Syllabus

Introductory Macroeconomics Econ 116, Spring 2025

Instructor: Professor Aleh Tsyvinski
Course Director: Dr. William Hawkins
Version: January 7, 2025.

1. Course Objective:
Macroeconomics is a core subject of economics. Understanding macroeconomics is
fundamental to conducting economic policy, understanding the behavior of the economy,
and analyzing financial markets.

The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the central ideas that underlie how
economists think about the determinants of output, unemployment, inflation, and interest
rates. The course uses these ideas to interpret current macroeconomic events and to
analyze the effects of macroeconomic policies. Upon successful completion of the course,
students should be conversant with the key concepts and ideas of macroeconomic
thinking and should be able to think critically about macroeconomic problems, enabling
them to participate in an informed way in ongoing debates about macroeconomic policy.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed one semester of introductory

microeconomics (Econ 108, Econ 110, Econ 115, or equivalent) before taking this
course.

This course must be taken by all economics majors (except those who place out of it and
can go straight to Intermediate Macroeconomics, Econ 122 or Econ 126).
However, the level of the course is appropriate for non-majors; it is rather less
mathematical than Econ 115, Intro Microeconomics, and many students from other
disciplines find it useful for deepening their understanding of macroeconomic issues and
policies.

2. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

We intend that, whatever your background or perspective, you will be well served by this
course. We will work to help students learn both in and out of class. We view the diversity
that students bring to this class as a resource, strength, and benefit. We intend to present
materials and activities that are respectful of diversity, including but not limited to gender,
sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your
suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.
Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or
for other students or student groups. In addition, if any of our class meetings conflict with
your religious events, please let us know so that we can make arrangements for you.

3. Accessibility
We are committed to making Econ 116 a course that is inclusive in its design. If you
encounter barriers, please let us know immediately so that we can determine if there is a
design adjustment that can be made or if an accommodation might be needed to overcome
the limitations of the design. You are also welcome to contact Student Accessibility
Services to begin this conversation or to establish accommodations for this or other
courses. We welcome feedback that will assist us in improving the usability and
experience for all students.

4. Contacting the Instructors and TFs (Please read carefully):

This is a large class. In order to deal efficiently with different kinds of questions and
issues, we have established various channels for different kinds of communication. These
include an Ed discussion board, as well as office hours by TFs, peer tutors, Dr. Hawkins,
and Prof. Tsyvinski. Please read carefully the following description about the best channel
to use for different kinds of issues.

Questions about and help on economics, the course material, problem sets, and exams:
1. If you want help in person, please attend section or office hours. You may attend
the office hours of Prof. Tsyvinski, the course director Dr. Hawkins, any TF, or any
peer tutor. Office hours are on a drop-in basis; however, if you need to discuss
something individually, this will be possible by appointment. A schedule for office
hours will be published on Canvas. (Office hours mean times that we guarantee to
be available to answer questions; any student is welcome at any office hour, no
matter what you want to discuss! You can go to anyone’s office hours; for office
hours held by TFs, it doesn’t matter whether you are in their section or not.)
2. We encourage you to use the Ed discussion board for questions and help at other
times. You can ask your question anonymously, and we will try to respond as
rapidly as possible. We will not answer questions about economics by email. For
more on Ed, see section 5 below.
3. Prof. Tsyvinski will usually be available to talk with students in person at the end of
any lecture. You are also welcome to visit scheduled office hours to talk with him.

