How to Use Data to Design Better Macro Policies

Catalog description

Recent increases in computational power and the availability of 'big data' have been transformational in empirical macroeconomics and macro policy. This course shows how large datasets and macro theory can be used to understand and make progress on some of the most important social and economic problems of our time. Topics include debt forgiveness and student debt, trends in inequality and market power, and how to address financial fragility (UI/minimum wage/UBI). For each class, we will read and discuss empirical papers on each topic, learn the relevant econometric techniques needed to understand them and then discuss how to best interpret this evidence using relevant macro theory.