ECON 351 Macroeconomic Policy Since the Great Depression

Since the financial crisis of 2008 the U.S. economy has languished: unemployment has remained elevated job growth has been anemic and poverty rates have risen to levels not seen in decades. What should policymakers do to help get the U.S. economy out of this mess? This course revolves around this question. It does so by analyzing the current macroeconomic policy challenges facing the United States from the vantage point of modern macroeconomics and economic history. Students will read state-of-the-art empirical research in macroeconomics and develop a sense for how macroeconomists conduct research and make policy recommendations. Special emphasis will be placed on exposing students to the major developments of U.S. macroeconomic policy since the Great Depression and on the role of history in guiding contemporary macroeconomic policy decisions and debates.