Intermediate Macroeconomics
Spring 2022
Assoc. Prof. Chris Ball
Economics Department
Email: christopher.ball@qu.edu
Office phone: +1 203 582 8745
Office Location: 4th Floor Rocky Top Student Center
AS-AD and Other Review Topics
TYPED NOTES: Review of AS-AD Basic
A minor, side challenge throughout the semester will be to see at what point(s) we can think in terms of an AS-AD framework for the economy.
INTRODUCTION
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The basic island concept and the three fundamental economic challenges all societies face: (1) Who Does What?, (2) Who Gets What? and (3) How Can We Handle Aggregate Shocks?/How Do We Smooth Consumption?
PART I: The Setup and "Who Does What?"
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Setup, constraints, production
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Production Model 1: Linear production, and Technology and Productivity
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Problem Set 1: Setup and Aggregate Production (Due: beginning of class, February 10th, 2022)
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ANSWER KEY: Problem Set 1 Answer Key
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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
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Hand out on thinking about "static growth"
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Hand out(s) on Comparative Advantage
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AS-AD Challenge 1: Can we think in an AS-AD framework yet?
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Optional reading: Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society"
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PART II: The Distribution of Income and "Who Gets What?"
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HO 07 Graphical Analysis of changes in A, L and K with implications for w, r, and Y (PDF)
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AS-AD Challenge 2: Can we think in an AS-AD framework yet?
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Problem Set 2: NeoClassical Theory of Distribution (Due: beginning of class, March 3rd, 2022)
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ANSWER KEY: Problem Set 2 Answer Key and alternative answer to Prob #4
PART III: Dyanmics Part 1 - The Fundamentals and "Smoothing Consumption"
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HO 08.05.5 Alternative Graph for Allocation Over Time with Returns
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AS-AD Challenge 2: Can we think in an AS-AD framework yet?
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Problem Set 3: Dynamic Allocation and The Two Period Model (Due: TUESDAY, March 29, 2022)
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ANSWER KEY: Problem Set 3 Answer Key
PART IV: Dynamics Part 2 - The Example of Capital Accumulation and the Solow Growth Model
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Breaking K from A and Concave Production
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Marginal Products of Capital and Labor
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The Neo Classical Theory of Income Distribution
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Choosing K over Time and The Solow Growth Model
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Solow Model Basics
Evalutating the Solow Models in terms of GDP per Capita
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AS-AD Challenge 2: Can we think in an AS-AD framework yet?
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Problem Set 4: Solow Growth Model (Due: 4/21/2022)
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ANSWER KEY: Problem Set 4 Answer Key
PART V: Money, Government and Policy
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TYPED NOTES Government Budget Constraints Pt. 1
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TYPED NOTES Government Budget Constraints Pt. 2
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US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections for GDP, debts and deficits: https://www.cbo.gov/about/products/budget-economic-data
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Monetary Policy: An Evolutionary and Conceptual History of Money from Stones to 2021 FED Policy
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READINGS
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Handwritten NOTES
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TYPED NOTES
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AMPLE RESERVES: The Fed's "Ample-Reserves" Approach to Implementing Monetary Policy
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How Policy Framework Changed: How Does the Fed Influence Interest Rates Using Its New Tools? (August 2020)
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Interest Rate Policy
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TBD...
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Problem Set 5: Monetary Theory (Due: May 5th)
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ANSWER KEY: Problem Set 5 Answer Key
QU Course Number: EC 212
Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Time: 2:00 - 3:15 PM
Location: TH 328
Office Hours: TBD and As Needed
Syllabus and Other Material
EC 212 Spring 2022 Syllabus: download
OPTIONAL textbook for the course:
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Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 11th Edition by MacMillan Press
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Standard macro textbook. Very good and well written.
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Garin-Lester-Sims, Intermediate Macroeconomics by Julio Garin, Robert Lester and Eric Sims.
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A truly modern macro textbook that is really more of an "advanced undergraduate" macro book than an "intermediate" book.
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The authors' site is here in case they update.
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Additional Reading
The Economics of TIME
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EconTalk interview with Daniel Hamermesh
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Practice Problems: Econ of Time and Interview
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Gary Becker's 1965 Classic (Optional and Advanced/Technical)
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"A Theory of the Allocation of Time," by Gary Becker, The Economic Journal. September 1965.
Modern FED Policy Framework
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NY FED, "How the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Implementation Framework Has Evolved", NY FED's Liberty Street Blog, Jan 10, 2022
Birth of Money
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Jevons, William. Money and the Mechanism of Exchange. D. Appleton and Company, 1875.
Early Trade Structures
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Avner Greif, Reputation and Coalitions in Medieval Trade: Evidence on the Maghribi Traders, The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Dec., 1989), pp. 857-882
Friedrich Hayek's 1945 Classic (Optional)
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"The Use of Knowledge in Society" by F.A. Hayek, The American Economic Review, Vol. 35, Issue 4, Sep, 1945: 519 - 530.
Additional Material for the More Analysis-Oriented Student
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Simulate Solow Models in R (optional for those interested in data science and grad school):
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Simulation-only link (recommended for first time)
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Data, Estimation and Simulation link (requires a little econometric knowledge and more R familiarity)
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Simulate Solow Models in Python (optional for those interested in data science and grad school):
VIDEOS and HOMEWORK
HOMEWORK
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Problem Set 1: Setup and Aggregate Production (Due: beginning of class, February 10th, 2022)
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Problem Set 2:
VIDEOS
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.
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Solow Model Video 1: Review
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Solow Model Video 2: Review Golden Rule and max-Consumption Steady State
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Solow Model Video 3: Review change in Depreciation Rate (delta)
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Solow Model Video 4: Review change in Technology (A)
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Solow Model Video 5: Review Increase in the Savings Rate
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Evaluating Growth Video 1: Basic Solow Model
Solow Model with Population Growth
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Solow Model with Pop Video 1: Basics
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Solow Model with Pop Video 2: Basics Pt 2
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Evaluating Growth Video 2: Solow with Population Growth
Solow Model with Technological Progress
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Solow Model with Tech Video 1: Overview Pt. 1
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Solow Model with Tech Video 2: Overview Pt. 2
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Solow Model with Tech Video 3: Exogenous A-Growth
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Evaluating Growth 3 Video: Solow with Exogenous Tech
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Solow Model with Tech 4 Video: Labor-Augmenting Growth
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Evaluating Growth Video 4: Solow with Labor Augmenting Tech
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.)
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Evaluating Growth Video 1: Basic Solow Model
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Evaluating Growth Video 2: Solow with Population Growth
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Evaluating Growth 3 Video: Solow with Exogenous Tech
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Evaluating Growth Video 4: Solow with Labor Augmenting Tech