Professor David Levine
levine@haas.berkeley.edu
Office: F671 Haas, phone 642-1697, fax 643-1420
Office hours: 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. on class days, or by appointment, or just stop
by, call or email.
Web page http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/levine/macro/
Mikhail Edel edel@haas.berkeley.edu is the Graduate Student Instructor. Office hours after section or by appointment - please send email to schedule.
Basics | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 | Section 6 | Section 7 | Section 8 | Section 9 | The Final Exam | News | General | Humor | Data Sources | Links
Class: Monday and Tuesday 6-7:30 & 8:15-9:30 p.m. in room C210.
Units: 2 units
Grading: 75% - Final, 25% - Class Participation
Class participation is required. Each class has a problem set. Problem sets will not be graded, but from section 2 on you will record handing them in. Their presence will affect close grading decisions.
Final: Tuesday May 18 6-9:30 p.m. in C230 (note room change). Feel free to bring a laptop computer. If you use a computer, you should email me a copy of the exam.
Course Abstract: Macroeconomics concerns the environment of business including exchange rates, recessions, international trade deficits, inflation, unemployment, and government fiscal and monetary policy. This class focuses on understanding current events, with an emphasis on how those events influence politics and business. The class is based on lectures that rely on class participation and knowledge of current events.
Email: I will use the mailing lists Ewmba201b-1b@haas.berkeley.edu
and Ewmba201b-2b@haas.berkeley.edu,
so I hope you are on one of them.
Section is optional but highly recommended. Section will be held Saturday 10 a.m. to noon in a variety of rooms, as indicated each week.
Class reps: Mitch Varhula on Monday and
Michael Ashton on Tuesday.
The readings are found in Macroeconomics, by N. Gregory Mankiw (5th edition) and in daily readings of the Financial Times. You should have received your first copy by now.
All dates are approximate.
1. Introduction and Measurement: Monday and Tuesday March 15 and 16 |
"The Science of Macroeconomics," Mankiw Chapter 1
"The Data of Macroeconomics," Mankiw Chapter 2
Homework #1. Please do before first class, but do not hand in:
A) If your first name begins with A-D, find a story concerning why living standards and output per capita differ so much between countries. That is, a story on long-term determinants of output and living standards.
B) If your first name begins with E-K, find a story concerning persistently high or low unemployment and/or inflation.
C) If your first name begins with L-O, find a story concerning interest rates, money supply, and central bank policies.
D) If your first name begins with P-S, find a story concerning exchange rates and one or more of trade deficits, the current account, capital controls, or capital mobility.
E) If your first name begins with T-Z, find a story concerning government macroeconomic economic policy and/or corruption.
Optional
· Economic Report of the President 2004 Chapter 3: The Year in Review. The Economic Report of the President is written every year by the Council of Economic Advisers and presents an excellent introduction to US macroeconomic conditions and policies. Chapter 3 is a good starting point summarizing the main macro issues.
· Measuring the National Economy: A set of notes discussing in detail national income concepts such as value added, GDP, GNP and their measurement problems.
·
Economic
Chart Dispenser (ECD)
This is a great resource for analyzing
·
Oliver Richner pointed me to: Warren E. Buffett,
“
Section: C230 Saturday-March 20th from 10:00AM-12:00PM
Saradhi pointed to an article on the importance of measuring
the CPI:
http://www.thestreet.com/funds/jubak/10146428.html
This is an article about the suggestions Greenspan made to Social Security
benefits to combat the problem of running out of money in the trust fund by
2075. The article talks about
"Chaining the Consumer Price Index" and says that it takes into
account consumers spending less on items with increases in their price. I was
wondering is this analogous to what we talked about in the class about buying
oranges instead of bananas if the consumers are able to afford higher price
items, but only with inverse logic. The article also talks about a study by BLS
to find out if the true rate of inflation in healthcare is lower than the current
measures because of the improved quality of living. The article also talks about how BLS
measures inflation in cost of housing not by how much the house price has gone
up, but by how much the cost of renting a similar home has gone up which yields
different results in CPI depending on whether rents and house prices move in
unison or not.
