ECON 4002
Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
National income and labor market measurement. Business cycle facts and consideration of alternative explanations for business cycle phenomena. Development of Solow growth model, along with theories of endogenous growth and an examination of reasons for differences in growth rates across counties. General equilibrium description of firms and consumers in labor and product markets. Implementation of monetary and fiscal policy, and exploration of the impact of policy changes on the macroeconomy. Prerequisites: Econ 1021 and Econ 4011.
Instructors
Constantine Azariadis, Gaetano Antinolfi, Miguel Faria-e-Castro, Rodolfo Manuelli, Stephen Williamson, Suleyman Karaman
Reviews
Professor Faria-e-Castro didn't care about teaching. He refused to hold office hours, even over Zoom. There was no review session or study guide for exams, and the problem sets, which were the basis for the exams, were due at the time of the exam, so I had no idea whether my answers to the problem sets were correct.
4/28/2026
As long as you do the homework and don't fail the exams you will get an A.
12/18/2025
Gaetano is a really nice guy and I like him a lot. However, his lectures are incredibly boring. He curves the class up and it's not hard to get a good grade (or that much work), but it is hard to pay attention.
12/17/2025
Prof. works at the Fed and is very knowledgeable and is overall a nice dude. Class is graded on 10 Problem Sets and 2 Exams that got progressively easier throughout the year. Exams were EXACTLY like the Problem Sets so just study those. Lectures were a bit boring and difficult to follow, but the slides were posted. P.S. He might deflate your grade.
5/5/2025
He is brilliant and provides valuable insights during lectures, though many students skip since tests often mirror homework and past exams. While not everything he teaches is graded, understanding the concepts—not just memorization—is key. He's approachable and engaging, but his answers to questions can sometimes lack clarity and conciseness.
12/23/2024
He has no control of the class speed (three weeks on only one slide). He tries hard to explain each question, but the more he says the more confusing it gets. The homework is not too much. Tests are easy and follow the past midterms' format, which is really nice. Overall he is a nice guy and really approachable. OH might help.
10/31/2024
2-4 hrs/week
Karamen was not a very good professor. Content is very easy but you need to be present in class for the activity. Exams are easy if you study appropriately.
10/16/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Very nice professor. Material in lectures felt dense but relevant to the problem sets. Exams were super easy.
5/23/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Avoid this prof. His lectures are redundant but he has in class activities that force you to go. My advice is to read the textbook on your own, then do other work during class. Exams are very easy with a huge curve
5/21/2024
This class was set up such that the difficulty ramped up considerably for the third exam. I personally had a difficult time digesting course content and felt like I did well in the course because of my background in Mathematics, not from my improved understanding of Economics. Professor was incredibly kind, just not the right learning style for me.
12/20/2023
Agree with below. The professor is nice, but everything else is terrible. I've learned nothing from lectures, and there isn't any resources available for you to study on your own, except for a few unhelpful slides. The questions that show up on quizzes and problem sets are always different than what we are expected to learn in class.
4/27/2023
I honestly dont understand how people do well in this class. Lectures start out interesting and you blink and all of a sudden if its just pure "math"? It\'s a very theoritical class but at the same time it has a lot of mathematical calculations. The textbook doesnt help at all with quizzes or hw\'s. The entire class is based on 2 hws and 2 quizzes.
4/27/2023
Professor Antinolfi is very accessible outside class and really cares about the students. Homework and tests are very similar and they are pretty manageable. Tests should be easy if you go over the past exams and understand the homework. Lectures are insightful and makes me more interested in this subject.
12/14/2022
Antinolfi is a solid choice because he is super nice, always willing to answer your questions, and getting an A in the class is not hard. However, he is a boring lecturer. He goes into good detail explaining everything, but it was hard for me to pay attention because he did nothing to spice up lengthy lecturing.
5/19/2021
Antinolfi is a very caring professor but the content is very dense. Make sure you have a good understanding of things going into the exam. Grading criteria is unclear but somehow I and many others got As. He seems to care more about you showing that are trying rather than getting everything perfect.
3/8/2021
The pandemic complicated how lectures were taught this year, so Professor Antinolfi didn't assign any exams. The lectures were extremely dry, so much so that it was impossible to focus, and the textbook didn't outline the course material well. He is clearly a very nice guy and grades leniently, but I had to learn the course material through YouTube
12/22/2020
Antinolfi is a great guy and a decent lecturer. He knows the material he has to cover is dry, and he does his best to make it engaging with decent results. He wants you to get a good grade, and most people do, although his tests can range in difficulty. He's genuinely funny, too, and is more than willing to answer any question you ask, so ask away.
4/25/2019
I think his lecture was fine. The only problem for me was that his grading standard was not very clear, which annoyed me a lot at the end of the semester.
10/17/2018
Antinolfi is a mystery. His grading scale is unknown and his tests range from impossible to easy, yet most of the class magically receives As. He's a very boring lecturer, answering questions with convoluted responses, yet is a super friendly guy who seems to care about his students. Take this class for the A, not to learn Macroeconomics...
5/13/2017
Insanely nice professor that genuinely cares about his students. Lectures are really boring though and the tests can be pretty difficult. He's decent at explaining concepts and uses real-world analogies to do so. Homework is optional and he only posts it as a study aid. Very helpful outside of class too. Take 4021 with Antinolfi.
5/2/2017