ECON 122: Intermediate Macroeconomics
Spring 2024
Instructor: Marnix Amand
Office: Economics Department, 87 Trumbull Street, Office B135
Office Hours: TBA
Class Time: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-10:15am
Canvas website: Here
Description. This class aims to provide a solid foundation in modern macroeconomics.
Macroeconomists study the aggregate economy and are therefore concerned with a wide
array of topics: inflation, unemployment, economic growth, finance/banking and monetary
policy are all subjects of macroeconomic analysis and take center stage both in the public
debate and for policy makers. The goal of this class is to develop the main theoretical tools
to understand such events and to evaluate policy responses. Hence, while the course will
involve extensive discussions about real-world examples and current events, its main purpose
is methodological. In particular, it will follow the tradition of modern macroeconomics, which
is to rely on solid micro-foundations in order to understand aggregate events. We will study
the interaction of individual agents in the economy (i.e. households, firms, policy-makers,
financial institutions, ...) and analyze the aggregate consequences. One important learning
goal of the class is for students to build the necessary skills needed to understand and use
economic models.
Prerequisites. Two completed terms of Introductory Economics, Micro (ECON 108, 110
or 115) and Macro (ECON 111 or 116), and a math course (either MATH 112, 115, 118 or
120).
Attendance Class and section attendance is strongly encouraged. All material covered in
class and in section is “fair game” for the exams, and students cannot rely on slides and PS
answer keys only.
Problem sets There are quasi-weekly problem sets. Problem sets are made available on
Canvas about week before they are due (exact timing TBA).
All problem sets are individual. You are allowed to work on solutions in small groups, but
you have to write up your own solutions. It is not acceptable to write solutions in common
(even if you each hand in your individual copy) and it is of course not acceptable to copy
someone else’s solutions.
All problem sets have to be handed in on time, late problem sets will not be accepted
without a Dean’s excuse.
1
Exams. Two midterms exams will be given during class time and administered by the
TAs. The final exam at the end of the semester will be administered directly by Yale College
. All dates TBA.
Grading. Problem sets are graded on a ✓/✓-/0/-2 basis. A problem set gets a ✓if the
student has made a serious attempt at solving all the questions. ✓- is reserved for students
that do not make a good-faith attempt at solving all the questions. 0 is for a missing problem
set or a problem set with barely any work done, and -2 is reserved for cheating (e.g.: answers
copied from another student, from an answer key from previous years or from elsewhere,
possibly an AI bot.).
Note that if two or more problem sets have one or more word-for-word identical answers
(or close enough), all involved students will get a -2, irrespective of who copied and who
wrote the original answer. This means in particular that students using an AI bot are
putting themselves at risk of earning a -2 if other students, independently, use that same AI
bot.
This grading system is meant to incite students to try and solve the questions on their
own without worrying too much about their eventual grade. It’s OK to make mistakes on
your problem sets, as long as you put in some effort. Almost all students should get a ✓for
all their problem sets.
Exams are graded on 100 and are not curved.
Your final numeric grade will be computed as follows:
PSets (10%) + Midterms (30% each) + Final (50%)
As you can see, these percentages add up to 120%. The weight of your least successful
exam will be reduced by 20 percentage points.
The final letter grade will be on a curve and the grade distribution will strictly adhere
to the Economics department official distribution (subject to change):
• A/A- : 50%
• B+/B/B-: 45%
• C+ and below: 5%
Resources. The course offers many resources to the students. Take advantage of them!
• Textbook: The textbook for this class is Charles Jones, Macroeconomics, precise
edition TBA (a new one is coming out). It is not required, but is useful if your
learning process is helped by following a textbook.
• Additional Readings: There will also be some additional readings for individual
topics, posted on Canvas. These might be academic papers, policy papers or newspaper
articles.
2
• Course Website: The Canvas website for this class is essential. Keep a close eye on
it, everything (PSets, answer keys, announcements) is posted on Canvas.
• Ed Discussion: The class is integrated with Ed Discussion. Unless it is about a
personal issue you wish to keep private, please do not send me or your TA emails
about the class. Post it on Ed Discussion, most likely many of your classmates have
(or should have) the same question as you do, and the answer will benefit all. The TA
team will check Ed Discussion daily and post answers there.
Note that ED Discussion has an anonymous posting option.
• Course Based Peer Tutors (CBPT): ECON 122 will probably have CBPTs. TBA.
Teaching Assistants. A number of graduate students working in macroeconomics will
assist teaching this course. They will collect the assignments, grade them, return them, hold
weekly office hours and sections, answer questions on Ed Discussion and grade the exams.
If you have any questions about the material, please us Ed Discussion, not your TA!
