“Try It” boxes and additional videos embedded in this text are for your benefit unless otherwise specified. Use them if they are useful to you but you may skip them if they are not.
Week 4 – from Module 6: “What is Gross Domestic Product?” and “Calculating GDP“
Week 7 – from Module 15: “Absolute and Comparative Advantage” and “Comparative Advantage and the Gains from Trade” OPTIONAL: “Learning by Doing: Comparative Advantage and the Gains from Trade“
Week 8 – from Module 16: “Strengthening and Weakening Currency” *this is the only reading for this week so I encourage you to do the exercises and watch the videos in this chapter if this is an unfamiliar concept.
Week 11 – from Module 11: “Automatic Stabilizers” and “Neoclassical Fiscal Policy and Supply-Side Economics“
Week 12 – from Module 13: “Monetary Policy” and “Monetary Policy and Open Market Operations“
Week 13 – from Module 11: “Government Spending” “Taxation” and “The Question of a Balanced Budget“
Pingback: Week 4 – Economic Growth | ECO 201 | Macroeconomics | Al Eisenbarth | Section 0903 | Spring 2021
Pingback: Week 8 – Exchange Rates | ECO 201 | Macroeconomics | Al Eisenbarth | Section 0903 | Spring 2021
The article “Strengthening and Weakening Currency” (Week 8) illustrated the idea that exchange rates always measure the price or value of one unit of currency by using a different currency. Something that surprised me while reading the article was that a “stronger” or an “appreciating” currency doesn’t necessarily mean that its currency is better than the “weaker” or “depreciating” currency. It was confusing at first but as I kept reading I learned that a strong currency is actually troublesome, because it can cause a significant drop in domestic demand. This means that exports become less competitive, and imports become cheaper. In other words, a strong currency will cause the economy to experience a slowdown which leads to higher unemployment rates and a decline in productivity.
Pingback: Week 11 – Fiscal Policy | ECO 201 | Macroeconomics | Al Eisenbarth | Section 0903 | Spring 2021
Pingback: Week 13 – Government Budget | ECO 201 | Macroeconomics | Al Eisenbarth | Section 0903 | Spring 2021