Teaching
Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECO3302)

Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECO3302)

my new screenshot

Overview

Welcome! In this course, we will investigate the factors that influence the level of aggregate economic activity and the decision-making that ultimately results in the determination of aggregate economic quantities (e.g., levels of consumption, investment, and employment). You will learn about a wide array of topics, including inflation, exchange rates, business dynamism, monetary and fiscal policy, financial markets, labor markets, etc. You will also analyze the impact of various government fiscal policies (using general equilibrium models) and the behavior of business cycles and patterns across various countries. The hope is that at the end of this course you have a solid understanding of basic macreoconomic concepts, and feel comfortable compiling, analyzing, and writting reports using macroeconomic data.

Prerequisites

ECO 1311, ECO 1312, ECO 3301, and MATH 1309 or MATH 1337.

Course Textbook

  • Macroeconomics (Twelfth Edition), N. Gregory Mankiw. ISBN: 9781319567651
  • More advanced textbook for interested students: TBD.

Office Hours

  • Office: 310C Umphrey Lee.
  • Dates & Times: Mondays, 13:00-16:00, by appointment (book your slot here).
  • Email: luisperez@smu.edu.

Lecture Meeting Times

  • MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM (Class #2538)
  • MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM (Class #3550)

Midterm and Final Exams

  • Early-progress exam: February 24 (Monday).
  • Midterm: March 14 (Friday).
  • Final: May 9 (Friday; pending confirmation by the school.)

Introductory Podcast

Much of macroeconomics is concerned with long-term economic growth. Listen to Daron Acemoglu, this year’s Economics Nobel laureate, talk about what makes countries succeed or fail.

Course Materials

Here you can find syllabus, slides, and examples of past exams.
  • Syllabus.
  • Lecture 1: Introduction and course logistics.
  • Lecture 2: Becoming a macroeconomist (models and data).
  • Lecture 3: National income (How it is earned).
  • Lecture 4: National income (How it is spent).
  • Lecture 5: A primer on Economic Growth
  • Lecture 6: Growth Theory (Solow and extensions).
  • Lecture 7: Proximate vs. fundamental causes of economic growth.
  • Lecture 8: The monetary system.
  • Lecture 9: The open economy.
  • Lecture 10: Unemployment and labor markets.
  • Lecture 11: Economic fluctuations.
  • Lecture 12: Aggregate demand I (Building the IS-LM model).
  • Lecture 12: Aggregate demand II (Applying the IS-LM model).
  • Lecture 13: The open economy revisited (Mundell-Fleming and Exchange Rates).
  • Lecture 14: Short-run tradeoff between unemployment and inflation.
  • Lecture 15: A dynamic model of economic fluctuations.
  • Lecture 16: Alternative perspectives on stabilization policy.
  • Lecture 17: Government debt and budget deficits.
  • Lecture 18: Banking and monetary policy.
  • Lecture 19: The financial system (Opportunities and dangers).
  • Past exams: