This course provides an in-depth analysis of monetary policy and the financial sector for master's students. It consists of two main parts:

Oct. - Dec.: Lectures and classroom discussions about major topics in monetary and financial economics

• Foundations of Monetary Policy and the Financial Sector
• Inflation and Deflation: Theory and Empirical Evidence, Microeconomic Foundations
• World Financial Crisis 2007-2009
• Monetary Policy Analysis After the Crisis: Monetary Policy in Macro Models with Financial Frictions, Macroprudential Policy
• Secular Stagnation, Liquidity Traps, and Unconventional Monetary Policy
• Economics of the Financial Sector and Financial Regulation
• The Crisis in the Eurozone from a Monetary and Financial Perspective

January: Student Projects and Workshop with Aurel Schubert (Director General, European Central Bank) and a Guest Lecturer on a current Topic in Monetary Policy and the Financial Sector

The topic of this semester's workshop and the guest lecturer are still to be announced. In recent years, Jürgen Stark (former chief economist of the ECB) talked about unconventional monetary policy and the inflation outlook, Hans-Helmut Kotz (former member of the executive board, Deutsche Bundesbank) discussed European Banking Union, for example.

 The course develops students' skills in monetary and financial economics to

• acquire a deeper understanding  of monetary policy and the financial sector from a theoretical, empirical, and policy perspective,
• gain insights into current economic crises and the role of monetary policy and financial regulation,
• understand the profound changes in economic research and policy after the World Financial Crisis (2007-2009) and the Eurozone Crisis
• conduct research projects independently,
• critically discuss current policy issues with high level policy professionals,
• read and understand original research papers in economics,
• get prepared for writing a master's thesis.

Pursuant to the general guidelines issued by the Vice-Rector for Academic Programs and Student Affairs, the attendance requirement is met if a student is present at least 80% of the time.

The first part of the course is centered around reading original research papers in monetary and financial economics written by renowned economists and discussing them in class. Students prepare the papers at home in advance. Lectures held by the instructors and classroom discussions deepen and extend the understanding of the materials.

For the workshop in January groups of students prepare a paper and a presentation on a current topic they may select from a list. The groups receive individual couseling for developing their projects. During the one-day workshop, Prof. Schubert, the guest lecturerer, and student groups make presentations and participate in discussions.