14.02: PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS
Spring 2006

 

DESCRIPTION:

This course will provide an overview of macroeconomic issues: the determination of output, employment, unemployment, interest rates, and inflation. Monetary and fiscal policies are discussed, as are public debt and international economic issues. It introduces basic models of macroeconomics and illustrates principles with the experience of the United States and other economies.

 

FACULTY:

Lecturer: Professor Olivier Blanchard mailto:blanchar@mit.edu

HEAD TEACHING ASSISTANT:

Heiwai Tang mailto:heiwai@mit.edu

TEACHING ASSISTANTS:

Mauro Luis Alessandro mailto:malessan@mit.edu

Ha Yan Lee mailto:hlee@mit.edu

Ruben Segura-Cayuela mailto:rubens@mit.edu

Abdur-Rahim Syed mailto:asyed@mit.edu

Ding Wu mailto:ding@mit.edu

 

TWO ALTERNATIVE FORMATS: The course has two alternative formats. Both formats will cover the same topics, use the same textbook, and have the same required assignments, including quizzes and problem sets. As we receive more information on class enrollment, there may be changes in the number of sections and recitations.

  1. Lecture-Recitation: You attend one-hour lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, given by Professor Blanchard, at 2 PM, in 54-100. You also attend a one-hour recitation on Fridays. During Friday recitations – which are not optional – instructors will go over weekly problem sets and review materials from the lectures. If you elect the Lecture-Recitation option, you may choose one of the following one-hour Friday recitations (tentative schedule):

 Date and Time

Room

Teaching Assistant

Fri 12 PM

(5-234)

Ha Yan Lee

Fri 1 PM

(5-234)

Ha Yan Lee

Fri 2 PM

(5-234)

Ha Yan Lee
  1. All-Section: You attend one-hour sections on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, run by a TA. If you elect this option, you may choose one of the following sections:

 Date and Time

Room

Teaching Assistant

Mon-Wed-Fri 9 am  

5-234

Abdur-Rahim Syed

Mon-Wed-Fri 10 am  

5-234

Heiwai Tang

Mon-Wed-Fri 11 am  

5-234

Mauro Luis Alessandro

Mon-Wed-Fri 1 pm  

26-302

Ruben Segura-Cayuela

Mon-Wed-Fri 3 pm  

26-310

Ruben Segura-Cayuela

As we receive more information on class enrollment, we may need to make changes in recitations or sections. (If any one section is too large, we may ask students to move to different times.)

CHOOSING AN OPTION: During the first two weeks of the semester, you may switch from Lecture to All-Section format, and from one recitation or section to another. It should be stressed that changing sections DOES NOT REQUIRE any paperwork with the Registrar or the Department of Economics.

OFFICE HOURS:

Office Hours

Lecturer / Teaching Assistant

Room

Time

Olivier Blanchard

E52-357

Wed 3-4 PM

Mauro Luis Alessandro

E52-204

Wed 4-5 PM

Ha Yan Lee

 5-234

Fri 3-4 PM

Ruben Segura-Cayuela

  26-314 

Mon 2-3 PM

Heiwai Tang

E51-090

Tue 6:15-7:15 PM

Abdur-Rahim Syed

E52-250

Tue 4-5 PM

Ding Wu

 E52-303

 Wed 3-4 PM

 

Office hours are open to students from all sections or recitations.

READINGS:

The text for the course is the fourth edition of Macroeconomics, by Olivier Blanchard. The third edition is not acceptable. It will be at the Coop, and two copies will be on reserve at Dewey Library. Students can also rent an electronic copy online at Safrix for 150 days.

In addition to the textbook, you should read the Economist, the weekly magazine, at least a couple of times a month. It provides a good coverage of current economic events, and will help you relate what you learn in the course to the real world.

REQUIREMENTS (PROBLEM SETS AND QUIZZES): The course grades will be based on three quizzes (last one during final week) and six problem sets. The grade will be primarily determined by the average of the three quiz scores (weights to be determined).  Problem sets are distributed at lecture on Wednesdays (or at the same time on the web), and are due at lecture on the following Wednesdays. You will hand in the problem sets to your TA in class or to the recitation-only TA if you choose to take Professor Blanchard’s lecture.  The problem sets can count in the final grade for border line cases.  A necessary condition for the problem sets to help you in these border line cases is that at least 5 out of 6 problem sets have been handed in.  For students who are on the border between two grades, performance on the problem sets can result in the higher grade, while failing to hand in problem sets can result in the lower grade.  Problem sets are due on the due date. We will not accept late problem sets. 

We will use our 14.02 webpage to distribute problem sets and solutions, past exams, and other announcements. We will also use the 14.02-students public mailing list to distribute important announcements and room changes. The tentative schedule for problem sets and quizzes is the following:

Problem Set #

Assigned

Due

1

02/15

02/22

2

03/01

03/06

3

03/15

03/22

4

04/05

04/12

5

04/26

05/03

6

05/03

05/10

Solutions to problem sets will be posted to the web on the Wednesday on which they are due.

Note that problem sets are due on Wednesdays the week after they are assigned.  Each quiz will cover the material in the lectures since the previous quiz.  Each quiz will last 1½ hours.  However, you should be ready to stay at the quiz location until 9:30, should unforeseen circumstances force us to start late.

Quiz #1:  March 08 (Wed), 7:30-9:00 PM, 50-340

Quiz #2:  April 20 (Thur), 7:30-9:00 PM, 50-340

Final:  Finals week, location and time TBA

While the quiz dates are firm, problem set dates are subject to change.

COURSE POLICY:

Collaboration on problem sets is permitted, but please do write up your answers separately. On the other hand, collaboration during quizzes and the final exam is strictly prohibited, and is considered a breach of academic honesty. We will follow the procedures in the latest MIT Guidelines on Academic Honesty, which are given in detail in MIT's Policies and Procedures.

Updated February 25, 2006