Columbia University | SIPA
U6301
Sigga Benediktsdottir
Macroeconomics for International and Public Affairs
Spring 2025
Syllabus
Instructor: Sigga (Sigridur) Benediktsdottir
Office: Room 1319
E-mail: s.benedikts @columbia.edu
Office hours: Wednesdays 1pm – 3pm
Classes: Tu, Th 9:15am to 10:45am and Tu, Th 11:00am to 12:30pm
International Affairs Building Room 403
TA:
Maizura Om bint Sharom, [email protected]
and
Ruth Tekleab Mekbib, [email protected]
Readers: Ashkaan Daneshi, [email protected]
Sharon Joh, [email protected]
Sections: 1. Thursday 2:20 - 3:50 PM
2. Thursday 4:10 - 5:40 PM
3. Friday: 10:40 AM - 12:10 PM
4. Friday:
5:20 - 6:50 PM
All in room IAB 403.
Office hours.
1. Mondays 2-4 pm Lehman Library
2. Tuesdays 2-4 pm Lehman Library
Course Description:
This course is the second part of the one-year core economics sequence and focuses on
macroeconomics. The course covers the determinants of national income, money markets,
inflation, unemployment, and business cycles.
The ultimate objective is to help you develop skills to successfully interpret macroeconomic
issues and policies in real time. By the end of the semester, you will be able to
(i) relate basic macroeconomic concepts to current macroeconomic issues
(ii) use basic macroeconomic theory to analyze current macroeconomic issues
(iii) compare arguments while viewing the world through internally consistent
economic models
Reading Material
In addition to lecture notes posted on the course website, the required textbook is
Andrew B. Abel, Ben S. Bernanke, Dean Croushore. \Macroeconomics," Addison
Wesley, Boston, MA.
The book is recommended and intended to provide you with a complement textbook that covers
the analytical and intuitive elements of the lecture. Your reliance on the access to the textbook
may be a necessary condition for success in this course. Any edition is fine. The book is available
at the Columbia Bookstore and other retailers (Bookculture at 536 W 112th St., amazon.com,
borders.com, abebooks.com, etc.).
Current Events
You will find that your understanding of both current economic events and economic analysis
will be bolstered by the regular perusal of current periodical such as The Economist, The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN Business online and Business Week.
Columbia University | SIPA
U6301
Sigga Benediktsdottir
Use of Generative AI
All work in this course must be your original work and completed in accordance with the SIPA’s
Honor Code. You may not use ChatGPT or other generative AI software at any stage or in any
phase in any type of work in this course, even when properly attributed.
Attendance Policy
You are expected to attend all lectures (2 per week) of the section you are enrolled in. If you do
not attend class, you should be able to take responsibility for the material you missed and ask
your fellow students for class notes. While the attendance of recitations is strongly recommended,
it is not required.
Course Assessment
You are expected to attend lectures, recitations, keep up with the course material and readings,
complete homework assignments, and take two exams. Course grades are based on eight problem
sets(40%), the midterm exam (30%), and the final exam (30%).
Problem sets. Your problem set grade will be the average of your seven highest problem set
grades. The electronic version (either scanned or typed up) of solutions must be uploaded to
Gradescope by the indicated deadline. Solutions submitted after the deadline and/or via email will
receive 0 points. You are free to work with a team of up to 4 people on homework problems. For
teams working together on an entire assignment, one team member should submit a copy of the
assignment to the Gradescope with the names of all team members on the top and then add your
team members to the submission. All group members receive the same score.
Exams. The midterm exam and the final exam are mandatory, and failure to take either exam will
result in a failing grade for the class. Excused absences from exams will be allowed only for
serious medical problems, or severe personal matters. You must notify me by email as soon as
possible, and no later than 48 hours after an exam, for me to consider such a request.
Problem Set Posted on Due on
1 January 28 February 4
2 February 4 February 11
3 February 11 February 18
4 February 18 February 25
Midterm Exam March 7th
5 March 25 April 1
6 April 1 April 8
7 April 8 April 15
8 April 15 April 22
Final Exam (Date TBA)
Exam Regrades
Any requests for re-grading on an exam must be submitted in writing within one week of when
the exam is handed back or the score is posted on CourseWorks. A re-grading request should
include an argument for why you feel your answer was correct. I reserve the right to re-grade the
Columbia University | SIPA
U6301
Sigga Benediktsdottir
entire exam when a request to re-grade a specific question is made. If an administrative error has
been made in determining your score (such as an arithmetic or uploading error), then just bring it
to my attention after lecture. If you find a mistake or inconsistency on a provided answer key,
please contact me as soon as possible.
Academic Integrity and Harassment
Academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating, or dishonesty in dealing with a faculty member
or other university official) or the threat of violence or harassment are serious offenses and will
be addressed in accordance with the Dean’s Discipline Policy, as well as a grade penalty such as a
failing grade of “F.” Additional information can be found here.
