Monetary Policy - Seminar

The seminar will introduce participants to a wide range of important and topical issues in monetary economics. Participants will explore and discuss topics such as central bank communication, the Stability and Growth Pact and the impact of differing transmission mechanisms in Europe. Students are expected to deliver a seminar paper (in English) and participate in the general discussion (in English or, if helpful, in German).

Topics:

• The list of available topics can be viewed here.

Papers:

Does Money Play a Role in Monetary Policy?
Monetary Policy in the new Neoclassical Synthesis
Inflation Differentials in the Economic and Monetary Union
What is the Optimal Size for a Monetary Policy Committee?
Is Central Bank Transparency Desirable?
Monetary Policy in the New Neoclassical Synthesis: The Design of Monetary Policy

Schedule:

• Preliminary meeting at 14th of April 2008 (16h-18h): General introduction; discussion of proceedings; introduction to topics.

• 1. Block at 21st of April 2008 (14h-18h) : Students have to make a final decision about mandatory registration (verbindliche Anmeldung). The block provides (1) a short introduction to scientific writing and (2) a short introduction to monetary policy. When registered students will be informed of their topic for the seminar paper as soon as possible.

• Deadline at 16th of June 2008: Students hand in their final seminar papers (this deadline is mandatory, i.e. please make sure you meet this deadline!).

• 2. Block at 23rd of June 2008 (9h-18h): Seminar presentations and discussion. In case of a large number of seminar participants this block continues on 30th of June 2008 (14h-20h).

Room: HS 107a, Garystraße

Selection of Students:

Skills in monetary economics (for instance, classes visited) will be taken into account. A maximum of 20 students will participate.

Allocation of topics:

The list of topics can be viewed here. As a rule, more than one student will work on a topic. The allocation of topics will be based on students’ preferences. Students will be informed about their topic by email as soon as possible.

Language:

Seminar papers are to be submitted in English. Presentations and discussions should also be in English. Of course, students may switch to German during discussions whenever helpful.

Requirements:

• Each participant will write a seminar paper (click here to view the specific requirements for seminar papers [text in German]) which (s)he will also present to the group. The  length of the presentation should not exceed 25 minutes.

• Each student should be ready to discuss any other seminar paper. A discussion of a seminar paper is supposed to initiate a general discussion among all participants. Prepare two or three slides on which you review the respective paper very briefly (one or two sentences). Then, highlight important aspects of the paper (this may be crucial assumptions, interesting results, strange results, issues not addressed in the paper but relevant to the topic, questions that came to your mind when reading the paper, etc.) We randomly select a discussant after each presentation. All papers will be available online after 16th of June 2008 for preparation of the discussions.

• Students are expected to participate actively in the general discussion.

Modes of submission:

Submit either two hard copies (stapled) of your paper or a PDF file (preferably, Word otherwise) by email to till.mueller@wiwiss.fu-berlin.de or henweb@wiwiss.fu-berlin.de .

Grades:

Final grades will reflect the quality of the seminar paper and the participant’s presentation, the discussion of other papers, and their contribution to the general discussion.