Current Economy Portion of the Final
A major goal of Principles of Macroeconomics is to have you develop an ability to understand, interpret, and use the information contained in the business press concerning the U.S. economy and its role in the international economy. During the semester we will use the Wall Street Journal to monitor the economy in three areas:
- regular announcements of macroeconomic data (also available over the internet)
- major actions in the area of government policy, including monetary and fiscal policy as well as structural policies designed to promote long-run growth. For example, the President's State of the Union Address and Federal Reserve Open Market Committee statements are good sources for current policy proposals.
- current events which describe items which may have an important impact on the macroeconomy
Your responsibilities during the semester include: (1) keeping track of the variables listed below and following the major policies considered and/or implemented by the federal government, including the Federal Reserve. After two weeks of guidance in class, you should be collecting this information on your own; and (2) reading assigned articles from the The Wall Street Journal which describe and analyze important current events (for the macroeconomy) that occur both in the U.S. as well as internationally. The final exam will include the material for which you are responsible. A list of the articles cited in class can be found HERE.
Below is a list of the kinds of data you should collect during the semester. From time to time, we may discuss these items in class to make sure you are staying up to date on the important current events in the economy. Important variables to follow:
- unemployment rate and employment growth
- inflation rate (consumer price index)
- GDP growth
- interest rates (10 year Treasury Bond)
- growth in retail sales and personal income
- index of leading economic indicators
- stock market indices (Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index)
- balance of trade/value of the dollar
Some Internet Resources For Economic News and Statistics: