180.261 -- Monetary Analysis

Course Description

Analysis of money, banking, and government debt, with emphasis on coherent models with microeconomic foundations. Topics include barter and commodity money, monetary institutions in historical perspective, international monetary systems; portfolio theory, liquidity, financial intermediation, bank risk, central banking; debts and deficits, savings and investment, the temptation of inflation. The course aims at providing students with the means to analyze monetary questions and institutions. Prerequisites: 180.101-102.


Announcements

12/1 :

Take Home Final (due Dec 16, 2011)

11/22 :

Problem Set 8

Due in class on 12/1 :

-- chapter 10: #6 and 8

-- chapter 18: #1,2 and 5

The review sessions for PS 8:

-Tuesday, Nov 29 2011, 7pm, Krieger 205

-Wednesday, Nov 30 2011, 7pm, Krieger 205

11/1 :

2nd Midterm

Date: Nov 8 (Tue), 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.

Test covers : Section 4.4, 5.5, 5.6, Chapter 7,8,9 and Section 10.1 - 10.3

Location (IMPORTANT):

Students with LASTNAME A-L: Merg 111

Students with LASTNAME M-Z: Remsen Hall 101

Penalty 2 pts if you go to the wrong classroom.

Closed book. No calculator. Papers are provided.

The review sessions for 2nd Midterm:

-Sunday, Nov 6 2011, 7pm, Merg 111

-Monday, Nov 7 2011, 7pm, Krieger 205

9/29 :

1st Midterm

Date: Oct. 4 (Tue), 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.

Location (IMPORTANT):

Students with LASTNAME A-L: Merg 111

Students with LASTNAME M-Z: Remsen Hall 101

Penalty 2 pts if you go to the wrong classroom.

Closed book. No calculator. Papers are provided.

9/3 :

Based on the in-class vote, there will be two mid-terms and weekly problem sets.

The mid-terms will occur in class on October 4 and November 8.

The first problem set will be assigned on Thurs September 8 and due on Thurs September 15.

The take-home final will be distributed on the last day of class and due at the end of exam period (December 16).

Weights in the overall course grade will be 40% for the final, 25% for each midterm, and 10% for the problem sets. (Although the direct weight on problem sets is modest, they are important for preparing for the exams.)



Contact Information

Instructor: Laurence Ball
Email: lball@jhu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment, Mergenthaler 431

Course Time and Location

Lecture: Tuesday, Thursday 9:00-10:15 a.m., Mergenthaler 111

Review Sessions: The teaching assistants will hold two review sessions before each problem set is due.



Problem Sets





Midterm exam 1

Midterm exam 2

Take Home Final (due Dec 16, 2011)

Suggested Solution Midterm exam 1

Suggested Solution Midterm exam 2



Resources

Macroeconomics and the Financial System by Mankiw and Ball, Chapter 19

Textbook

L. Ball: Money, Banking, and Financial Markets