Introduction

The goal in this class is to learn how the macroeconomy works. We approach the subject as social scientists following the scientific method : explore the data to ask questions, develop hypotheses/explanations grounded in the behavior of the actors involved (households, workers, businesses, banks, the government), and critically evaluate how well those hypotheses match what we observe in reality.

The suggested readings below are from CORE Econ’s open-access The Economy 2.0: Macroeconomics , with additional Microeconomics readings identified in Module Purple.

Module Yellow: Measuring the Economy: Income, Prices, and Labor

Module Yellow introduces how we measure income, prices, and labor to describe the state of the macroeconomy.

Suggested CORE readings

Module Red: Employment, Prices, and Income Distribution

Module Red examines wage setting, price setting, the aggregate labor/product model, and income inequality to explain employment, prices, and income distribution.

Suggested CORE readings

Module Green: The Financial System

Module Green explores borrowing and lending, banks, money, and financial instruments to explain how the financial system works.

Suggested CORE readings

Module Blue: Unemployment, Inflation, and Macroeconomic Policy

Module Blue studies business cycles, the multiplier model, inflation, and monetary policy to understand macroeconomic fluctuations and policy responses.

Suggested CORE readings

Module Purple: Economic Growth

Module Purple examines the Malthusian trap, technology and innovation, and the present and future of economic growth.

Suggested CORE readings

Additional readings from The Economy 2.0: Microeconomics