Department of Economics
Saint Louis University
Professor: Rapach
Summer 2009
ECON 312-55
Intermediate Macroeconomics
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Professor: David E. Rapach
Class Time, Place: Monday–Thursday, 9:50a–11:25a, Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 373
Office Location: Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 261A
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30a–1:30p; by appointment
Tel: 314-977-3601
E-mail: rapachde@slu.edu
REQUIRED TEXT:
N. Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, Sixth
Edition (Worth, 2007), ISBN 0-7167-6213-7
PREREQUISITES:
ECON 314 Intermediate Microeconomics
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course, students analyze the behavior of key social variables, including:
- real gross domestic product (GDP);
- unemployment rate;
- price level;
- interest
rates;
- trade balance;
- exchange rates.
Understanding the behavior of these
variables is important, among other things, for taking business decisions and
understanding policy options in both domestic and international contexts. These
variables are analyzed using economic models presented through verbal,
graphical, and algebraic descriptions. Economic data are also extensively
analyzed.
The two main learning objectives are:
- To understand the determinants of the social
variables listed above in the short run and long run.
- To understand the effects of monetary and fiscal
policies on the economy.
GRADING:
The final grade is based on:
-
Quizzes (best 4 of 5): 30%
Homework assignments are given in class and can be found on the Homework
Assignments web page. All assignments must be typed and are due at the beginning
of class; none are accepted late. Please omit cover sheets, staple pages
together, and clearly indicate your name, the course, and assignment. You are
permitted to work with other students in the preliminary stages when doing
assignments, but you must work alone and use your own words when composing
the final version to be handed in. Students may turn
homework in via e-mail.
Quiz and exam dates will be confirmed in class.
Students who miss a quiz or exam receive a grade of zero.
COURSE OUTLINE:
The following outline reports chapters to be covered,
supplementary readings, and exam dates. Supplementary readings are available at
the URLs provided. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print
readings that are available as PDF files. The outline is preliminary and subject to change
during the semester.
Part I Introduction
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Mon, 29 June
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Chapter 1
The Science of Macroeconomics
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Tues, 30 June
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Chapter 2
The Data of Macroeconomics
- Leonard
Nakamura, “National Income Accounts,” Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia Working Paper 06-11, June 2006
Get
article
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Wed, 1 July
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Chapter 2
The Data of Macroeconomics
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Part II Classical Theory: The Economy in the Long
Run
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Thurs, 2 July
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Chapter 3
National Income: Where It Comes From and Where It Goes
- Sylvain Leduc, “Deficit-Financed Tax Cuts and Interest Rates,” Federal
Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Business Review, Second
Quarter 2004
Get article
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Mon, 6 July
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Chapter 3
National Income: Where It Comes From and Where It Goes
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| Tues, 7 July
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Chapter 4
Money and Inflation
- George McCandless, Jr. and Warren Weber, “Some Monetary Facts,” Federal
Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review, Summer 1995
Get article
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Wed, 8 July
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Chapter 4
Money and Inflation
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Thurs, 9 July
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Chapter 5
The Open Economy
- George Alessandria, “Trade Deficits Aren’t as Bad as You Think,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Business Review, First Quarter 2007
Get article
- Leonardo Bartolini and Amartya Lahiri, “Twin Deficits, Twenty Years
Later,” Federal Reserve Bank of New
York Current Issues in Economics and Finance,” October 2006
Get
article
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Mon, 13 July
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Chapter 5
The Open Economy
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Tues, 14 July
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Chapter 6
Unemployment
- Ellen R. McGratten and Richard Rogerson, “Changes in Hours Worked,
1950-2000,” Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis Quarterly Review, July 2004
Get article
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Wed, 15 July
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Chapter 6
Unemployment
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Thurs, 16 July
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Exam 1
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Part III Growth Theory: The Economy in the Very
Long Run
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Mon, 20 July
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Chapter 7
Economic Growth I: Capital Accumulation and Population Growth
- J. Bradford DeLong, “How Fast is Modern Economic Growth?” Federal
Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 98-31, October 16, 1998
Get
article
- Lee E. Ohanian, “Back to the Future with Keynes,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review, July 2008
Get article
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Tues, 21 July
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Chapter 7
Economic Growth I: Capital Accumulation and Population Growth
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Wed, 22 July
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Chapter 8
Economic Growth II: Technology, Empirics, and Policy
- Ed Nosal and Peter Rupert, “Infrastructure and the Wealth of Nations,” Federal
Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Economic Commentary,
January 15, 2002
Get
article
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Part IV Business Cycle Theory: The Economy in the
Short Run
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Thurs, 23 July
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Chapter 9
Introduction to Economic Fluctuations
- Pinelopi Goldberg and Rebecca Hellerstein, “Sticky Prices: Why Firms
Hesitate to Adjust the Price of Their Goods,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Current Issues in Economics and
Finance, November 2007
Get
article
- Keith Sill, “The Macroeconomics of Oil Shocks,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Business Review,
First Quarter 2007
Get article
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Mon, 27 July
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Chapter 10
Aggregate Demand I: Building the IS-LM Model
- Justin Weidner and John Williams, "How Big is the Output Gap?" Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 2009-19, June 12, 2009
Get article
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Tues, 28 July
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Chapter 10
Aggregate Demand I: Building the IS-LM Model
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Wed, 29 July
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Chapter 11
Aggregate Demand II: Applying the IS-LM Model
- Sylvain Leduc, "Fighting Downturns with Fiscal Policy, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 2009-20, June 19, 2009
Get article
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Thurs, 30 July
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Chapter 11
Aggregate Demand II: Applying the IS-LM Model
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Mon, 3 Aug
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Chapter 12
The Open Economy Revisited: The Mundel-Fleming Model and the Exchange-Rate
Regime
- Linda Goldberg and Eleanor Wiske Dillon, “Why a Dollar Depreciation May
Not Close the U.S. Trade Deficit,” Federal
Reserve Bank of New York Current Issues in Economics and Finance, June
2007
Get
article
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Tues, 4 Aug
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Chapter 12
The Open Economy Revisited: The Mundel-Fleming Model and the Exchange-Rate
Regime
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Part V Macroeconomic Policy Debates
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Wed, 5 Aug
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Chapter 15
Government Debt
- Laurence J. Kotlikoff, “Is the United States Bankrupt?” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review,
July/August 2006
Get
article
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Thurs, 6 Aug
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Exam 2
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The following is a list of recent books on timely macroeconomic topics that
you may find interesting. (These books are not
required.)
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