For the CPI news release, see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
FT Letters 3/18 are relevant to the class. Richard Yamarone claims the
Ron P. found the following article interesting. The author discusses the
differences between the household and establishment employment reports that
come from the BLS. There is an interesting point at the end about the
"wages report." Apparently the street is going to be watching
that very carefully as it could indicate inflationary pressures. The inflationary
pressures could trigger the Fed to raise rates sooner rather later. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2004/nf20040416_2609_db035.htm
Michael G. Rubiano directs us to an interesting op-ed in today's New
York Times by Tim Kane questioning the appropriateness and the accuracy of the
payroll survey statistics. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/07/opinion/07KANE.html?th
2. Economic Growth, March 22 and 23 |
Mankiw tables (Table 7-1, p. 181; Figure 7-6 p. 191); case studies in Chapters 7 and 8 (190 on S & I around the world; 203 on population growth; 216 on worldwide growth slowdown; 218 on information technology) and the Appendix to chapter 8 “Accounting for the Sources of Economic Growth.”
Homework #2 due in class or in a before-class email:
· Hint: Focus on policies that affect decisions at the margin, and do not merely reward people or companies for doing what they would do anyway.
Optional
· Macroeconomics and Growth Project at the World Bank is a systematic source of information and data on growth and development issues.
Section in Room F320 Saturday-March 27th from 10:00AM-12:00PM
Tom Ngo points out: An interesting article about
vitamin deficiencies in developing countries and how developed countries have
been able to overcome these deficiencies with vitamin additives. May not be a
strong factor for economic growth, but still quite interesting in regards to
its impact on human capital (i.e. curb infant mortality, increase human life
span, improve quality of life etc.)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20040324/ap_on_he_me/fit_un_brain_food_2
Oliver Richner directs us: The Economist had an article ("More
or less equal?" March 11th print edition) that mentions the global
inequality is decreasing slightly on a population-weighted basis. This is
mostly thanks to
Relura Horton wrote: I
thought this article on
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_12/b3875052.htm
3. Unemployment and Inflation: March 29 and 30. |
"Unemployment," Mankiw Chapter 6.
Mankiw comments ignite firestorm on outsourcing http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/WorldNewsTonight/outsourcing_firestorm_040213-1.html
CEA backs off on optimistic job growth estimates http://www.epinet.org/issuebriefs/197/ib197_admretracts.pdf
Mankiw Chapter 4, “Money and Inflation,” sections 4-4 and 4-6
Homework #3, due in class:
Note: This is a trick question. Might real and nominal wages behave differently?
Note: This is a trick question. State some assumptions and answer it anyway.
Optional
· The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides recent and historical data on labor productivity, labor force, unemployment, earnings, CPI, and PPI. This link is to their recent news releases.
· America's Job Bank is the U.S. Department of Labor's attempt to improve job matching.
· Nouriel Roubini has collected some recent clippings on outsourcing job offshore.
·
For the CPI news release, see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
Section in Room C230 Saturday April 3rd from 10:00AM-12:00PM
4. Money, Interest and Income, No class Monday April 5. Come Tuesday April 6 to the Andersen Auditorium (note room change) or to the make-up class Saturday April 10, 10-12:45, Room F320. |
"Introduction to Economic Fluctuations," Mankiw, Section 9-1.
"Aggregate Demand I," Mankiw Chapter 10
Homework #4:
I) Prepare Mankiw pp. 279-280 problems 1, 2, and 4a, b, and c for class.
II) Discuss how current fiscal policy
in
Welcome reception for new students, April 6 during break.
Optional
· On the Simple Keynesian Model see http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/Keynes/SimpleModel.html .
· On the paradox of thrift see http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/Keynes/Paradox.html
Make-up class Room F320 Saturday-April 10th from 10:00AM-12:45PM, section immediately to follow till 2:00 PM.
A
deficit is "sustainable" if it keeps debt a stable share of GDP, when
measured over the business cycle. There are three deficits that are not a
problem:
a. Temporary blips that
increase deficits during a recession (automatic stabilizers or active fiscal
policy) are great; they help fight the recession.
b. Deficits to finance spending
that lead to large increases in GDP, so debt:GDP declines are fine. For
example, a well-designed immunization program, a badly needed road, or a
well-targeted education or investment subsidy might meet this criterion.
c. Deficits that grow the debt
more slowly than GDP are also ok, as the interest burden on future generations
will be lower than on the current one.
