AECO 25A22 - Intermediate Macroeconomics

This course covers the foundations of the theory of modern macroeconomics. The goal will be to build simple analytical models to be used as "laboratories" to understand the macroeconomy. These models can help interpret past data, consider future trends, and analyze the effects of fiscal or monetary policies.

We will build models where economic agents behave optimally and interact in general equilibrium. We will use these models to discuss long-run growth and short-run fluctuations of economic aggregates. A central theme will be to understand the power and limitations of macroeconomic policy in stabilizing the business cycle and promoting growth.

The prerequisite for this course is the first-year core economics course. In addition, the course will make use of standard math tools commonly employed in modern economics, including functions and derivatives.

There will be a Midterm exam (one hour, 35% of the grade, closed book) and a Final exam (one hour, 65% of the grade, closed book).

In addition, depending on the number of students registered, we may have group presentations on recent academic papers surveying the literature on various topics.

The details of the course validation will be finalized and communicated at the first lecture.