Macroeconomic Theory II
The second course in MIT's four-quarter graduate macroeconomics sequence, focused on the models economists use to study business cycle fluctuations. Lecture notes and problem sets walk through the basic consumption and saving model, the real business cycle framework built on the labor/leisure choice, and more realistic investment decisions than the standard textbook treatment allows. The course adds a two-good framework, introduces money into the analysis, and works through price setting mechanisms that lead into the New Keynesian model. From there it turns to monetary and fiscal policy, asking how central banks and governments can respond to or cause fluctuations given the frictions built up over the term. Materials come from MIT OpenCourseWare and include readings, problem sets, and course notes rather than recorded lectures. This is graduate-level material assuming prior coursework in macroeconomic theory, aimed at students who have already covered the first course in the sequence. No certificate is offered.