Econ 204A: Introduction

Henning Bohn

Macroeconomics is centrally about intertemporal choices, about how individual choices combine to determine the dynamics of macroeconomic aggregates, and how economic policy may influence choices and macroeconomic outcomes. To start, we will introduce macroeconomic thinking in simple models that are hopefully familiar from undergraduate economics: consumption-savings savings decisions, labor-leisure decisions, production, and how markets allocate resources.

Stephen Williamson’s “Macroeconomics” is a good background reading, especially chapters 4, 5, and 8. These chapters are not required reading, however, because we will only cover selected items – to build intuition, not as material to memorize in detail. The book is an undergraduate text and referenced in part as a resource for students who might want to refresh their memory of undergraduate macro.

This introductory part should take about 1-2 classes (#1-2).