The debt:GDP ratio was rising
in the
Sandeep refers us to the BusinessWeek
"Economic Outlook" by Laura D'Andrea Tyson
http://www.businessweek.com/@@fmnG5oYQHTAIOQ8A/magazine/content/04_13/b3876057
_mz007.htm This article touches several
issues discussed in the last lecture, particularly the implications of deficit
financing through foreign borrowing.
Michael Rubiano sent a fine article
on recent tax proposals: The first article is this week's Newsweek cover story
by Allan Sloan, "Why Your Tax Cut Doesn't Add Up." Mankiw is
quoted several times in Sloan's article. Of interest is the discussion
regarding the reduction of income taxes enacted by Bush, but how very little
has changed in salary taxes (a key difference that is often assumed to be one
and the same). Sloan also believes that a national consumption tax is
inevitable, if we continue to pursue our current economic policies.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4660655/
The second article from USA Today, "GOP Budgets May Not Match
Promises," talks about the discrepancies in the economic policies being
espoused by Republicans, and that the proposed plans to reduce the deficit will
actually make the deficit larger than if Congress and the White House simply
did nothing. "The Congressional
Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan agency that analyzes budgets for
Congress, projected in January that the deficit over the next five years would
total about $1.1 trillion. That assumes the economy improves and temporary tax
cuts phase out on schedule. But GOP budget proposals, which call for extending
the tax cuts and increasing some spending substantially, would generate a
five-year deficit of as much as
$1.3 trillion or more. Those numbers all of which exclude spending for
understate the deficit gap. The White House didn't include spending for
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-04-06-gop-budget_x.htm
Songbin Wei liked this New York Times editorial. John Kerry advocated a
balanced budget to recover the economy. Many of his economy advisers are from
LBellet@perriergroup.com attached below a copy and the link of a briefing paper on the Stability and Growth Pact in the EU written last February. It did a good job explaining the rationale and shortcomings of the SGP. http://www.europarl.eu.int/comparl/econ/pdf/emu/speeches/20040216/bofinger.pdf
5. Monetary and Fiscal Policy, April 12 and 13. |
If the Fed disagrees with expansionary fiscal policy (IS curve shifts out), it can offset it with tight money (LM shifts inward to the left). The result is G up, higher r, and lower I(r). More cheerfully, the Fed can offset contractionary fiscal policy to make sure a tax increase or cut in transfers or G does not cause a recession.
Mankiw, chapter 11.
Optional
· Purposes and Functions of the Federal Reserve System is an in-house publication on the goals and functions of Federal Reserve System.
· The SF Federal Reserve Board's Introduction to U.S. Monetary Policy
· Central Banking Resource Center has extensive set of links to central banks around the world and Web sites with central banking information.
· Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee are made available a few weeks after the next regularly scheduled meeting .
· The Beige Book (formally, the "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District") is a report published eight times a year in preparation of the FOMC meetings. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions through reports from Bank and Branch directors, interviews with key businessmen, economists, market experts, and other sources.
Section in Room C230 Saturday April 17th from 10:00AM-12:00PM
Damien asks:
1. Why has the Federal Reserve (and Mr Greenspan) become so famous in the last few years? By famous I mean in the sense of popular media--has the role/impact of the Fed Reserve changed or become more significant in the particulars of the economy of the 90s? Or are people simply looking for the wizard behind the curtain?
Around 1980 Paul Volcker became the most famous Fed chair up till
then. As you point out, Greenspan is now more famous.
a. Greenspan presided over an impressive period of
b. The press latches onto "winners" and they attribute more power to
Greenspan than even he holds.
c. Success builds on itself. After a while, people just believe he is
wise beyond human limits. Thus, they ask him about cutting Social
Security versus raising taxes to restore long-term fiscal sustainability.
Relura thought this article did a nice job of discussing the EU stability pact,
the EU requirements and fiscal reform. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/economy_&xml/&aspKath/economy.asp?fdate=05/04/2004
Hari provides a link to a
recent KQED Forum show on jobs: http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-archive.jsp?progID=RD19&ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&type=radio
Saradhi writes: We were just
talking about it in the last class. Not even four days do by and the Bundesbank
chief is now out of office. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/17/business/worldbusiness/17bund.html
Dave Graham sends "a good article on the potential
impact of soaring budget deficits - interesting how these deficits can impact
other nations as there is more competition for a limited amount of global
capital....
