SJTU 2026 Macroeconomics

Shanghai Jiao Tong University · Summer School 2026

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics through models and data, using Charles I. Jones (6th ed.) as the main text. Why economies grow, why inflation and unemployment move, how recessions and financial crises occur, and how monetary and fiscal policy affect output, prices and debt. Every lecture comes with a deck built on live data and an in-class activity.

InstructorFatih Kansoy
Term29 Jun – 17 Jul 2026
ScheduleMon–Fri · three weeks
Contact hours66 hours · 4 units
LocationShanghai Jiao Tong University
FormatIn-person lectures & discussions
TextbookJones, Macroeconomics (6e)
DataFRED · World Bank · IMF · OECD

Course materials

Topics All ten lectures: the slides and the in-class activity, lecture by lecture. Activities The in-class group activities: a worked problem and a real episode for each lecture. Exams Quizzes, midterm and final: dates, coverage and the group-project brief. Syllabus Full description, assessment weights, the weekly schedule and the reading list. Presentation Guide How to make an academic & empirical research presentation: data, model, results, tables and slide design, for the group project.

Course overview

Macroeconomics studies GDP, consumption, saving, investment, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and government debt, and how these variables move over time. The course is organised in four blocks: the long run, the three numbers of output, unemployment and inflation, the short-run model, and the government.

Each lecture sets out a model, compares it with evidence and discusses its limits. Figures are built live from public series, including FRED, the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD. The course uses real episodes such as the Great Depression, the 1970s, the 2008 financial crisis, Covid-19, the Volcker disinflation and current global debt.

Jones 6eIS–MP–PhillipsLive FRED dataNo coding required

Learning outcomes

  • measure the economy, including GDP and the identity Y = C + I + G + NX, real versus nominal values, price indices, unemployment and inflation, and read data on a ratio (log) scale;
  • explain long-run prosperity with the production, Solow, and Romer–Jones models, and decompose income differences into capital and total factor productivity;
  • analyse the labour market and the natural rate of unemployment, and the causes and costs of inflation (the quantity theory and the Fisher equation);
  • use the short-run model, including the IS, MP and Phillips curves and the AS/AD framework, to trace how shocks and monetary policy move output and inflation;
  • interpret financial crises, the zero lower bound, deflation, and quantitative easing within the model, and in real episodes (1929, 2008, Covid-19);
  • analyse government budgets and debt dynamics, including the (r − g) snowball, sustainability and debt crises, and evaluate fiscal policy and current global debt.

At a glance

DaySessionReading
Week 1: Foundations & the long run
Mon 29 JunL1 · Introduction to MacroeconomicsJones 1
Tue 30 JunL2 · Measuring Well & the Facts of GrowthJones 2–3
Wed 1 JulL3 · A Model of Production, and the Solow ModelJones 4–5
Thu 2 JulQuiz 1 (L1–3)Jones 1–4
Fri 3 JulL4 · Growth and IdeasJones 6
Week 2: The three numbers & into the short run
Mon 6 JulL5 · Labour Market & UnemploymentJones 7
Tue 7 JulL6 · InflationJones 8
Wed 8 JulQuiz 2 (L4–6)Jones 5–8
Thu 9 JulL7–8 · An Introduction to the Short Run & the IS–MP–Phillips ModelJones 9–12
Fri 10 JulMidterm Examination (L1–6)
Week 3: The short-run model in action & the government
Mon 13 JulL9 · AS/AD & Financial CrisesJones 13–14
Tue 14 JulQuiz 3 (L7–8) + Presentation InformationJones 9–12
Wed 15 JulL10 · Government, Debt & Fiscal PolicyJones 18
Thu 16 JulGroup Project Presentations
Fri 17 JulFinal Examination (L8–10)

Full syllabus, assessment weights and reading list →

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