Economics 314

Macroeconomic Theory

Spring 2014

Jeffrey Parker, Reed College

Assignments

Daily Questions

1. January 29: Basic model problems
2. January 30: Algebra of growth rates
3. January 31: Nature of k
4. February 3: Golden Rule
5. February 6: Romer's resource model (Note: The timing of this DQ has been advanced)
6. February 7: Dynamic budget constraint
7. February 10: Slope of indifference curves
8. February 13: Concept of the phase plane
9. Postponed to February 17: Golden rule vs. Ramsey consumption
10. Postponed to February 20 and changed: Diamond model dynamics
11. February 21 (Optional): R&D model without capital
12. February 24: Constant returns to produced inputs
13. Revised February 27: Ramsey consumers and endogenous growth
14. February 28 (Optional): Costs of human capital
15. March 3: IT and Reed productivity
16. March 10: Utility and work decision
17. March 13: Self-sustaining inflation
18. March 24: Utility in the IS/LM model
19. March 26: Core inflation
20. March 27: Dixit-Stiglitz price index
21. March 31: Costs of price non-adjustment
22. April 3: Real price rigidity
23. April 10: Models and kinds of adjustment cost
24. April 14: Inflation inertia
25. April 16: Natural unemployment
26. April 18: Efficiency wages
27. April 21: No-shirking condition
28. April 24: Gains from matching
29. April 25: q
30. April 30: K-dot = 0

Projects

• Project 1: Exploring economic growth in one country (due February 5)
  • Assignment
  • Data sets
• Project 2: Solow model problems (due February 12)
• Project 3: Solow and Ramsey model problems (due February 19)
• Project 4: Ramsey and Diamond model problems (due February 26)
• Project 5: Problems relating to endogenous growth (due March 5)
• Project 6: Simulating a DSGE model (due April 2)
• Project 7: New Keynesian model problems (due Friday, April 11)
• Project 8: Presentations of empirical price rigidity papers (on Thursday, April 17)
• Project 9: Investment and unemployment problems (due April 30)

Papers of the week

• January 31: Keynes, John Maynard. 1936. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Chapters 8-10. (On reserve.)
• February 7: Mankiw, N. Gregory, David Romer, and David N. Weil. 1992. A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 107 (2):407-37.
• February 14: Barro, Robert J., and Xavier Sala-i-Martin. 1992. Convergence. Journal of Political Economy 100 (2):223-51.
• February 21: Barro, Robert J. 1987. Government Spending, Interest Rates, Prices, and Budget Deficits in the United Kingdom, 1701-1918. Journal of Monetary Economics 20 (2):221-47.
• February 28: Abramovitz, Moses. 1986. Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind. Journal of Economic History 46 (2):385-406.
• March 14: Hamilton, James D. 2011. Historical Oil Shocks. National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER Working Paper No. 16790.
• March 28: Friedman, Milton. 1968. The Role of Monetary Policy. American Economic Review 58 (1):1-17.
• April 4: Ball, Laurence. 1994. What Determines the Sacrifice Ratio? In Monetary Policy, edited by N. G. Mankiw. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
• April 9: Sargent, Thomas J. 1982. The Ends of Four Big Inflations. In Inflation: Causes and Effects, edited by R. E. Hall. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• May 2: Akerlof, George A. 2007. The Missing Motivation in Macroeconomics. American Economic Review 97 (1):5-36.