These two "datalink" pages contain URLs to access websites with current reports and information, research, and data on the U.S. macro-economy:

    GDP/Labor/Prices: http://www.employees.csbsju.edu/jolson/datalink1.htm

    Money & Federal Reserve: http://www.employees.csbsju.edu/jolson/datalink2.htm

Perhaps the most comprehensive Economics website is Bill Goffe's Resources for Economists on the Internet

Links to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
       NBER Home
       NBER - Business Cycles (information)
       NBER - Business Cycles Expansions and Contractions (dates)

Hand-out on NIPA relationships (assigned)
       MS-Word .doc version        Web .htm version

BEA's "Measuring the Economy:  A Primer on GDP" (assigned) and an older "A Guide to the NIPAs" (assigned) detail the purpose, structure, and measurement of the NIPA.

Another good, readable/accessible article about the NIPAs appeared in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 2008 issue.

For links to BEA articles and reports on Annual and Comprehensive revisions to the NIPA, NIPA methodology, the NIPA Handbook, and other related matters, see:   http://www.bea.gov/national/an1.htm

Other descriptions and discussions of BEA methodologies and concepts can be accessed at:  http://www.bea.gov/methodologies/index.htm#national_meth

Links to issues of the BEA's Survey of Current Business at http://www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm -- this publication has many useful methodological and analytical articles.

Two interesting NBER working papers by Robert W. Fogel (1990 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics) about Simon Kuznets (3rd winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics), often referred to as the "father" of national income accounting in the U.S.:  the first (July 2000) is an account of Kuznets' career and contributions; the second (December 1987) addresses Kuznets' methods of economic research.

An interesting and relevant discussion about data revisions, forecasting, and policy-making in:  "Through a Glass, Darkly:  How Data Revisions Complicate Monetary Policy" from Dallas FRB, Economic Letter, Vol. 1, No. 12, December 2006.

BLS documents on measuring Consumer Price Index:
       http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpiovrvw.htm(assigned)
       http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm(assigned)
       http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpiadd.htm (assigned)
       http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifact2.htm(assigned)

       Additional information and data on the CPI at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm

BLS document on "How the Government Measures Unemployment" at  http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm (assigned)

Additional information and data on employment and unemployment can be accessed at the BLS web-pages for the Current Population Survey http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm and the Current Employment Statistics survey http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm

Spreadsheet file with recent (to August 2015) U.S. Labor Force data

Supplementary Notes on the Cobb-Douglas Production Function (assigned)
       A "retrospective" article on the origins and use of Cobb-Douglas from the Journal of Economic Perspectives (Spring 2012)
       A short empirical note on labor's share: http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/net/20040801/cover.pdf
       An interesting research/discussion paper on "Measuring Labor's Share of Income": http://www.clevelandfed.org/Research/PolicyDis/No7Nov04.pdf

Spreadsheet (Excel) for Long-Run Neo-Classical Macroeconomic Model (assigned)

Document on the Equations Composing the Long-Run Neo-Classical Macroeconomic Model (assigned)

Exercises for Long-Run Neo-Classical Macroeconomic Model

Spreadsheet (Excel) for Short-Run Keynesian Cross & IS-LM model (assigned)

Document on the Equations Composing the IS-LM model (assigned)

A short explanation of the IS-LM model by Paul Krugman

Krugman on "Economics in the Crisis"

Links to Federal Reserve's web-page http://www.federalreserve.gov/policy.htm Monetary Policy descriptions (assigned)
            the FOMC     OMOs     discount rate     reserve requirements     (see also links under "Policy Tools" on the left-side)

An interesting piece by an FOMC member on contemporary/current policy:
       "A Perspective on Monetary Policy" (Cleveland FRB, Economic Commentary, Feb. 1, 2005)

Dallas FRB article on Irving Fisher:  http://www.dallasfed.org/research/ei/ei0501.html

"Paul Samuelson and Monetary Analysis" (St. Louis FRB, Monetary Trends, April 2005)

There are also links to some interesting items on monetary economics and related subjects on my ECON 374 - Monetary Theory & Policy Analysis - course web-page.

Syllabi from previous semesters/years:

  Spring 2015     Spring 2014 (& Revised Schedule)     Spring 2012     Fall 2011    Spring 2011    Fall 2007 

 Spring 2007    Spring 2006    Fall 2005    Spring 2005    Fall 2004

Spring 2015 -  answers to:  HWPS#1     HWPS#2     HWPS#3

 

Companion Website for the Mishkin text:  http://wps.aw.com/bp_mishkin_macro_1/

Link to Mankiw text (7th ed.) publisher's web-site for students:  http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/mankiw7/#t_517719

PowerPoint slides for Abel, Bernanke, & Croushore text

Companion website for Abel, Bernanke, & Croushore text (then click on Student Resources)

 

CSB/SJU Economics Department Homepage:  http://www.csbsju.edu/economics/

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This page last up-dated 9/30/2015 and all hyperlinks checked 1/27/2007 - please report any "dead" hyperlinks to jolson@csbsju.edu

©2004 John F. Olson