Curriculum – Macroeconomic Policy Program for IMF

The curriculum of the program is designed for the JISPA scholars to meet all the course requirements suggested by the IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, which include crucial subjects of basic macroeconomic concepts (macroeconomic and microeconomic theories, monetary economics, international trade and finance, financial economics, public finance and taxation, econometrics) with strong emphasis on macroeconomic policy formulation and public finance, central banking and monetary policy, and financial market policy.

The first-year curriculum introduces core required courses that provide the scholars with tools, concepts, and theories in economics and related fields. These courses expose the scholars to cutting-edge knowledge in macroeconomics, thus helping them to analyze public policy issues within inclusive and coherent theoretical and empirical frameworks. The scholars start preparations for a master’s thesis toward the end of the first-year. Before the spring term of the first year, all scholars need to decide their research topic and choose an academic supervisor. In addition, the scholars with their supervisor’s guidance have the opportunity to enroll in elective courses that help them explore their research topic.

The second-year curriculum consists of elective courses and a master’s thesis writing. Practical and policy-oriented second-year courses strive to expand the theoretical and empirical capabilities developed in the first year. Elective courses are composed of recommended and other elective courses. The scholars identify a unique, macroeconomic related issue and write a master’s thesis on a research topic of their choice while participating in advanced seminar sessions under supervision of faculty members. Through the process, the scholars have an opportunity to analyze their research topic in depth by integrating theories, methods, concepts and their practical applications that they have acquired in the entire two-year program.