Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

Catalog description

This course examines the aggregate economy of the United States for the purpose of helping the student develop an ability to use several leading models to explain the workings of the macroeconomy. There is an emphasis on using these explanations to formulate predictions of economic performance in the context of current data and events. Students learn to measure and use key variables such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, and interest rates. There is also an assessment of the usefulness of monetary and fiscal policies to improve the workings of the economy. The course is structured to follow the historical development of macroeconomic theory from the original classical and Keynesian models to the modern aggregate demand-aggregate supply model and the rational expectations alternative, and ending with an introduction to the New Keynesian and real business cycle models of today.