This advanced undergraduate course in Open-Economy Macroeconomics builds on several applied topics that combine the economics of the transitions of small, open, post-socialist countries with macroeconomic adjustment and development issues in small, open, economies hit by various aspects of financial crisis. We will deal with the significance of inherited institutions versus the impact of external actors in post-communist transition in addition to economic reforms in Central and Southeast Europe. The course additionally covers the macroeconomic dynamics of small, open economies in transition, with special emphasis on the role of non-tradable goods, financial and labor market imperfections, real anchors and stabilization programs, viability of export-led growth in the (post)globalized world, as well as dollarization phenomena. The last segment of the course sets out to conduct an in-depth analysis of the causes, contagion channels, different breeds, and consequences of international financial crises (currency crises, balance of payment crises, twin crises, and the like) from a developing transition country’s viewpoint. Mastering this course will enable students not only to substantially broaden their knowledge and understanding of small open emerging markets, but also to develop both intuition and technical ability to apply modern macroeconomic theory in practice of small open transition economies. (Lecturer: Marko Malovic)
