This course is an advanced course in macroeconomics that seeks to bring students to the research frontier. The course is divided into two sections. The first half is taught by Prof. Iv‡n Werning and covers topics such as how to formulate and solve optimal problems. Students will study fiscal and monetary policy, among other issues. The second half, taught by Prof. George-Marios Angeletos, covers recent work on multiple equilibria, global games, and informational fictions.

Applied Macro- and International Economics uses case studies to investigate the macroeconomic environment in which firms operate. The first half of the course develops the basic tools of macroeconomic management: monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate policy. The class discusses recent emerging market and financial crises by examining their causes and considering how best to address them and prevent them from recurring in the future. The second half evaluates different strategies of economic development. Topics covered in the second half of this course include growth, the role of debt and foreign aid, and the reliance on natural resources.

In this course, the student will build on and apply what you learned in the introductory macroeconomics course. The student will use the concepts of output, unemployment, inflation, consumption, and investment to study the dynamics of an economy at a more advanced level. As the course progresses, the student will gain a better appreciation for how policy shifts and changes in one sector impact the rest of the macroeconomy (whether the impacts are intended or unintended). The student will also examine the causes of inflation and depression, and discuss various approaches to responding to them. By the end of this course, the student should be able to think critically about the economy and develop your own unique perspective on various issues. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Explain the standard theory in macroeconomics at an intermediate level; Explain and use the basic tools of macroeconomic theory, and apply them to help address problems in public policy; Analyze the role of government in allocating scarce resources; Explain how inflation affects entire economic systems; Synthesize the impact of employment and unemployment in a free market economy; Build macroeconomic models to describe changes over time in monetary and fiscal policy; Compare and contrast arguments concerning business, consumers and government, and make good conjectures regarding the possible solutions; Analyze the methods of computing and explaining how much is produced in an economy; Apply basic tools that are used in many fields of economics, including uncertainty, capital and investment, and economic growth. (Economics 202)

15.015 Macro and International Economics focuses on the policy and economic environment of firms. This subject divided in three parts. The first part of the course is a study of the closed economy and how monetary and fiscal policy interacts with employment, GNP, inflation, and interest rates. Next, the course provides an examination of national economic strategies for development and growth and recent financial and currency crises in emerging markets. Finally, the course addresses the problems faced by transition economies and the role of institutions both as the engine of growth, and as the constraints for policy.

Consumption and savings decisions under certainty and uncertainty. Aggregate savings, wealth, and fiscal policy. Portfolio choice and asset pricing. Investment and finance decisions. Half-term subject. This course covers issues in the theory of consumption, investment and asset prices. We lay out the basic models first, and then examine the empirical facts that motivate extensions to these models.

The basic machines of macroeconomics. Ramsey, Solow, Samuelson-Diamond, RBCs, ISLM, Mundell-Fleming, Fischer-Taylor. How they work, what shortcuts they take, and how they can be used. Half-term subject.

Recognizing that a course in economics may seem daunting to some students, we have tried to make the writing clear and engaging. Clarity comes in part from the intuitive presentation style, but we have also integrated a number of pedagogical features that we believe make learning economic concepts and principles easier and more fun. These features are very student-focused. The chapters themselves are written using a “modular” format. In particular, chapters generally consist of three main content sections that break down a particular topic into manageable parts. Each content section contains not only an exposition of the material at hand but also learning objectives, summaries, examples, and problems. Each chapter is introduced with a story to motivate the material and each chapter ends with a wrap-up and additional problems. Our goal is to encourage active learning by including many examples and many problems of different types.

Principles of Macroeconomics 2e covers the scope and sequence of most introductory economics courses. The text includes many current examples, which are handled in a politically equitable way. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of economics concepts. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to increase clarity, update data and current event impacts, and incorporate the feedback from many reviewers and adopters. Changes made in Principles of Macroeconomics 2e are described in the preface and the transition guide to help instructors transition to the second edition. The first edition of Principles of Macroeconomics by OpenStax is available in web view here.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Identify U.S. budget deficit and surplus trends over the past five decades
Explain the differences between the U.S. federal budget, and state and local budgets

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain the nature and causes of unemployment
Analyze the natural rate of unemployment and the factors that affect it
Identify how undeveloped labor markets can result in the same hardships as unemployment

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Describe microeconomics
Describe macroeconomics
Contrast monetary policy and fiscal policy

"This course is designed to introduce classic macroeconomic issues such as growth, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, exchange rates, technological progress, and budget deficits. The course will provide a unified framework to address these issues and to study the impact of different policies, such as monetary and fiscal policies, on the aggregate behavior of individuals. These analytical tools will be used to understand the recent experience of the United States and other countries and to address how current policy initiatives affect their macroeconomic performance."