Spring 2021 - MODULE 1: The Basic Island Economy

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Part I: Introducing the Island

• The basic island setup

  • Lecture Notes: HO 00 Initial Set Up

  • Lecture Notes: HO 01 Setup and Agg Production

  • Handwritten Notes: Production, Prod Functions, Wages and MPL

  • Problem Set 1 (HW 1; Due 2/14/2021): download

  • Problem Set 2 (HW 2; Due 2/16/2021): download

• Individuals Choosing over Time (we skipped this in 2021)​

  • Lecture Notes: (skip) HO 02 Marginal Utility and Labor Leisure

• Optimal Allocations for Output: Linear Tech and a First Look at Growth

  • Lecture Notes: (skip) HO 03 Linear Production and PPF

  • Lecture Notes: HO 04 Comparative Advantage

    • Note 1: Comp Adv in 3 Steps​

    • Note 2: Intuition and Optimal Allocation

    • Note 3: Tech Growth and Labor in History

  • Problem Set 3 (HW 3; Due 2/28/2021): Word or PDF

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1-Pager Summary for Part 1: Key Lessons​

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​Part II: Adding Capital

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• Adding Capital to productoin

• Optimal Allocations for Output: Concave Functions in Economics

  • Utility and Production

  • 1 input, 1 output and Marginal Diminishing Returns

  • 2 inputs, 1 output

  • 1 input, 2 outputs​, the law of one price

    • 2-sector labor market​

  • Lecture Notes: 18 Feb 2021 iPad Notes "Intro to Concave Functions"

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• Problem Set 4 (HW 4; Due 3/21/2021): Word or PDF

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• Transaction Costs and Institutions

  • Lecture Notes: HO 05 Transaction Costs​

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Spring 2021 - MODULE 2: The Solow Growth Model

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Solow Model Basics

• Lecture Notes : Handwritten Class Notes on the Solow Model (you'll see this are similar to what I did in 2021, but some minor modifications... I think now I motivate the model better and make the intro math easier... I think : - )

• THESE ARE MY VIDEOS. Enjoy!!  I recommend you watch them in order and SKIP "Evaluating Growth" videos at first. After you finish all the Solow Model stuff, you can return to them. I just organized them with each section so you can easily go back and check the videos when you look at the Evaluation Stuff.​

  • Solow Model Video 1: Review

  • Solow Model Video 2: Review Golden Rule and max-Consumption Steady State​

  • Solow Model Video 3: Review change in Depreciation Rate (delta)

  • Solow Model Video 4: Review change in Technology (A)

  • Solow Model Video 5: Review Increase in the Savings Rate

  • Evaluating Growth Video 1: Basic Solow Model​

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Solow Model with Population Growth

• Solow Model with Pop Video 1: Basics

• Solow Model with Pop Video 2: Basics Pt 2

• Evaluating Growth Video 2: Solow with Population Growth 

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• Problem Set 5 (HW 5; Due 4/11/2021): Word or PDF

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Solow Model with Technological Progress

• Solow Model with Tech Video 1: Overview Pt. 1 

• Solow Model with Tech Video 2: Overview Pt. 2

• Solow Model with Tech Video 3: Exogenous A-Growth

• Evaluating Growth 3 Video: Solow with Exogenous Tech

• Solow Model with Tech 4 Video: Labor-Augmenting Growth

• Evaluating Growth Video 4: Solow with Labor Augmenting Tech

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Evalutating the Solow Models in terms of GDP per Capita

• Lecture Notes: Comparing Models​

 

Evaluation Videos all in One Place
(best if you download the "Comparing Models" Notes and go through these with those notes and AFTER we did it in class.)

• Evaluating Growth Video 1: Basic Solow Model​

• Evaluating Growth Video 2: Solow with Population Growth 

• Evaluating Growth 3 Video: Solow with Exogenous Tech

• Evaluating Growth Video 4: Solow with Labor Augmenting Tech​

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• Simulate Solow Models in R (optional for those interested in data science and grad school):

  • Simulation-only link (recommended for first time)

  • Data, Estimation and Simulation link (requires a little econometric knowledge and more R familiarity)

  • Solow-specific R script

• Simulate Solow Models in Python (optional for those interested in data science and grad school):

  • Brad DeLong's 2020 Version (more sophisticated)

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Spring 2021 - MODULE 3: Monetary and Fiscal Policy

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Monetary Policy: An Evolutionary and Conceptual History of Money from Stones to 2021 FED Policy​

