Economics 53
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Course Calendar – Spring 2012

Note: This may be revised as the semester proceeds.

Section	Dates	Topic and Reading Assignment (also periodically check the course assignments web page)
1	J17,19	National Income Accounts and the Economy in Statistics To get a brief overview of the current U.S. economy, we will begin by reading a very current (December 2011) GDP and the Economy, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. We will eventually cover most of this material in class.
2	J24,26	Business Cycles Download and read the Business Cycle Essay.
3	J31,F2	The Aggregate Supply/Aggregate Demand Model Download and read Chapter 1 - Economic Models. Download and read Chapter 2 - The Aggregate Supply/Aggregate Demand Model.
4	F7,9	The Loanable Funds Model Download and read Chapter 3 - The Loanable Funds Model First exam: Tuesday, February 14, covering 1-4
5	F16	Topical lecture No assigned reading here. This will give us a chance to catch up and recalibrate and talk about topical economic issues, of which there are likely to be very many.
6	F21,F23	Macroeconomic Growth and Development Download and read the text portion (about 100 pages) of The Human Development Report 2010 - The Real Wealth of Nations (United Nations Development Programme).
7	F28,M1	Price Behavior and Inflation Download and read The Fundamentals of Price Inflation. Download and read Chapter 4 - Inflation: Causes, Consequences, and Cures (not yet downloaded)
8	M6,8	Employment, Unemployment and Income Distribution Download and read CBO Summary: Trends in the Distribution of Household Income Between 1979 and 2007. Download and read How the Government Measures Unemployment. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics site and use their search feature to find the online Occupational Outlook Handbook 2011-12 edition (this edition should appear about the time this assignment is made) and in the left column (a) read the overview of projections and (b) find your intended profession (such as Engineers under the category Professional) and read your occupational outlook.
9	M21,22	International Macroeconomics Download, print, and read the FRB Chicago article Strong Dollar/Weak Dollar. Download and read U.S. International Transactions from the BEA. Second exam: Tuesday, March 27, covering 5-9
10	M29,A3,5 10	Monetary Policy  Download and read these three Federal Reserve Publications: Overview of the Federal Reserve System Monetary Policy and the Economy The Implementation of Monetary Policy
11	A12,17,19, 24	Fiscal Policy Download and read CBO's 2011 Long-Term Budget Outlook.
12	A26	In-class final: Thursday, April 26, with take-home component, all covering 10-11, take-home due for seniors only Thursday, May 2, 5:00 PM in Parsons 1261, for all others Tuesday May 8, 5:00 PM in Parsons 1261.