Modern Monetary Theory and European Macroeconomics

The course introduces students to modern monetary theory. The balance sheets and transactions that are relevant for understanding modern money are examined, with a focus on the Eurozone. Alternative explanations are brought forward that include the idea that banks can create money, that governments spend first and collect taxes later and that central banks use a set of interest rates as their main tool of policy instead of manipulating the money supply. This is the 2nd edition of the class, with the first one scoring 8.83/10 in the evaluation of last year.

Course leader

S. van der Laan

Target group

No prerequisities.

Course aim

• Knowledge of central banks and monetary policy • Understanding the operations of the Treasury and fiscal operations • Grasp of the credit creation and clearing process in the banking system • Ability to aggregate balance sheets in order to use sectoral balances as a tool for macroeconomics • Insights on the economic history of the eurozone, its crisis and possible remedies

Credits info

2 EC
Maastricht Summer School awards academic credit (ECTS) for courses successfully completed during the programme. To include these credits in the curriculum of your degree, you need to obtain official approval from the responsible department at your home institution.

Upon completion of a course, the Maastricht Summer School issues a transcript. The transcript states the student’s name, student ID-number, the grade or Pass/Fail and the number of ECTS credits.

Fee info

EUR 600: This 1-week course costs €600,-.