Introductory Macroeconomics
Lecture 1: Introduction and Course Overview
Jonathan Thong
Daniel Minutillo
1st Semester 2024
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Welcome to Introductory Macroeconomics!
• An introduction to macroeconomics
• The study of aggregate economic outcomes :
(national output, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, etc)
– Compare with microeconomic outcomes: (income, employment,
prices, interest rate, etc...)
• Main goals in this course are to learn
– fundamental macro concepts, theoretical frameworks
– roles of macroeconomic policices
– key facts about the global economies, including Australia
2
Global Economic Activity
3
Global Economic Activity
4
Inflation is Back?
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Course Outline
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Introductions
• Jonathan Thong (lecturer)
– Email: jonathan.thong@unimelb.edu.au
– Office: FBE 354
– Office hours: Tuesdays 15:00 – 16:00
• Daniel Minutillo (lecturer)
– Email: daniel.minutillo@unimelb.edu.au
– Office: FBE 345
– Office hours: Wednesdays 13:00 – 14:00
• Cameron Low (tutorial coordinator)
– Email: cameron.low@unimelb.edu.au
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Lectures and Tutorials
• Lectures: two lectures per week
Mondays:
11:00 − 12:00
(repeat)
12:00 − 13:00
Glyn Davis-B117
Glyn Davis-B117
15:15 − 16:15
16:15 − 17:15
Glyn Davis B117
Glyn Davis-B117
Wednesdays:
(repeat)
– Video recordings available under the Lecture Capture tab of the
Canvas LMS site
• Tutorials: one tutorial per week
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begin next week, enrol via Student Portal
Pre-tutorial quiz – to be done prior to tutorial, assessed
In-tutorial tasks – exam prep, mostly not assessed
In-tutorial Presentation – schedule with tutor, assessed
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Learning Resources
• Your primary resources are lecture slides and tutorial materials
• Textbook
– Bernanke, Olekalns, Frank, Antonovics and Heffetz (BOFAH),
Principles of Macroeconomics, 5th Edition, 2019.
• Older editions are a good substitute
• Physical and e-text versions are available for purchase
• Also copies in library
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Lecture Schedule
• Part I (Jonathan Thong):
– Weeks 1–2 introduction and fundamental macro concepts
GDP, inflation and interest rates, employment and unemployment
– Weeks 3–6 short-run macroeconomics
economic fluctuations, fiscal and monetary policy
– Assignment 1 based on this material
• Part II (Daniel Minutillo):
– Weeks 7–8 long-run macroeconomics
savings, investment, growth
– Weeks 9–11 international economics
trade, exchange rates, balance of payments
– Assignment 2 based on this material
• Final exam is cumulative, covering whole course
– Week 12 final exam review
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Assessment
Task
Due date
Weight
Online multiple-choice test #1
Online multiple-choice test #2
22 March
17 May
5%
5%
Assignment #1
Assignment #2
12 April
10 May
10%
10%
Tutorial participation
(includes assessable presentation)
weekly
10%
Final exam (hurdle)
exam block
60%
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Assessable Tutorial Presentation
• Present on one of the tutorial questions in groups of up to three
• To be scheduled with your tutor - sign up early!
– Multiple attempts allowed (subject to availability)
• Will assess you on the ’three Ps’
– Preparation: evidenced by the clarity of the problem setup,
solution structure and good timekeeping.
– Perception: evidenced by the depth of analysis of the problem and
capacity to engage with student/tutor questions.
– Presentation: clear language (inc. appropriate speed and volume)
and appropriate materials (whiteboard, slides etc...).
• Part of tutorial participation - 3% of your final grade
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Tips for Success
• Be prepared to change the way you approach learning. The
strategies and techniques that led you to success in high school
may not be effective in a university environment.
• Work consistently throughout the semester. Understanding
concepts and ideas takes time! Performing mathematical analysis
takes practice!
• Take ownership of your learning. You are in the driver’s seat.
• Make the most of the learning resources available to you.
• Your lecturers and tutors are here to support your learning, not
your grades.
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Advice from J.M. Keynes
The master-economist must
possess a rare combination of gifts
.... He must be mathematician,
historian, statesman,
philosopher—in some degree.
He must understand symbols
and speak in words. He
must contemplate the particular,
in terms of the general, and touch
abstract and concrete in the same
flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the
past for the purposes of the future. No part of man’s nature or his
institutions must be entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful
and disinterested in a simultaneous mood, as aloof and incorruptible as
an artist, yet sometimes as near to earth as a politician.
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Representing an Economy
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Building Blocks of a Macroeconomy
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Factors of Production
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Final Goods and Services
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Two Sector Circular Flow Model
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Three Sector Circular Flow Model
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Some Macro Policy Questions
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Australia’s Long Boom
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Good Policy or Good Luck?
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Unemployment and Underemployment
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Other Labour Market Indicators
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Inflation under control?
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Are Wage Increases Inflationary?
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How Fast Should Wages Grow?
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Learning Outcomes
1
Understand the course structure including key staff, resources,
assessments and learning expectations.
2
Describe broadly the field of macroeconomics, and how it differs
from microeconomics. Explain the 3–Sector Circular Flow Model.
3
Be familiar with the current data for some key economic measures,
and policy questions at a high level.
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Next Lecture
• Beginning of fundamental macro concepts.
• Aggregate economic activity
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measuring GDP, circular flow of income
national income accounting
nominal vs. real GDP
GDP levels vs. GDP growth
• BOFAH chapters 1 and 2
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