For issues with grading:

1. You will use Gradescope to submit problem sets and worksheets, and we will
upload your exams to Gradescope. Therefore, all graded work will be returned to
you on Gradescope. Along with your grade, you will also be able to see the rubric
that was applied in grading your work.
2. If you feel that a question has not been correctly graded or that the rubric has not
been correctly applied, you should use the ‘Request Regrade’ button within
Gradescope to request a regrade. You should do this while viewing the question for
 which you have an issue. When you click the button, a text box will appear which
you should use to provide a brief and clear explanation of the issue. You must do
this no later than the regrading deadline specified on Gradescope for the
assignment in question (which will always be at least one week after the grades are
released).
3. If you do not understand or do not agree with the response to the regrade request
and would like to discuss it further, please contact your TF, a peer tutor, or other
source of help, either via Ed or in person. (See ‘Questions about and help on
economics, …’ above.)
4. If you are not satisfied with the resolution, please contact the course director, Dr.
Hawkins, either at office hours, at lecture, after a section conducted by him, or by
sending a message through Ed. Do not email Prof. Tsyvinski directly until you have
already talked to Dr. Hawkins: it is the course director’s job to deal with regrading
issues if the initial regrade does not resolve the issue for you.

For all other issues:

1. If your issue is not private (that is, if you don’t mind if other people see the
question and answer too), please check the Ed discussion board and, if not
already covered, post your issue there publicly. Do not select the ‘private’
checkbox: it’s helpful if everyone can see and learn from your post.
Example of this kind of issue: you want to clarify the topics you need to study for a
midterm exam.
2. If your issue is private or otherwise unsuitable for posting online, you have two
options. First, contact your TF individually. You can find them in lecture, at office
hours, or at section. Second, if you are ok with all TFs seeing your issue, then post
your issue on Ed selecting the ‘private’ checkbox.
3. If your issue is private and confidential and you don’t want anyone except Dr.
Hawkins and Prof. Tsyvinski to see it, contact the course director, Dr. Hawkins,
either at office hours, in person after a lecture or section, or by email. Do not email
Prof. Tsyvinski directly about course administration issues until you have already
talked to Dr. Hawkins: it is the course director’s job to deal with administrative
issues in the first instance.
Example of this kind of issue: you need some kind of special accommodation, for
example, due to a disability.

5. Class Meetings:
Lecture time:
Lectures take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:35 am to 12:50 pm. The
location is YSB Marsh Auditorium.

Sections:
In addition to lectures, there is a weekly section taught by one of several teaching fellows,
with exact meeting times to be determined after the start of classes. The purpose of the
sections is to review course material, go over problems, and engage in informal discussion.
Sections will NOT be lectures: they will be opportunities for active participation.
Sections take place starting from the first week of classes.

Attendance at lectures and sections is not graded. However, in our experience, those that
regularly attend lectures and sections do much better in the course than those that do not.

6. Textbook:
The course textbook is Global Economy: A View from Yale. The book in pdf is available free
on the course website. Note, that there may be some edits to the book as we go along in
the class.

Our main textbook is rather concise. Accordingly, some students may prefer to consult an
additional textbook for lengthier explanations. The best supplementary references are the
textbooks by Cowen and Tabarrok, “Modern Principles: Macroeconomics,” 4th edition, and
by Jones, “Macroeconomics.” While these texts are available on reserve at Bass library, you
are not required to purchase either, and we will not directly refer to either in class: these
are strictly extra resources.

7. On the Web:
Canvas
The course Canvas site (via https://canvas.yale.edu, direct link
https://yale.instructure.com/courses/103927) is accessible to enrolled students. All
homework assignments, answer keys, readings, slides, and other course material are
posted here. Grades are also posted here, as well as on Gradescope.

Gradescope
All problem sets and worksheets are submitted on Gradescope, and we will upload your
exams to Gradescope once you have turned them in. Grading issues and requests for
regrades are also dealt with through Gradescope. You must access Gradescope the first
time via Canvas; after that you can log in via https://www.gradescope.com/.

Ed
For questions, and discussion, we maintain a course Ed discussion forum. You can access it
through Canvas.
 You can post or ask anything relevant to the course or to macroeconomics on Ed.
This applies both to economics and non-private administrative issues.
 We want you to feel comfortable asking the questions you need to ask on Ed.
Therefore, we allow you to post on Ed either under your own name or else
anonymously, in which case you are anonymous to other students as well as to the
TFs and instructors. So, don’t be afraid to ask questions. To post anonymously,
select the ‘Anonymous’ check box when you post.
 We expect you to treat other people with respect. Posts that breach this guideline
may be edited or deleted. In the event of a breach of this rule, Yale College policies
apply.
  We aim to respond to Ed Discussion posts as quickly as possible, though responses
will be faster during normal weekday working hours.

