Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation qualification participant, Divya, shares why Financial Markets and Financial Risk Management was her favourite module on the programme.
Money, Banks and Macroeconomics - My favourite module
Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation qualification participant, Nishita Raje, shares why Money, Banks and Macroeconomics is her favourite module.
This module offers a unique blend of theory and practice, exploring the important debates in the area. It covers a wide canvas spanning across money, banks and macro-economics.
The module begins with a short overview of the history of money and banking, which is particularly useful as it provides the big picture of the interlinkages in the financial system. I found that the topics were well integrated, as the first topic of money flows into banks and payment systems seamlessly.
In this module, you explore the interlinkages between the financial system and economic development, looking at the entire scope of issues around finance and growth in detail. A highlight for me was the lesson on the financial crisis. It is an opportunity to delve into the entire set of events during the subprime crisis, the innovative products and the increase in leverage that led to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The module allows you to understand this through the lens of policymakers, academics and central bankers. By the end of the lesson, you gain an appreciation of why a change in Basel regulations was necessary.
Throughout the module classic models are explored, like the famous New Keynesian model, which provides all the tools needed in modern-day macroeconomics. The Lucas critic and the entire rational expectations framework are given a quick yet good exposure. The last chapter discusses the place of the financial sector in the macro-economy.
You can explore and understand policymaker's views of these, the one with MPC member Andrew Haldane stands out. It was very insightful in illustrating how the policymakers navigate dilemmas, like what to do when inflation is above target and output is below potential. This interview shows how the policymakers’ judgement helps to make decisions on the line of action on a case-by-case basis and is not mechanically based on the outputs of models alone.
The module was useful to me as it brought me up-to-date with frontier issues in money, banks and macroeconomics and offered valuable insights of great value to me in my job as an economist at a central bank. It gave a greater depth to my understanding of the GFC and the change in Basel norms. Also revisiting some classic models after several years of experience and with insights from the course gave me a whole new perspective.
The module also offers extensive exposure to other important topics surrounding banks and the financial system, including insurance. Each lesson in the module has exercises that support your self-study. All modules have 3-4 live lectures, which provide a chance for students to interact with the Professors and ask their questions. The module is cutting-edge in terms of the material, and the insights gained are valuable to me. I would certainly recommend this module!