Advanced Macroeconomics

Syllabus

Part 1: One-period Model

• Consumer's Work-Leisure Decision (slides, handout 1)
• Firms' Profit Maximization (slides, handout 2)
• Competitive Equilibrium (slides, handout 3)

Data: US (BLS, BEA, FRED)

Materials: Problem Set 1 (due 9/19), Graphs in Excel

Part 2: Economic Growth

• Malthusian Model (slides)
• Solow Model (slides)
• Endogenous Growth (slides)

Data: International (OECD, IFS, World Bank, Penn World Tables)

Materials: Problem Set 2 (due 10/5), Growth accounting slides, Growth accounting notes, Tutorial for constructing capital, Tutorial for growth accounting

Part 3: Two-period Model

• Consumer's Saving-Borrowing Decision (slides, handout 4)
• Government Debt and Ricardian Equivalence (slides)
• Credit Imperfections (slides)
  • Two-period Model with Investment (slides, handout 5)

Data: Household data (SCF)

Materials: Problem Set 3 (due 11/30), Survey of Consumer Finances, sample STATA code

Part 4: Business Cycles

• Business cycle models with flexible prices and wages (slides)
• New Keynesian economics and sticky prices (slides)

Presentations and final assignment