8. Grading:
The grade for this class is determined as follows:
 10 online worksheets will constitute 10% of your grade.
o These worksheets will be submitted using Gradescope. You will receive
feedback instantly, after submitting an attempt, on whether your answers
were correct, and you can change any answer and resubmit without penalty
if you would like.
o You will receive the score earned for the final attempt submitted before the
due time of the worksheet.
o You may drop the worst worksheet score, no questions asked. You do not
need any documentation to do this; it will happen automatically for all
students.
o WITHOUT EXCEPTION and NO MATTER WHAT YOUR EXTENUATING
CIRCUMSTANCES, your score will be based on what has been submitted by
the due time. There are NO EXCEPTIONS unless you have a dean’s extension.
In particular, if you do not submit anything by the due time, you will receive
a grade of zero for the worksheet. There are no exceptions allowed unless
you have a Dean’s Extension; see frequently asked question 11.1 below.
 10 problem sets will constitute 15% of your grade.
o Problem sets consist of short-answer, graphing, numerical, and open-ended
text questions.
o You must submit your problem set solutions using Gradescope. Detailed
instructions for doing this will be given with problem set 1.
o Late work will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero. There are no
exceptions allowed unless you have a Dean’s Extension, in which case the
score will be dropped from the grade average: see frequently asked
question 11.1 below.
o You may drop the worst problem set grade, no questions asked. You do not
need any documentation to do this: it will happen automatically for all
students.
o WITHOUT EXCEPTION and NO MATTER WHAT YOUR EXTENUATING
CIRCUMSTANCES, your score will be based on what has been submitted by
the due time. There are NO EXCEPTIONS unless you have a dean’s extension.
In particular, if you do not submit anything by the due time, you will receive
a grade of zero for the problem set. There are no exceptions allowed unless
you have a Dean’s Extension; see frequently asked question 11.1 below.
 Exams constitute 75% of your grade. There will be three exams.
o Midterm exam I will replace the class on Wednesday February 5.
o Midterm exam II will replace the class on Wednesday March 5.
o The final exam will take place at the time assigned by Yale College, which is
Saturday May 3 at 7:00 pm. The final exam is comprehensive.
o Each of the midterms counts for 20% of the final grade; the final exam
counts for 35% of the final grade.
9. Grade Distribution:
The economics department prescribes the following grade distribution for introductory
classes.

A/A-: 40%
B+/B/B-: 50%
C+ and below: 10%

These percentages refer to shares of the number of students who are enrolled in Econ
116 as of the date of the first midterm; students who drop the class after that date are
included in the curve below all students who complete the course.

However, we guarantee that students whose overall course numerical score falls in the
following ranges will receive at least the corresponding letter grade:

Score Minimum Letter Grade

93.00 and above A
90.00 to 92.99 A-
87.00 to 89.99 B+
83.00 to 86.99 B

If using these cutoff scores would lead to a letter grade distribution that is harsher than
intended (for example, if fewer than 40% of students score above 90.00), then we will
adjust these numerical cutoffs downwards so that more students receive higher letter
grades. This means that students will not be penalized, for example, if one of the exams is
more difficult than usual and so numerical scores are lower than this.

10. Academic Integrity:

This course adheres to the highest standards of academic integrity. Yale College has
considerable resources to help students learn more about academic integrity and
avoiding plagiarism. We encourage students to review these guidelines: see
https://catalog.yale.edu/undergraduate-regulations/regulations/academic-dishonesty/
for information on cheating and academic integrity, and
https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/using-sources/understanding-and-
avoiding-plagiarism for specific information on plagiarism and how to avoid it.

