Intermediate Macroeconomics

Spring 2021

Assoc. Prof. Chris Ball

Economics Department

Email:

Office phone: +1 203 582 8745

Office Location: 4th Floor Rocky Top Student Center

QU Course Number: EC 212

Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Time:  12:30 - 1:45 PM

Location:  TH 318

Office Hours: TBD and As Needed

QU Covid Message: play the linked video

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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• Transaction Costs and Institutions

  • Lecture Notes: HO 05 Transaction Costs​

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CURRENTLY everything below here is copied and pasted from 2020. I'll use most of the same material, but will update it soon and make new problem sets.

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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

• 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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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​

Syllabus and Other Material

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EC 212 Spring 2021 Syllabus: download

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Textbook for the course: Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 10th Edition by MacMillan Press

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Side Readings for Fun

(related to topics asked about in class)

• NBER Working Paper on Minimum Wages (Literature Review): "Myth or Measurement: What Does the New Minimum Wage Research Say about Minimum Wages and Job Loss in the United States?"

• NBER Working Paper on Minimum Wages (Historical Perspective): "THE RISE OF AMERICAN MINIMUM WAGES, 1912-1968"

• One More on Min Wages (Aggregate Effects). These authors try to get the aggregate effect (if wages are higher, prices are higher, but demand rises too): "The Local Aggregate Effects of Minimum Wage Increases"

• Financial Repression and the effects of high debt: "The Liquidation of Government Debt"

• IMF Website devoted to the debt crisis during/from COVID: "THE DEBT PANDEMIC"

• Robots and Labor on VoxEU: "Robots and labour in the service sector" (follow the links for more readings. Voxeu is non-political and written by real economists)

• Robots and Jobs on VoxEU: "Automation and jobs: When technology boosts employment"

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Additional Reading

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Early Trade Structures

• 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​

The Economics of TIME

• EconTalk interview with Daniel Hamermesh

  • Practice Problems:  Econ of Time and Interview

Gary Becker's 1965 Classic (Optional)

• "A Theory of the Allocation of Time," by Gary Becker, The Economic Journal. September 1965.​

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