th

Final Examination: Tuesday May 13th, 2003, 1.30-3.30pm

Suggested Grade Distribution

Although sections may vary somewhat, the Economics Department suggests a grade distribution of

A/A-	25-30%
B’s	55-65%
C & below	5-10%

This distribution is intended to make standards comparable across sections, as required by the school.