No collaboration of any kind will be permitted on any exam.

For all other assessment items, including worksheets and problem sets, you may consult
other people (including fellow students, peer tutors, TFs, Dr. Hawkins and Prof. Tsyvinski)
in order to help understand the material. However, you must complete the version of the
assignment that you submit for grading by yourself, without copying from anyone else’s
work. Yale College academic honesty policies apply.
 11. Frequently asked questions: (READ CAREFULLY, ESPECIALLY, THE
FIRST QUESTION).

11.1. I need an exception, what do I do?

For example: I have to miss a deadline for a homework, will miss the midterm or final
exam, I have a medical issue, family emergency, sports event, etc.

First, note that you get to drop your worst problem set grade and your worst
worksheet grade, no questions asked, no Dean’s Extension required.

If you still need an exception:

Whom to contact: Please talk to your residential college dean and then, only if you
have been granted a Dean’s Extension, the course director, Dr. Hawkins.
 Before any exception is considered, for any reason, you will need to obtain a Dean’s
Extension. This rule will be adhered to in 100% of cases. Again, note that you get to
drop the worst problem set grade and the worst worksheet grade even without any
exception.
 If you obtain a Dean’s Extension for a worksheet, we will extend the deadline in
accordance with your dean’s recommendation.
 If you obtain a Dean’s Extension for a problem set, we will allow you to drop the
relevant problem set (since we cannot allow you extended time because of the need to
release solutions). We will put greater weight on the remaining problem sets to
compensate. (Thus, while most students count the best 9 of the 10 problem sets, a
Dean’s Extension effectively changes this to the best 8 of the remaining 9.)
 If you cannot obtain a Dean’s Extension, you understand the above policies, and you
still think you deserve special consideration because of unique circumstances that you
think are equally deserving but for which the Dean’s Extension system is not helpful to
you, please contact Dr. Hawkins directly.

11.2. How does section assignment work?

Whom to contact: The course director, Dr. Hawkins, but first read below
To register for the course officially, you need to add not only the course itself, but also a
section to your schedule. However, please do not be concerned if you can only find an
open space in a section that is not at a suitable time for you. Section attendance will not be
graded; in fact, we will not take attendance. You may attend a section other than the one
you are officially registered for on an occasional basis. However, if you want to switch
sections permanently and there is an open seat in the section you want to switch to, then
during registration or add/drop period, please change your section using the online
registration system (the same way you would add or drop any course). If no seats are
available at all, or if it is too late in the semester to do that, please contact the course
director by email for more information on what to do.
11.3. I emailed Prof. Tsyvinski but did not get a response: what is going on?
Whom to contact: Use Ed if appropriate, or contact your TF (first) or Dr. Hawkins
(next).
Please read section 4 of this syllabus carefully. If you want to talk with Professor Tsyvinski
personally, the best time is immediately after each lecture, or feel free to visit his office
hours. Given the number of students in the course, you’ll probably get a faster response,
however, using the TFs, course director, peer tutors, or Ed.

11.4. Makeup Midterms: how can it be done (e.g., family emergency, illness, etc.)?
For example, I have a conflict with other exams, family emergency, illness, etc.

Whom to contact: Your Dean and then, only if you have a Dean’s Extension, the
course director, William Hawkins.
(1) You will need to obtain a Dean’s Extension from your residential college Dean;
(2) The date/time of the makeup midterm will be arranged according to the nature of the
Dean’s Extension. (3) If you cannot obtain a Dean’s Extension, please contact Dr. Hawkins
and explain the situation in advance of the exam.

If you obtain a Dean’s Extension and qualify for a makeup exam, but then are again unable
to take the scheduled midterm exam, you will need to obtain a new Dean’s Extension
covering the makeup exam date. In that very rare situation, there will not be a second
makeup exam; your final exam grade would then be determined by raising the weight of
the other midterm exam from 20% to 25% of the course grade, and of the final exam from
35% to 50% of the course grade.