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_bi_ge/deficit_impacts
Matthew Kaminski provides an insight
about the months leading up to the 2000 Election focus on the Fed's near-record
levels of tinkering with the short-term interest rates to affect monetary
supply.
The article gives insight into
the 11 previous election cycles. Additionally, the article offers 8
interest rate scenarios and their effect on the Federal funds rate (held, in
this discussion, as the single most reliable indicator of Fed policy and
results.)
http://www.fmcenter.org/pdf/rates&elections0500update.pdf
David Tjen "came across this article that discusses the anticipation of
the Fed increasing interest rates. Apparently, it seems that everyone
knows its coming, but they don't know when. It appears that Greenspan
will need to walk a very thin line this week in his reports. I would
think that for the president's re-election chances, Greeenspan will try and
keep interest rates as low as possible for as long as possible. Do you
think it's possible that Greenspan has enough influence over the Fed to keep
interest rates low through the election cycle in order to aid the President,
even if it is against
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=2&u=/nm/20040419/bs_nm/economy_fed_greenspan_dc
I do not usually recommend articles
in the FT, as you are all reading it every day. The editorial by Francis
Bator, 4/6/04, p. 13, covers a lot of what we are discussing this week.
Damien recommends: The Sunday
business section of the SF Chronicle includes an interview with Robert Parry,
Chairman of the Fed Reserve Board of SF. Its a discussion on a little bit
of everything, including job growth, productivity, inflation, FDI, outsourcing,
monetary policy, global development, along with discussions of particular
industries and markets. The way I looked at the article was as a
challenge: its the kind of article we should able to understand as a
result of this course.
jkay points us to an inflation article: http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/04/12/rtr1329330.html
6. Introduction to the Open Economy: April 19 and 20 |
The nominal exchange rate is determined by
Fixed exchange rates and flexible rates both have strengths and
weaknesses.
A strong currency and a weak currency both have winners and losers.
Strengthening Euro implies
In an open economy, some policies work better and others worse, depending on
the exchange rate regime.
A voluntary take-home
midterm will be distributed this week (4/19-23). Email me if you would like
to take it and I will email back an exam. You have 80 minutes to complete the
exam from the start time you designate. The grade distribution of midterm exams
will equal that of final exams, so it will not influence by much your expected
grade (although it may reduce the uncertainty).
Required reading:
"The Open Economy" (a chapter that assumes output = NAIRU level of output at all times) and "The Open Economy in the Short Run," Mankiw Chapters 5 & 12.
"Introduction to the Open Economy" and “A Morality Play of International Trade”
Catered dinners during break.
Homework #6:
Section in Wells Fargo Room Saturday-April 24th from 10:00AM-12:00PM
Todd Kelly found the following article on free-trade Democrats in Foreign Policy. "Even though the piece has a politically motivated slant to it, it sounds genuinely thought out and worthy of consideration. Yet the cynic in me wonders if this is pie in the sky - is there someone that could educate and gain the trust of the public to pull this off?" http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2505
There is another interesting
Globilization Index article that ranks countries by their level of
globalization http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2493
7. More Open Economy Macro: April 26 and 27 |
Required reading:
Homework #7:
1.
“Free trade makes the
2. “Financial liberalization leads to financial crises.” Discuss.
3. As noted above, CEA chair Greg Mankiw said outsourcing jobs overseas is “something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run.” Explain his reasoning. Provide two arguments against his reasoning applying to current outsourcing.
Trade and Outsourcing
1. Free trade and outsourcing are almost always good for consumers.
2. Free trade is almost always bad for some producers and workers. In general
they lose less than consumers gain.
3. In some complex models, free trade and outsourcing can move monopoly rents,
high-paying jobs, or technologically dynamic sectors overseas. World GDP
still rises with trade, but some nations can still be net losers.
Essentially
all market economies have financial crises with a large-scale collapse in asset
values and massive reductions in the availability of credit. These
crashes depend on feedback cycles where lower asset prices cause more selling
of assets. Each crisis is different, but they all combine some form of
positive feedback.
