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 addition to discretionary fiscal policy, there are policies and institutions that can help reduce swings in the business cycle. This video discusses the role of automatic stabilizers in the business cycle.

Recall that the tax multiplier and expenditure multiplier magnify the effect of any change in spending or taxes. In this video, we use that fact to calculate the amount of spending or tax change necessary to close output gaps.

This is the full course material for a Principles of Macroeconomics Course. It includes study notes, lecture notes, and video lectures.

In previous lessons we've learned how expansionary monetary policy and expansionary fiscal policy can be used to mitigate a recession, but they don't have to be used in isolation from each other. Often there is simultaneous use of fiscal and monetary policy. Learn what happens when they are used at the same time in this video.

Fiscal policy can be used to close output gaps. Fiscal policy means using either taxes or government spending to stabilize the economy. Expansionary fiscal policy can close recessionary gaps (using either decreased taxes or increased spending) and contractionary fiscal policy can close inflationary gaps (using either increased taxes or decreased spending).

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.

This curriculum covers a broad range of economic concepts and models. Students will learn foundational concepts like scarcity, opportunity cost, marginal analysis, and distinguishing between positive and normative claims. Core microeconomic topics include supply and demand, elasticity, market efficiency, consumer/producer surplus, and government intervention. Macroeconomic topics span GDP, unemployment, inflation, business cycles, growth, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and stabilization tools.

The microeconomics section builds an understanding of how individual buyers and sellers interact in markets. Students analyze supply and demand equilibria, surpluses, and shortages. Elasticity concepts are applied to understand how quantity supplied and quantity demanded respond to price changes. Market outcomes are evaluated using consumer/producer surplus and efficiency criteria. The effects of government price controls and taxes are analyzed.

The macroeconomics portion develops models to explain economy-wide outcomes. Students learn to calculate GDP, unemployment rates, inflation, and price indices. The AD-AS model illustrates macro equilibrium and the causes of business cycles, inflation, and stagnation. The Keynesian and Neoclassical frameworks are compared. Fiscal and monetary policies are explored as stabilization tools, with analysis of their mechanisms, limitations, lags, and appropriate applications.

International economics connects micro and macro concepts. Using theories of comparative advantage, students evaluate the impacts of trade and trade policies on consumers, producers, and the macroeconomy. The determinants of exchange rates and trade balances are analyzed.

This curriculum provides both theoretical frameworks and practical applications of economics. Students build analytical and mathematical skills for modeling and evaluating economic outcomes. Policy tradeoffs are examined from multiple perspectives. Upon completion, students will be equipped with core microeconomic and macroeconomic ways of thinking to apply in their careers and lives.

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.

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