11.5. Final exam postponement: when and how can it be done?

For example, I have a conflict with other exams, family emergency, illness, etc.

Whom to contact: Your Dean and then, only if your Dean issues an ABX to approve
your absence from the regular final exam, the course director, Dr. Hawkins.
According to Yale College rules, we have no discretion to postpone the final exam. (See
https://catalog.yale.edu/ycps/academic-regulations/completion-of-course-work/ for
details.) If you do not take the exam as scheduled and your Dean does not approve your
absence (in Yale-speak, an ABX), you will receive a score of zero for the exam.
If you do receive an ABX, you should expect to take a makeup exam at the end of the
second week of classes in the following fall term. (However, we may be able to arrange
an earlier date, particularly for graduating students: contact Dr. Hawkins for details.) If
you cannot attend that makeup exam, you will again need to have your dean approve the
need for a second makeup exam. In the very rare situation that you also cannot attend that
second makeup exam and your dean again approves that, then you will either need to take
the regular final exam for the fall 2025 version of Econ 116, or else petition for a
retrospective withdrawal from the course.
11.6. Is the final exam comprehensive?
Yes.

11.7. When you discuss research in class what are we supposed to know and what will be
tested?
Typically, this material is on the exam. But we will be very clear before exams exactly what
will be tested.

11.8. Am I responsible for the material that any guest lecturers talk about?
Typically, yes. But we will be very clear before exams exactly what will be tested.

11.9. Is there a curve for the class grades?

The grades will follow the distribution outlined in Section 9.

12. Schedule of reading assignments, problem sets, and exams:

This schedule is preliminary and is subject to change.

1. Monday, January 13. Introduction and overview (Chapter 1)

2. Wednesday, January 15. Macroeconomic Data -- GDP (Chapter 2)
3. Wednesday, January 22. Production (Chapters 3 and 4)
4. Friday, January 24. Solow Model I (Chapter 5)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 1 due Friday January 24
5. Monday, January 27. Solow Model II (Chapter 5)
6. Wednesday, January 29. Sources of Growth (Chapters 6 and 7)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 2 due Friday January 31
7. Monday, February 3. Institutions (Chapter 8)
Wednesday, February 5. Midterm I replaces class.
8. Monday, February 10. The Rise of China (No reading)
9. Wednesday, February 12. Labor Market I (Chapter 9)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 3 due Friday February 14.
10. Monday, February 17. Labor Market II (Chapter 9)
11. Wednesday, February 19. Trade I (Chapter 11)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 4 due Friday February 21.
12. Monday, February 24. Trade II (Chapter 11)
13. Wednesday, February 26. Inflation + Data on Inflation (Chapter 12)
 a. Worksheet and Problem Set 5 due Friday February 28.
14. Monday, March 3. Money and Monetary Policy I (Chapter 13)
Wednesday, March 5. Midterm II replaces class
Spring Break
15. Monday, March 24. Business Cycles (Chapter 14)
16. Wednesday, March 26. Money and Monetary Policy II (Chapter 17)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 6 due Friday March 28.
17. Monday, March 31. AS/AD I (Chapter 15)
18. Wednesday, April 2. AS AD II—Policy (Chapter 16)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 7 due Friday April 4.
19. Monday, April 7. Taxes and Fiscal Policy (Chapter 18)
20. Wednesday, April 9. Debt and Deficits (Chapter 19)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 8 due Friday April 11.
21. Monday, April 14. Financial system (Chapter 10)
22. Wednesday, April 16. Crises (Chapter 23)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 9 due Friday April 18.
23. Monday, April 21. Exchange Rates (Chapters 21 and 22)
24. Wednesday, April 23. Macroeconomics of Climate Change (No reading)
a. Worksheet and Problem Set 10 due Friday April 25.
Final exam. Time set by Yale College as Sunday, May 3 at 7:00 pm (exam group 64 –
note, NOT the standard exam group for classes meeting MW 11:35-12:50)