December 12, 2006
SYLLABUS
MACROECONOMIC THEORY AND
POLICY ANALYSIS
Instructor: William Helkie Public Affairs 641
TEXTBOOK: Macroeconomics by Rudiger Dornbusch, Stan Fischer, and Richard Startz. Ninth Edition (
Supplementary
Materials: Speeches
and Testimonies on www.federalreserve.gov
Macroeconomics is concerned with the
behavior of the economy as a whole.
Macroeconomics addresses the determination of the economy's total output
of goods and services (GDP), the growth of output, the determinants of the
price level and the rate of inflation, the factors that determine employment
(and unemployment), the balance of payments, and exchange rates.
The purpose of this course is to
address macroeconomics in theory and practice.
The first two-thirds of the semester will be devoted to developing the
tools needed to examine the issues addressed in the course. The remaining third of the course will be
devoted to addressing specific economic problems that face, or have faced, the
There are three exams: two mid-terms (about 20-25% each) and a final (about
50-55%). The emphasis in class will be
on analysis of macroeconomic issues, and students are expected to master the
methods of analysis used extensively in class.
Therefore, I recommend that you work through the lectures and the
assigned text. You should know the
definitions of the key terms at the end of the chapters. You should also attend some of the sessions
conducted by the Teaching Assistant if you are having difficulty understanding
the methods of analysis in the lectures and quizzes..
EXAMS:
three exams will be given:
The first mid-term exam (March 1)
will account for 20-25 percent of the final grade.
The second mid-term exam (April 5)
will also account for 20-25 percent of the final grade.
The final exam (May 16) will cover
the last part of the course along with questions from the first two parts and
will constitute 50-60 percent of the final grade.
OFFICE: (Department of Energy -- (202)
586-4535)
OFFICE
HOURS will be held after class.
E-MAIL william.helkie@eia.doe.gov
CLASS SCHEDULE
Section
I: BASIC MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK
January
25 Introduction to Macroeconomics
D-F Chapter 1.
National
Income Accounting
D-F Chapter 2
Chairman Bernanke’s Monetary Policy Testimony – July 19, 2006
Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Press Release
(12/12/06) and Minutes of Meeting
February
1 National
Income Accounting
D-F Chapter 2
Determination of Income
and Spending
D-F Chapter 9
February
8 Determination of Income and
Spending
D-F Chapter 9
Money, Interest, and
Income
D-F
Chapter 10, 17
February
15 Money,
Interest, and Income
D-F
Chapter 10, 17
Monetary and Fiscal
Policy
D-F
Chapter 11
International Linkages
D-F Chapter 12
Review for the Exam.
February
22 Monetary and Fiscal Policy
D-F
Chapter 11
International Linkages
D-F Chapter 12
Review for the Exam
March
1 MIDTERM EXAM
March 8 International Linkages
D-F Chapter 12
Price Determination
(Aggregate Supply and Demand)
D-F Chapter 5, 6, 7
March
15 Price
Determination (Aggregate Supply and Demand)
D-F Chapter 5, 6, 7
March
29 Price
Determination
D-F Chapter 5, 6, 7, 19
Long-term Growth and
Productivity
D-F Chapter 3, 4
Review
for the Exam.
April
5 MIDTERM
EXAM II
Section
II: TOPICS IN MACROECONOMICS
April 12 Monetary and Fiscal Policy
D-F Chapter 8, 15, 16
Macroeconomic
Stabilization Policy in Practice
D-F
Chapter 8, 15, 16
Handout: Taylor Rule
Governor Meyer’s Speech
before NABE, November 27, 2001
Governor Bies’s Remarks at American Association of Individual
Investors, Oct 23, 2004
Remarks by Governor Kohn
at NABE Policy Conference, March 25, 2004
Governor Gramlich’s Remarks at ASSA, January 4, 2003
Governor Gramlich’s Remarks at NABE Luncheon, February 25, 2004
Chairman Greenspan’s
speech at ASSA in
Chairman Greenspan’s speech and closing
remarks at
Nomination Hearing
Testimony of Ben Bernanke, November 15, 2005
April
19 Macroeconomic Stabilization
Policy in Practice
D-F
Chapter 8, 15, 16
The Depression and
Policy in the Current Conjuncture
D-F Chapter 18
Governor Bernanke’s Remarks at the University of
Governor Bernanke’s Remarks at Washington and Lee University, Mar 2,
2004
Chairman Greenspan’s
Remarks in
April 26 International Adjustment and
Interdependence, Bretton Woods and its Demise;
Sustainability of the
D-F Chapter 19
Speech by Governor Bernanke at NYU, February 3, 2003
Governor Gramlich’s Remarks at NABE Luncheon, February 25, 2004
May 3 Reagonomics,
Clinton and the 1990s,
Good Policies or Good Luck?
Chairman Greenspan’s
Speech at the Reagan Library, April 9, 2003
Governor Meyer’s Speech
before NABE, November 7, 2001
May
10 Analysis
of Current Conjuncture
Chairman Bernanke’s Monetary Policy Testimony, February 2007
Governor Meyer’s Speech
before NABE, Nov 27, 2001
Governor Bies’s Remarks at American Association of Individual
Investors, Oct 23, 2004
Remarks by Governor Kohn
at NABE Policy Conference, March 25, 2004
Governor Bernanke’s Remarks at the AEA, January 4, 2004
Course Review
May 16 Final Exam