Contact your TA if you have specific questions concerning grading and section. For all
administrative questions, please contact the head TA (TBA).
Sections. There are multiple parallel sections on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The sections cover the material from the course, answer questions raised by students and
sometimes discuss the solutions to problem sets. The TA of your section will also grade your
problem sets
FAQ – Please read very carefully. This way, we avoid any misunderstandings.
1. I need an exception (e.g., have to miss a deadline for homework, will miss the exam,
etc) to the above rules (e.g., I have a medical issue, family emergency, sports event
etc), what do I do?
Before any exception is considered, for any reason, you will need to obtain a letter from
your Residential College Dean requesting such an exception. This rule will be adhered
to in 100% of the cases.
2. I emailed you but did not get a response, what is going on?
Did you try Ed Discussion, if relevant? For questions on the material and problem
sets outside of class and office hours, please use Ed Discussion. Furthermore, as this
is a large class, I sometimes cannot personally email you (even though I try to!). I
typically stick around after each class—feel free to talk to me then, or sign up for my
office hours.
3. I can/could not take one of the midterms. What now?
You will need to obtain a letter from your Residential College Dean or you will receive
a 0 for that midterm. For Dean-excused students only, there will be one make-up exam,
3
a few days later, which is mandatory. If you miss the make-up without a Dean’s excuse,
you will receive a 0 for that midterm. Extra-curricular activities, sports competitions,
job interviews etc will not be considered valid excuses unless you have a Dean’s excuse.
If you do have a Dean’s excuse (again), there will be no second make-up, you will be
graded on the basis of one midterm and one final according to the following weights:
PSets (10%) + Midterm (33.3%) + Final (56.7%)
4. Final exam postponement: when and how can it be done (e.g., conflict with other
exams, family emergency, illness, etc)?
I will strictly adhere to the Yale College Policy. In short: (1) you will need to obtain a
letter from your Residential College Dean; (2) Yale College administers the date and
logistics the makeup exam.
5. When you discuss topics that are not in the book, not on the slides, etc., am I responsible for that material for the exam?
Yes. You are responsible for all material covered on the slides, on the blackboard,
during lectures, during section, in problem sets including problem set answer keys, and
for all the readings that are posted (except if marked as optional).
6. I am sitting here, working on my problem set, and I think there is a typo or I do not
understand the question. What do I do?
Ed Discussion! Check Ed Discussion to see if some of your classmates had the same
issue and we already posted an update. If not, post your question on Ed Discussion.
7. I think there is a mistake in how my exam was graded, what do I do?
Requests for a re-grade will only be entertained for exams written with a non-erasable
pen. These requests must be made in writing to the instructor within one week after
the exam has been returned to the students. Please justify why you want the exam to
be re-graded, you do not get a re-grade “just to see” if your grade might go up.
If you ask for your exam to be re-graded, note that this will be done by the instructor (not the TAs) and in this case your entire exam will be re-graded, not just the
question(s) that you felt was mis-graded. Your grade could go down as a consequence.
Schedule and readings. See separate pdf on Canvas, which is updated regularly.
Academic integrity Exams are closed book, closed notes, closed laptop and phone, closed
everything. Any attempt to access any kind of data or information during the exam by any
means (friends, smartphone, written notes, . . . ) is considered cheating.
Please familiarize yourself with Yale College’s policies regarding plagiarism and cheating.
All cheating and breaches of academic integrity will be referred to the proper University
authorities.
4
Plagiarism is defined as any attempt to pass off someone else’s intellectual work as your
own, whether actively (e.g., copy-pasting without attribution) or passively, by leaving enough
ambiguity so that an uninformed reader or audience member could assume someone else’s
work is yours without you actually saying so. All plagiarism is a breach of academic integrity.
Note that it is perfectly acceptable (and very much the norm!) to quote or use other
people’s work, as long as you properly cite your source every time.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging This class strives to be an inclusive community, where all feel welcome. As a community, we aim to be respectful to all, and understand we all come from differing backgrounds, with our own identities. All members of
this class are expected to reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including but not
limited to those based on age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression,
national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, and veteran status. We
all commit to creating an environment that facilitates inquiry and self-expression, while also
demonstrating diligence in understanding how others’ viewpoints may be different from our
own.
Accessibility If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or that
form barriers to your inclusion, please let me know as soon as possible. Together we’ll develop
strategies that can enable you to succeed in the course. I encourage you to visit the Student
Accessibility Services to determine how you could improve your learning as well.
Specific accommodation will be provided if requested, subject to feasibility, and approval
and support from the Yale Student Accessibility Services. This includes an allowance for the
use of technology and extra time at exams. Please contact me asap if you need any specific
accommodations.
5