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- Code:
- ECOM-454
- Field:
- Macroeconomics
- Targets:
- Master’s students Research Master's students
- Organiser:
- University of Helsinki - Economics
- Instructor:
- Oskari Vähämaa
- Period:
- Period 3
- Format:
- Participation in teaching
- Method:
- Contact teaching
- Venue:
- Economicum
- Enrollment:
In case of conflicting information consider the Sisu/Course/Moodle pages the primary source of information.
Aalto, Hanken and UH economics students can enroll through their home university’s SISU. Further instructions are available on the How to enroll? page, also for students from other universities.
If you would like to count the credits towards your degree, please check your curriculum or contact your supervisor or student services for guidance.
- To access the Moodle course area, use all the features and participate in the activities (assignments, discussions), you must have successfully registered for the course in Sisu and logged in with your UH user ID.
- For more information on how to activate your UH user ID and register for a Moodle course area, click here.
Content
This course explores the role of heterogeneous firms in shaping aggregate output and growth. The course content is at the intersection of macroeconomics and industrial organization. The aim is to equip students with both theoretical and empirical tools to analyze how firm-level frictions and incentives affect aggregate outcomes. Topics include workhorse models of firm dynamics, the measurement of productivity and misallocation, the role of adjustment costs, financial frictions, and markups. The course also covers models of innovation-driven growth, emphasizing how firms’ pursuit of profits shapes technological progress and long-run growth.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to quantitatively solve basic firm dynamics models, critically assess empirical strategies for measuring productivity, and analyze how firm behavior shapes aggregate productivity and long-run growth. They will also develop the ability to present and evaluate research papers and to design original research proposals that identify new questions in the field.