If there is any question as to whether an act constitutes academic misconduct, it is your obligation
to clarify the question with me before committing or attempting to commit the act. The Code of
Academic & Professional Conduct Code, plus additional information about common forms of
academic misconduct and plagiarism, can be found here
Students with Disabilities
SIPA is committed to ensuring that students registered with Columbia University's Disability
Services (DS) receive the reasonable accommodations necessary for their full participation in
their academic programs. If you are a student with a disability and have a DS-certified
accommodation letter, please make arrangements with me in week 1 or as early as possible.
Please contact and ask SIPA's DS liaison at [email protected] and/or 212-854-8690 to
send me a letter confirming your recommended accommodations.
Website: I will use the course's CourseWorks website to disseminate announcements, class
material, assignments, and other course documents. The website can be accessed through
https://courseworks2.columbia.edu
Announcements made on the website are considered
modifications to the syllabus.
Preliminary course outline and reading list
The lecture topics outlined below are subject to change. You are responsible for all topics covered
in the lecture slides.
Week 1, Jan 21: Introduction and measurements of macroeconomics
Get organized; explain the course; provide an overview of economics as
the problem of allocating scarce resources efficiently and “equitably.”
National income and Gross Domestic Production.
Readings: Lecture slides week 1
ABC Chapter 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1 and 2.2
Week 2, Jan 28: Measures of Macroeconomics and Production
Price indexes, inflation and nominal and real GDP
Production function and its properties. Growth accounting
Readings: Lecture slides week 2
ABC Chapter 2.4 and Chapter 3.1. and 6.1
Week 3, Feb 4: Labor Market
Labor demand and supply. Labor market equilibrium. Use model for
applications including skill-biased technological change and wage
inequality and oil price shocks
Readings: Lecture slides week 3
Columbia University | SIPA
U6301
Sigga Benediktsdottir
ABC Chapter 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
Week 4, Feb 11: Introduction to Aggregate Supply and Natural Rate of
Unemployment
Introduction to Aggregate Supply, unemployment, natural rate of
unemployment. Applications to recent events.
Readings: Lecture slides week 4
ABC Chapter 9.6 (only subsection titled “The Aggregate
Supply Curve”), 3.5
Week 5, Feb 18: Consumption, private savings and investment choice
Nominal and real interest rate. Consumption theories, determinants of
optimal consumption (current income, future income, interest rate).
Wealth and saving of individuals and savings. Investment demand choice
and some finance. Goods market equilibrium in a closed economy.
Readings: Lecture slides week 5
ABC Chapter 2.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 Appendix 4.A
Week 6, Feb 25: Savings and investment in an open economy
Open up economy. Balance of payments. Savings and investment in a
small open economy contrasted with savings and investment in a closed
economy. Applications.
Readings: Lecture slides week 6
ABC Chapter 5.1., 5.2 and 5.3
Week 7, Mar 4:
Review for midterm exam.
Readings: Lecture slides week 7
Midterm March 7th at 11 am.
Week 8, Mar 11: Small open economy v.s. large open economies. Balance of payment
crisis
Savings and investment equilibrium in a small open economy (price
takers) and a large open economy (price setters). Applications large
debtor and creditor nations.
Readings: Lecture slides week 8
ABC Chapter 5.4
Columbia University | SIPA
U6301
Sigga Benediktsdottir
Economic Policy
Week 9, Mar 25: Fiscal Policy
Taxation, and Ricardian equivalence. Government outlays, effects of
increase in government spending in closed economy and crowding out,
open economy and twin deficits.
Readings: Lecture slides week 9
ABC Chapter 5.5. and 15.1 – 15.3
IMF World economic outlook
Week 10, Apr 1: Money, money demand, money Supply and money market
equilibrium
Definition of money. Balance sheets of Central Banks and banks. Money
supply and money demand.
Readings: Lecture slides week 10
ABC Chapter 7.1-7.5 and 14.1, 14.2
Week 11, Apr 8: Business cycles and applications
Components and reason for business cycles. History of business cycles.
Great depression and GFC. Motivation for economic policy
Readings: Lecture slides week 11
ABC Chapter 8.1
Week 12, Apr 15: Goods market and the IS-LM model
Build a model of the goods and money market. Building block for
understanding economic policy
Readings: Lecture slides week 12
ABC Chapter 9.1-9.5.
Week 13, Apr 22: IS-LM short run to long run
AD/AS. Keynesian economics and Economic Policy
Applications with IS-LM then bringing all together in AD AS model.
Sticky prices and wages and economic Policy. Tradeoff between
unemployment and inflation.
Readings: Lecture slides week 13
ABC Chapter 9.6, and 10.5 (Misperceptions thr only)
skim 11.1–11.4 see lecture slides as a skim guide
Week 14, Apr 29: Applications and review for final.
Readings: Lecture slides week 14
ABC skim chapter 12, see slides as a skim guide
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