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Calendar

CLASS # TOPICS READINGS ASSIGNMENTS EXAMS
Unit 1 -- Exchange Rates and Wage Setting
1 Introduction
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Sec. 5.1.
2 Mundell-Fleming Model and the Gold Standard
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Sec 5.2.
  • Eichengreen and Sachs. "Exchange Rates and Economic Recovery in the 1930s." Pp. 925-46.
  • Temin. Lessons from the Great Depression. Appendix A. Pp. 139-46 only.
Posted: Problem Set 1
3 The Great Depression
  • Temin. Lessons from the Great Depression. Chapters 1 & 2.

Due: Problem Set 1 Posted: Problem Set 2

4 Unemployment then and now
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Sec. 5.3.
  • Temin. Lessons from the Great Depression. Chapter 3.
  • Nickell. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities; Europe versus North America." Pp. 55-74.
Due: Problem Set 2
5 Monetary Regimes Today
  • Ghosh, Gulde, Ostry, and Wolf. "Does the Exchange Rate Matter for Inflation and Growth?" 
  • Eichengreen. "Crisis Prevention and Management: Any New Lessons from Argentina and Turkey?"
6 Exam 1
Unit 2 -- Economic Growth
7 Introduction
  • Easterlin. "The Worldwide Standard of Living Since 1800."
  • DeLong. "Cornucopia: The Pace of Economic Growth in the Twentieth Century."
8 Solow Growth Model
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Chapter 1.
  • Denison. Why Growth Rates Differ. Chap. 21, pp. 296-301, 319-345 only.
Posted: Problem Set 3
9 TFP and Economic Growth
  • Jones. "On the Evolution of the World Income Distribution."
  • Abramovitz and David. "American Macroeconomic Growth in the Era of Knowledge-Based Progress: A Long-Run Interpretation."
  • Young. "Lessons from the East Asian NICs: A contrarian view."
  • Sachs. "Reforms in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union in Light of the East Asian Experience."
  • Svegnar. "Transition Economies: Performance and Challenges."
Due: Problem Set 3
10 New Growth Theory
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Secs. 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.8-10, 3.12.
Posted: Problem Set 4
11 Knowledge, Social Capital and Economic Growth
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Sec. 3.7.
  • Temin. "Evolutionary History: A Review Essay."
  • Engerman and Sokoloff. "Factor Endowments, Institutions, and Differential Paths of Growth Among New World Economies: A View from Economic Historians of the United States."
  • McArthur and Sachs. "Institutions and Geography: Comment on Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2000)."
Due: Problem Set 4
12 Postwar Economic Growth in Europe
  • Abramovitz. "Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind."
  • Temin. "The Golden Age of European Economic Growth Reconsidered."
13 Exam 2
Unit 3 -- Savings
14

Representative Consumer Model

  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Secs. 2.1, 2.7, 7.4, 7.5, 11.2-3.
  • Siegel and Thaler. "Anomalies: The Equity Premium Puzzle."
15 Overlapping Generations Model
  • Romer. Advanced Macroeconomics. Chapter 2 B.
Posted: Problem Set 5
16

Government Policy, Savings, and Social Security

  • Congress of the United States. Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2003-2012. Chapters 1, 6.
  • Lee and Skinner. "Will Aging Baby Boomers Bust the Federal
    Budget?"
  • Diamond and Orszag. "Reducing Benefits and Subsidizing Individual Accounts: An Analysis of the Plans Proposed by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security."
Due: Problem Set 5
17 International Comparison
  • Gruber and Wise. "Social Security, Retirement Incentives, and Retirement Behavior: An International Perspective."
18 Final Examination Period Exam 3