For the first seven lectures, the students used the professor’s lecture notes as their text. Please also see the additional readings below the table.
[Macro] = Blanchard, Olivier, and David R. Johnson. Macroeconomics. 6th ed. Pearson, 2012. ISBN: 9780133061635.
L = Lecture session
R = Recitation session
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Models of the financial crisis: Leverage | No readings | |
| R1 | Balance sheets and leverage | No readings | |
| L2 | Models of the financial crisis: Holmstrom-Tirole I | No readings | |
| L3 | Models of the financial crisis: Holmstrom-Tirole II | No readings | |
| R2 | Holmstrom-Tirole model | No readings | Pset 1 posted (leverage, Holstrom-Tirole, Diamond-Dybvig) |
| L4 | Models of the financial crisis: Diamond-Dybvig I | No readings | |
| L5 | Models of the financial crisis: Diamond-Dybvig II | No readings | |
| R3 | Diamond-Dybvig model | No readings | Pset 1 due |
| L6 | Models of the financial crisis: Tirole | No readings | |
| L7 | Models of the financial crisis: Kiyotaki-Moore | No readings | |
| R4 | Kiyotaki-Moore model | No readings | Pset 2 posted (Kiyotaki-Moore and IS-LM) |
| L8 | Core: National accounts | [Macro] Chapters 1 and 2. | |
| L9 | Core: The IS-LM model | [Macro] Chapters 3–5. | |
| R5 | IS-LM | No readings | Pset 2 due |
| L10 | Core: The IS-LM model (cont.) | [Macro] Chapters 3–5. | |
| L11 | Core: The IS-LM model (cont.) | [Macro] Liquidity trap section, pp. 473–6. | |
| Quiz 1 on lectures 1–11 | No readings | ||
| L12–13 | Core: The medium run | [Macro] Chapters 6–9. | |
| R6 | Medium run | No readings | Pset 3 posted (Medium run) |
| L14 | Core: The medium run (cont.) | [Macro] Chapters 6–9. | |
| L15 | Core: The open economy | [Macro] Chapters 18–21. | |
| R7 | Open economy | No readings | Pset 3 due |
| L16–17 | Core: The open economy (cont.) | [Macro] Chapters 18–21. | |
| Quiz 2 on lectures 12–17 | No readings | ||
| L18 | The Mundell-Fleming model | [Macro] Chapter 20. | Pset 4 posted (Open economy) |
| L19 | Fixed and flex exchange rates | [Macro] Chapter 21. | |
| R8 | Fiscal policy | [Macro] Chapter 21. | |
| L20 | Fiscal policy (cont.) | [Macro] Chapter 23. | Pset 4 due |
| R9 | Fiscal policy exercise | No readings | Pset 5 posted (Fiscal and monetary policy) |
| L21–22 | Monetary policy and the crisis | [Macro] Chapters 9 and 24. | |
| R10 | Monetary policy and the crisis exercises | No readings | |
| L23 | The state of the U.S. economy after the crisis—Bob Hall | No readings | Pset 5 due |
| L24 | Review for the quiz | No readings | |
| Quiz 3 on lectures 18 to 24 | No readings |
Additional Readings
Gapper, John. “Promises that Proved Ultimately Empty,” Financial Times, January 9, 2012.
“Playing with Fire,” The Economist, February 25, 2012.
“The Origins of the Financial Crisis: Crash Course,” The Economist, September 7, 2013.
“The Dangers of Debt: Lending Weight,” The Economist, September 14, 2013.
“Monetary Policy after the Crash: Controlling Interest,” The Economist, September 21, 2013.
“Stimulus v Austerity: Sovereign Doubts,” The Economist, September 28, 2013.
“Making Banks Safe: Calling to Accounts,” The Economist, October 5, 2013.
