IAS 107: Intermediate Macroeconomics: U.C. Berkeley: Spring 2011: Schedule and Readings

J. Bradford DeLong: delong@econ.berkeley.edu: 925 708 0467: W 2-4 Evans 601.

Dariush Zahedi:

Lecture: TuTh 11-12:30 VLSB 2060

Sections: M 2 183 Dwinelle; M 3 251 Dwinelle; W 1 255 Dwinelle; W 4 83 Dwinelle; F 9 106 Wheeler; F 1 247 Dwinelle

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Joe Nocera: All the Devils Are Here. Portfolio ISBN-10: 1591843634.


J.B. DeLong and Martha Olney: Macroeconomics (2nd ed.) McGraw-Hill

ISBN-10: 0072877588.


iClicker ISBN-10: 0716779390.


2010 Economic Report of the President http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/economic-report-of-the-President

WEBSITE: http://delong.typepad.com/berkeley_econ_101b_spring

SCHEDULE:

Introduction:

Tu Jan 18: The Four Branches of Macroeconomics (read ch. 1: Introduction to Macroeconomics).


Th Jan 20: Keeping Track of the Macroeconomy (read chs. 2 and 3: Measuring the Macroeconomy and Thinking Like an Economist).

Growth Economics:

Tu Jan 25: Economic Growth Overview (read ch. 4: The Theory of Economic Growth).


Th Jan 27: The Industrial Revolution, the Demographic Transition, and the Coming of Modern Economic Growth (read ch. 5: The Reality of Economic Growth) (problem set 1 due).


Tu Feb 01: The Macroeconomics of Development: Convergence and Divergence Across Nations.


Th Feb 03: Spurring the Rate of Technological and Organizational Progress (problem set 2 due).

Depression Economics:

Tu Feb 08: The Great Recession.


Th Feb 10: The Income-Expenditure Model (read chs. 6 and 9: Building Blocks of the Flexible-Price Model and The Income-Expenditure Framework) (problem set 3 due).


Tu Feb 15: IS, LM, and Interest Rate Spreads (read chs. 10 and 11: Investment, Net Exports, and Interest Rates and Extending the Sticky Price Model).


Th Feb 17: Policies to Fight the Great Recession (problem set 4 due).


Tu Feb 22: The Great Recession Outside the United States.

Inflation Economics:

Th Feb 24: Inflation and the Phillips Curve (read chs. 8 and 12: Money, Prices, and Inflation and The Phillips Curve and Expectations (problem set 5 due).


Tu Mar 01: Expected Inflation and the Natural Rate of Unemployment.


Th Mar 3: Monetary Policy Reactions (read ch. 13: Stabilization Policy) (problem set 5 due).

Midterm:

Tu Mar 08: Pre-Midterm Review.


Th Mar 10: Midterm.

Debt-and-Deficit Economics:

Tu Mar 15: From the Short-Run to the Long-Run.


Th Mar 17: Government Debt Economics: Crowding Out and Crowding In (read chs. 7 and 14: Equilibrium in the Flexible Price Model and The Budget Balance, the National Debt, and Investment) (problem set 6 due).


Tu Mar 29: Four Topics of Macroeconomics Review.

After Mar 29:

Starting Th Mar 31, any one of three things might happen:

First, perhaps our schedule will have slipped.

Second, we can go back over some in more depth some of the topics: economic growth, catch-up and economic development, depression economics, inflation economics, government debt economics, international finance.

Third, we could do something else that seems interesting--the world will be different at the start of April than it looks today...

Final:

Th Apr 28: Final Review


Th May 12: 8-11: FINAL EXAM