A typical cycle:
More dynamics: Exchange rate collapse
More dynamics: Debt deflation
More dynamics: Banking crisis
More dynamics: Political risk
Fixed rates
Flexible rates
Monetary union
Optional
· For a favorable view of free trade, see the articles at The Heritage Foundation Publications Library on Trade and Foreign Aid.
·
For a more critical view of
globalization, see the ILO report A
Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All, 2004.
Section Room F320 Saturday-May 1st from 10:00AM-12:00PM
8. Unemployment, Inflation, and Policy: May 3 and 4 |
Note: Catered meals in Wells Fargo Room during break.
Read: "Aggregate Supply: Inflation, Unemployment and the Phillips Curve," Mankiw, Section 13-2 of Chapter 13.
Homework # 8:
The class will focus on the expectations-augmented Phillips curve:
Inflation = expected inflation - b (unemployment - NAIRU) + supply shocks
BULLET
POINTS
The first part of class's bullet points are roughly the homework answers, which
should arrive soon.
Ending an inflation
* Mostly a recession is required. Tight monetary and fiscal policy cause
unemployment. Unemployment moves along the Phillips curve to lower actual
inflation. Lower actual inflation -- after a few years -- reduces
expected inflation and shifts the Phillips curve inward so the economy can
return to the NAIRU at lower inflation.
* A credible policy to have lower inflation can help (although the evidence is
not strong). Providing the central bank independence, giving the central
bank a clear mandate to care about inflation (perhaps coupled with an incentive
contract as in
Responding to an unfavorable supply shock.
* Accommodate and live with permanently higher inflation.
OR
* Fight inflation by suffering a recession. Over time you might accumulate such
a powerful reputation that later fights versus inflationary shocks are less
painful.
Neither choice is great. Thus, never run for re-election after oil prices
double.
NEXT WEEK
Read:
"Stabilization Policy," Mankiw Chapter 14.
Janet Yellen, The Binge Mentality in the Federal
Budget,2003. http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/levine/macro/Yellen_binge.PDF
"Epilogue"Mankiw after the last chapter.
Homework # 9:
Extra office
hours to be announced.
Review session Saturday, May 15 10-12 in Room C230. Please bring your
questions to the review session. Please email your questions to the graduate
student instructor in advance.
REMINDER: Final exam for BOTH sections: Tuesday May 18 in C230 (note room
change)
Optional
· Tax Cuts and Growth analyzes why tax cuts may not increase economic growth; that is, why the strongest claims of supply side economics may not hold.
·
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System
The Board of Governors of the Fed (whose Chairman is Alan Greenspan) has a Web
site offering a wealth of information, analysis and data on
Your Questions
Hari asks:
The text (page
95) says "suppose the Fed announces that it will raise money supply in
future, but it does not change the money supply today. This announcement
causes people to expect higher money growth and higher inflation. Through
Fisher effect, this increase in expected inflation raises the nominal interest
rate"
The text implies if people expect inflation to be lower in the future than
otherwise, long-term nominal rates will be a bit lower even as long-term REAL
rates are a bit higher.
Consider 2 cases:
1. Assume people expect no Fed reaction to rising oil prices and weaker dollar and
rising employment. Thus, r = 2, and expected inflation = 5, so i = 7.
2. Assume people expect a strong Fed tightening to rising oil prices and weaker
dollar and rising employment. Thus, r = 4, and expected inflation = 2, so
i = 6.
Case 2 has lower i, but might have lower investment as well, as I = I(r).
Peter
Birch writes about inflation: A Business Week article talks about how Mr.
Greenspan still feels that inflationary fears are overblown, but he must tread
carefully: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2004/nf20040419_1475_db035.htm
Meanwhile, at the NY Times, it seems that consumers are starting to notice
inflationary pressure: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/17/business/17prices.html?ex=1082865600&en=040bcbfdb81f7014&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER
Saradhi points us to "a comprehensive report on the facts and rhetoric about the recent wave of outsourcing by US companies. It also includes a survey of 500 key decision makers in companies that outsource some of their work. http://news.com.com/2009-1022-5198090.html
Sheetal
Bhansali passes along "an interesting article from the economist that
discusses the pros and cons of countries like
Greg Schaffer found an article written by a fellow
Berkeley professor who "speaks to your same concerns about the large US
deficit: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/05/03/2003153980
Tony Chen writes: The author,
portfolio strategist Marchall Auerback, believes that even if Bob Woodwards
assertion that the House of Saud struck a deal with Bush to lower oil prices
for the election... the Saudis will probably back out of that promise.
