Global Macroeconomic Challenges

An insightful and up-to-date LSE short course that addresses the challenges presented by current economic events and the evolution of global financial markets.

This executive course will guide you through an examination of the key events and current policy debates that are shaping the world economy. It is designed to provide you with the analytical tools required to understand the logic and implications of policy choices. This course will offer a mix of lectures and student-led discussions involving LSE faculty and high-profile external speakers.

Programme structure

What are the implications of current economic events and policy choices for investment and strategic decisions? This course will provide participants with state-of-the-art analytical tools to be able to assess relevant policy debates and the implications of policy choices.

This course will offer a mix of lectures and student-led discussions involving LSE faculty and high profile external speakers. A key feature of this course is the focus on current events.

This executive course will investigate the following key topics:

• External imbalances: how to detect vulnerabilities in Emerging Market Economies
• Structure of the European Monetary Union and its fragility: what's next?
• What have we learned on fiscal policy during the crisis?
• Fiscal rules in the EU
• Macroeconomic imbalances in the EU
• A case study: Italy
• China’s economic growth and its prospects for future years, and its impact on the world economy.
• The EU fiscal framework and its evolution.
• Are advanced economies trapped in world of low growth and low interest rates?

Virtual course structure

Rather than an intensive five-day course, the virtual courses will be delivered over four weeks and you will be able to manage them alongside your working hours.

Week one will be a course orientation where participants can access your pre-course readings and meet fellow classmates, as well as a live welcome session hosted by our world-leading faculty.

Following that, your course will be taught over the course of three weeks with 10 contact hours each week, matching the level of contact time you would get on an on-campus course. Teaching will typically occur weekdays during regular UK university hours. During this time, you'll have dedicated slots to meet your fellow participants, a virtual event per programme, full technical support by phone, email or live-chat and a 'virtual graduation' ceremony to end the course.

Course outcomes

• Gain a grasp on the up-to-date economic theories that interpret current events
• Develop a road map on how to access external sustainability for emerging markets economies
• Debate and understand the origins and the implications of imbalances within the Euro area
• Develop an understanding of the monetary policy framework under which major Central Banks operate
• Achieve an understanding of the economic linkages among current macroeconomic events
• Increase the depth of your knowledge around the question of whether large deficits lead to sovereign defaults
• Understand what determines the risk of sovereign debt and the perceived likelihood of default
• Gain a greater understanding of China’s role in the global economy, and the impact of Chinese policies on the rest of the world
• Take away learnings from in-depth debate on whether China’s exchange rate policy is prone to bubble-creation, and if the country’s current experience holds similarities with the Japanese experience