Intermediate Macroeconomics
FALL 2023
Assoc. Prof. Chris Ball
Email: christopher.ball@qu.edu
Office phone: +1 203 582 8745
Office Location: 4th Floor Rocky Top Student Center
QU Course Number: EC 212
Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Time: 11:00 - 12:15 PM
Location: CCE 209
Office Hours: TBD and As Needed
Fall 2023 Syllabus: download
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OPTIONAL Books for the course
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Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 11th Edition by MacMillan Press. This is "the" standard macro textbook. Very good and well written.​ I'll reference it and use some sections, but it's optional.
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Garin-Lester-Sims, Intermediate Macroeconomics by Julio Garin, Robert Lester and Eric Sims. ("GLS Macro"). This is a truly modern macro textbook that is really more of an "advanced undergraduate" macro book than an "intermediate" book. The authors' site is here in case they update.
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Outline, Notes and Readings
For this course, I mostly use my own notes. I will reference the Mankiw text and will also provide links to the relevant GLS chapters as well.
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MODULE 1: Review and Macro on the Island
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REVIEW Materials
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Economics Review
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Math Review/Notes
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Introduction
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Island and 3 Key Economic Questions All Societies Face
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​​​Linear Production, Productivity, Wages and Innovation
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Transaction Costs and Institutions​
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Optional READINGS:​
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​​EXAM 1 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)
Relevant Practice Problems
PS 01 AS AD and Time Paths Forward and Backward
PS 02 Setup and Agg Production Fall 2023
PS 03 Agg and Disagg Production Fall 2023
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​MODULE 2: Distribution of Income and the Solow Model of Growth
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​NeoClassical Theory of Income Distribution​
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Concave Production, CRTS, Marginal Products
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NeoClassical Theory of Income Distribution
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Mankiw Chap 3 - National Income: Where It Comes From and Where It Goes
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Solow Growth Model​​
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World Bank Graph: US and Germany
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Word Bank Graph: US and Japan
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Mankiw Chap 8 – Capital Accumulation as a Source of Growth
EXAM 2: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Relevant Practice Problems
PS 04 NeoClassical Thry of Dist 2023
​MODULE 3: Macroeconomic Policy
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The Birth of Government
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Fiscal Policy
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Monetary Policy
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Traditional Theory of Money: MV=Py
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A First Monetary Rule: Friedman's k-percent rule (set %M = %y^FE + k)
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Money Market Basics
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Chris Youtube Videos​: "The Nominal Money Market" or "The Market for Nominal Money Balances"
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​The Challenge of Monetary Policy, the Phillips Curve and Losing Control
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Modern Monetary Policy: Taylor Rules and New Keynesian Views
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The idea of Interest Rate Rules
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EXAM 3: TBD, 2023
Relevant Practice Problems
PS 06 Gov Budgets Constraints and Deficits
PS 07 Money and Birth of Money
PS 08 The Real Money Market and Policy
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