Economics 53
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Course Calendar – Spring 2009
Note: This may be revised as
the semester proceeds.
|
Section |
Dates |
Topic and Reading Assignment (also periodically check the course assignments web page) |
|
1 |
J20,22 |
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 (January 2009) GDP and the Economy, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. We will eventually cover most of this material in class. Also scan-read this technical article by the Bureau of Economic Analysis about the Measuring the Economy. Don’t try to remember all of this. This is a supplement to my lecture. Go to the Course Assignments page and find and complete Homework 1. |
|
2 |
J27,29 |
Business Cycles Download and read the Business Cycle Essay. |
|
3 |
F3,5 |
The Aggregate Supply/Aggregate Demand Model Download and read Chapter 1 -
Economic Models. |
|
4 |
F10,12 |
The Loanable Funds Model Download and read Chapter 3 - The Loanable Funds Model First exam:
Tuesday, February 17, covering 1-4 |
|
5 |
F19,24 |
The HMCMacroSim Simulation Models Go to the Course Assignments page and download the homework that is labeled HMCMacrosim Homework Assignments, and read and complete all of the homework assignments. Bring the completed assignments to class with you on February 24. |
|
6 |
F26,M3 |
Macroeconomic Growth and Development Go to the World Bank web site on economic growth at http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/beyond/beyond.htm and download and print the black and white version of the chapters assigned below (PDF file) from the book entitled Beyond Economic Growth. Read chapters 1-9 and 12. |
|
7 |
M5 |
Employment and Unemployment Download and read the first 10 pages (text part)of the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. The best site for finding information on employment, unemployment, and productivity is the Bureau of Labor Statistics site at http://www.bls.gov/ . Because information on this site is so detailed, excerpts from this site will be provided in class handouts, complete with some questions that you are to answer. Go to the Course Assignments page and find and complete the homework for this section. |
|
8 |
M10,12 |
Price Behavior and Inflation Download and read The Fundamentals of
Price Inflation. Download and read The Impact of Inflation by Rebecca Hellerstein at
the Boston Federal Reserve site, |
|
9 |
M24,26 |
International Macroeconomics Download and read U.S. International Transactions from the BEA. Download, print, and read the FRB Chicago article Strong Dollar/Weak Dollar. Second exam: Tuesday, March 31, covering 5-9 |
|
10 |
A2,7,9,14 |
Monetary Policy Download and read these three Federal Reserve Publications: Overview of the Federal Reserve System |
|
11 |
A16,21,23 |
Fiscal Policy Download and read CBO’s The Long Term Budget Outlook. |
|
12 |
A28 |
Concluding lecture and review. In-class final: Thursday, April 30, with take-home component, all covering 10-11. |