API-121: Recessions, Growth, and Macroeconomic Policy

Countries around the world have faced significant macroeconomic challenges in the 21^st century. The deep global recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic arrived just a few years after recovery from the protracted economic slump that followed the global financial crisis. We will learn some of the key tools that macroeconomists use to understand these developments, explore the specific circumstances and institutions that mattered in each episode, and consider what policies can mitigate the harm of recessions. We will then turn to the macroeconomic challenge of promoting economic growth over the longer run. We will learn what factors drive differences in living standards over time and across countries and what policymakers can do to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth in coming decades.