This class will provide a synthetic introduction to the theory and practice of economics relevant to policy. It will be taught from a classical, institutional and Keynesian perspective, mixing micro- and macroeconomic themes. The course will unfold in a sequence largely governed by the evolution of major issues in the history of economic thought.
The sequence of topics to be covered will include: value; growth, distribution, development and technological change; firms, corporations and regulation; money and finance; national income accounting and basic Keynesian theory; expectations, uncertainty, animal spirits and nonlinearity; deficits and public debt; international trade, capital flow and exchange rates; inequality; fraud and financial instability; and the oncoming economics of resource scarcity and climate change. The goal of the course will be a broad exposure to theoretical and policy issues that have concerned leading political and policy economists over three centuries, ending with critical questions that confront the national and world economies today.