• READINGS

  1. READING 1: The Island of Yap (Chap 1 in Milton Friedman's Money Mischief)

  2. READING 2: The Mystery of Money (First pages of Chap 2 in Friedman's Money Mischief)

  3. BBC Article on YAP today (2018)

  4. Wikipedia's YAP page

• NOTES

  1. NOTES 1: The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 1: From Commodities to Digital​

  2. NOTES 2: The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 2: The Great Depression

  3. NOTES 3: The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 3: The Great Recession and Beyond

• TYPED NOTES linking The Birth of Money to other Topics

• Interest Rate Policy​

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Fiscal Policy

• TYPED NOTES Government Budget Constraints Pt. 1

• TYPED NOTES Government Budget Constraints Pt. 2

• US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections for debts and deficits: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56977#section

• US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections for GDP growth: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56965

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HW 6 (Due Thurs Midnight 4/29/21 ): Word or PDF

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AS-AD and Other Topics

TYPED NOTES: Review of AS-AD Basic

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FROM 2022

ATLERNATIVE and OPTIONAL MATERIAL: APPENDIX

This is material I've covered in the past. Or, it's additional material for students wanting to read more on a topic.

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Original Fall 2022 Planned Material

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• Dynamic Allocation/Optimization​

  • Solow Growth Model

    • HO 2019 Solow Growth Handwritten Notes

    • READINGS:

      • Mankiw Chapter 8 – Capital Accumulation as a Source of Growth

      • GLS 2021 Chap 4 Growth Facts

      • GLS 2021 Chap 5 Solow Growth Model

    • Practice Problems:​

    • PP Solow Growth Model

  • Utility Max Part 2: Markets Over Time and the Role of the Interest Rate

    • HO UMP Dynamic Euler

    • READINGS: 

      • (Optional) Two Ways to Think About Moving Resources Over Time

      • GLS 2021 Chap 9 Dynamic Consumption Savings

      • ATLERNATIVE material on preferences and choice over time.

  • Practice Problems:​

    • PP Dynamic Utility Max and the Euler Equation

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• Monetary Policy

  • Traditional Theory of Money: MV=Py

    • HO Money and Prices SR vs LR

    • READINGS:

      • Mankiw Chapter 5 – Inflation: Its Causes, Effects and Social Costs

  • Traditional Banking and Money Multiplier

    • HO Chap 4 The Monetary System Notes

    • READINGS:

      • Mankiw Chapter 4 – The Monetary System: What It Is and How It Works

      • GLS 2021 Chapter 31 Basics of Banking

      • GLS 2021 Chapter 32 The Money Creation Process

  • Traditional Monetary Policy and Operations

    • HO TBD Monetarism and Friedman’s k-percent rule

  • Modern Monetary Policy: Taylor Rules and New Keynesian Views

    • HO TBD Interest Rate Rules​

  • Practice Problems:​

    • Problem Set TBD

  • Modern Banking, Monetary Policy and Operations

    • HO The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 1: From Commodities to Digital

    • HO The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 2: The Great Depression

    • HO The Birth of Money (2021v) Part 3: The Great Recession and Beyond

    • READINGS:

      • The Fed's "Ample-Reserves" Approach to Implementing Monetary Policy

      • The Fed’s New Monetary Policy Tools (August 2020)

      • How Policy Framework Changed: How Does the Fed Influence Interest Rates Using Its New Tools? (August 2020)

  • The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level

    • HO TBD The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level (FTPL)

    • READINGS:

      • Cochrane (2021) “The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level: An Introduction and Overview” Draft for the Journal of Economic Perspectives. 

  • (Optional) Bond Markets

    • HO Bonds and Bond Markets

  • Practice Problems:​

    • Problem Set TBD

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• (Optional) Fiscal Policy

  • Congressional Budget Office

  • HO Government Budget Constraints

  • HO On Government Debts and Deficits

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• (SKIPPED Spring 2022) "Static Growth": Getting the most from what we've got.  Various means of allocating and arranging labor time. Comparative Advantage​

  • Hand out on thinking about "static growth"​

  • Hand out(s) on Comparative Advantage​

    • HO 03.0: Handwritten class lecture notes (PDF)​

    • HO 03.1: Optimal Allocation of Labor and  the Example of Comparative Advantage (PDF)​

    • HO 03.2: Comparative Advantage in 3 Steps (PDF)

    • HO 03.3 Intuition of Optimal Allocation (PDF)

    • HO 03.4 Note on Tech Growth and Labor in History (PDF)

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• How I Taught Utility and Euler in Spring 2022

  • HO 08.01 Preferences

  • HO 08.02 Utility Functions

  • HO 08.02.5 Intro to Analysis Across Time

  • HO 08.03 Allocation Over Time Part 1: Pure Allocation

  • HO 08.03.5 Alternative Graph for Pure Allocation

  • HO 08.04 Allocation Over Time Part 2: Income and Graphs

  • HO 08.05 Allocation Over Time Part 3: Returns

  • HO 08.05.5 Alternative Graph for Allocation Over Time with Returns

  • HO 08.06 The Dynamic Effect of Interest Rates

  • HO 08.07 Solving the Two Period Model

  • HO 08.08 Dynamic Effects in the Solved Model