The author offers several economic and political developments to support his
argument
9. Macroeconomics Policy Debate: May 10 and 11 |
Read:
“Stabilization Policy," Mankiw Chapter 14.
Janet Yellen, “The Binge Mentality in the Federal Budget,” 2003.
“Epilogue” Mankiw after the last chapter.
Homework # 9:
Extra office
hours to be announced.
Review session Saturday, May 15 10-12 in Room C230. Please bring your questions to the review session. Please email your questions to the graduate student instructor in advance.
Optional
TBA
10. Final exam for BOTH sections: Tuesday May 18 in C230 (note room change) |
Feel free to bring a laptop computer. If you use a computer, you should hand a diskette to me at the end of the exam and also email me a copy of the exam.
How to Answer Macroeconomic Questions
General Indices and Links of Interest |
The Global Macroeconomic and Financial Policy Site maintained by Nouriel Roubini is the best source for links to recent writings on a vast array of current macroeconomic topics.
Berkeley Long Library Business Guide No. 18 has Internet Resources in Business & Economics.
Resources for Economists on the Internet is a standard starting place for economists.
The Harvard Business School list of recommended sites has a section on macroeconomic data and analysis. The sites have short but useful quality ratings.
The following sites cover a number of policy topics from free trade and the Euro to independence for the Federal Reserve and the minimum wage.
· Conservatives agree on ending big government (except for the military and police). All these flavors include an expectation that taxes, government regulations, and other interventions in the economy almost always lead to inefficiency and are inherently unfair. Conservatives come in various flavors.
o Mainstream conservative policy positions are found at the National Center for Policy Analysis, the National Review, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House economic policy site. There is a consistent emphasis on the benefits of lower taxes.
o Libertarians dislike government intervention even most police and military. On economic policy, see The Cato Institute. Libertarians are quite critical of the Bush administration for raising steel tariffs and for Ashcroft’s approach to civil liberties.
o Nationalist conservative positions are much less into free trade than are other conservatives; see, for example, The American Conservative, an outlet associated with Pat Buchanan. Such conservatives are quite critical of the Bush administration for favoring NAFTA and the WTO and for being too lax on immigration.
· Liberals also tend to like markets, but see more rough edges. Pollution, monopolies, and recessions are examples of the concerns that loom larger for most liberals than most conservatives.
o Moderate liberals tend to worry about government failure a lot, complementing their concerns about market failure. (Face it, these folks just plain worry a lot.) Moderate liberal positions can be found at the Brookings Institution Economic Studies. Eventually John Kerry’s web site should mostly have such policies. In a break with tradition, in the last dozen years moderate liberals have emphasized the importance of following sustainable fiscal policies, where the federal budget balances over a business cycle.
o Liberal liberals are the most suspicious of markets. Their views on government are complex (or should I say confused?): They believe current government policies are usually tilted toward the rich; nevertheless, they have confidence in the potential for government policies to solve market failures. See, for example, the Economic Policy Institute, Moving Ideas Electronic Policy Network, and Ralph Nader’s Web site.
Data Sources and International Overviews |
The Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS) has
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has
The IMF website has some good articles. You can search for articles on particular countries.
OECD surveys give 2-3 pages on macro policy for different countries. It looks like this page was made for MBA Macro students. Watch out for the date of the surveys to avoid some older material.
Dismal Scientist - A free website with latest economic updates
Sites Suggested by Classmates |
Humor
|
The Dilbert Zone offers a
funny respite from daily life.
Top Ten Signs the U.S. is Headed for a Recession
The Onion present irrelevant fake news stores, some of which are on macroeconomic topics.
When you find outdated links or other
problems with this page, please e-mail David
I. Levine.
Copyright 2004 © Haas School of
Business,
Last updated: March 14, 2004.