Overview

This page provides access to lecture notes and problem sets that I have used in the past. Most of the material stems from courses on intermediate macroeconomics (undergraduate) that I have taught at UCLA and the University of Chicago. There is also some material for graduate courses in macroeconomics and development. Solutions for all the problem sets are available on request.

Lecture Notes: Undergraduate Macroeconomics

Lecture notes for Econ 102 at UCLA (intermediate macroeconomics).

• Chapter 1 - Crusoe Economies
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 2 - Markets and Equilibrium
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 3 - Economic Growth
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 4 - Business Cycles
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  

• Chapter 1 - Introduction and Methodology
  [ PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 2 - NIPA and the Measurement of Inflation
  [ PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 3 - Labor Markets
  [ PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 4 - Monetary Economics
  [ PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 5 - Business Cycle Facts
  [ PDF]
  
  

• Chapter 1 - Unemployment
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 2 - Fiscal Policy
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Chapter 3 - Trade
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  

Lecture Notes: Graduate Development Economics

Here are some lecture notes that I wrote as a TA for Maitreesh Ghatak in Chicago.

• Notes on "Human Capital, Fertility, and Growth" by Becker, Murphy, and Tamura (JPE 1990).
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• Notes on tenancy contracts and innovation.
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  
  
• "Social Capital: Commitment and Coordination Problems in Medieval Trade:" Notes on two papers by Avner Greif.
  [ PostScript | PDF]
  

Problem Sets: Undergraduate Macroeconomics

Economics 102:

• Problem Set 1
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 2
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 3
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 4
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 5
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Midterm Review
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Midterm Review (Credit-Market Question)
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Final Review Questions
  [ PDF ]
  
  

Economics 202:

• Problem Set 1
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 2
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 3
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 4
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 5
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 6
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Midterm Review
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Final Review Questions
  [ PDF ]
  
  

Economics 203:

• Problem Set 1
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 2
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 3
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 4
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 5
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Problem Set 6
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Midterm Review
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Final Review Questions
  [ PDF ]
  
  

Online Readings

Here are some papers which I have found useful for undergraduate courses in macroeconomics.

• Kotlikoff, Laurence and Willi Leibfritz (1998), "An International Comparison of Generational Accounts," NBER working paper 6447.
  [ Abstract | PDF ]
  
  
• Krugman, Paul (1987), "Is Free Trade Passe?," Journal of Economic Perspectives 1:131-44.
  [ JSTOR ]
  
  
• Friedman, Milton (1968): "The Role of Monetary Policy". American Economic Review 58(1), 1-17.
  [ JSTOR ]
  
  
• Hayek, F.A. (1945): "The Use of Knowledge In Society". American Economic Review 35(4), 519-30.
  [ JSTOR ]
  
  
• Paul Krugman (1994): "The Myth of Asia's Miracle". Foreign Affairs, November 1994.
  [ HTML ]
  
  
• Robert E. Lucas Jr. (1988): "What Economists Do". Unpublished manuscript, University of Chicago.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• N. Gregory Mankiw (1989): "Real Business Cycles: A New Keynesian Perspective". Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3:3, p. 79-90.
  [ JSTOR ]
  
  
• Charles Plosser (1989): "Understanding Real Business Cycles". Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3:3, p. 51-78.
  [ JSTOR ]
  
  
• Sherwin Rosen (1997): "Austrian and Neoclassical Economics: Any Gains From Trade?". Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11:4, p. 139-152.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Soaking the Rich," The Economist, January 24, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "The Perils of Privatisation," The Economist, August 15, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "The Grabbing Hand," The Economist, February 13, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Is Contagion a Myth?," The Economist, October 31, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Off Target," The Economist, November 28, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Birds of a Feather," The Economist, May 29, 1999.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Casey Mulligan (1996): "With the Flat Tax, Common Sense is Better than an Economist."
  [ HTML ]
  
  
• "Big MacCurrencies," The Economist, April 3, 1999.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Big MacCurrencies," The Economist, April 3, 1999.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Shortcomings of the consumer price index: "Statistical Guessing Games", The Economist. December 7, 1996.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Charles Steindel (1998): "Chain-weighting: The New Approach to Measuring GDP". Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• Ellen R. McGrattan and Richard Rogerson (1998): "Changes in Hours Worked Since 1950". Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
  [ Abstract | PostScript | PDF ]
  
  
• "Big at the Box Office". New York Times, March 23, 1998.
  [ PDF ]
  
  
• "Purposes and Functions". Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 1994.
  [ Download access ]
  

Economic Data

• FedWorld. Access to websites of federal government agencies.
  
• FedStats. Statistics maintained by federal agencies.
  
• Stat-USA. More federal statistics.
  
• Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  
• U.S. Census Bureau.
  
• Federal Reserve Board.
  
• The Economic Report of the President.
  
• Penn World Tables.
  
• Economic Chart Dispenser. Interactive graphs of important macroeconomic series.
  
• A Guide to Economic Data by the Econ department at CSU.
  
• Resources for Economists on the Internet by Bill Goffe.
  

Other Links

• The Region Magazine of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis publishes interviews with prominent economist. See especially the interviews with Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, and Thomas Sargent.
• Gary S. Becker (1976): The Economic Approach to Human Behavior. University of Chicago Press.
  
• Mark Blaug (1992): The Methodology of Economics. Cambridge University Press.