I'm sitting here thinking about the first day of the semester tomorrow--trying to come up with some choice little bits to throw into the lecture. One of my classes is an advanced macro course for the MA program. I'm thinking of ending the intro to the lecture like this: "In Econ 502 we cover about 2 or 3 weeks worth of my intermediate macro course on the first day as a review... then things start to get interesting. Let's begin..."
UPDATE: I did say this, and the response was muted--a couple of smiles. They knew I was serious.
For those interested in what we cover, the first couple weeks are a review of static and dynamic optimization with macro applications, followed by growth (Solow, Ramsey, Romer, etc.) and concluding with real business cycles (overview of the literature along with critiques). I plan to sprinkle in a good dose of David Warsh's Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations to stimulate critical discussion. These students have (for the most part) already had exposure to IS-LM, an overview of New Keynesian macro, time consistency, and the permanent income hypothesis. This course is well suited to those looking to apply to a Ph.D. program after finishing their MA here.
What's the syllabus like?
I'd go with six weeks, just to scare the little buggers shitless.
After interviewing recruits at the ASSA meetings, I really have to ask "What IS macroeconomics these days?"
Wow... this is just like porn for me!
Will you use computers to simulate the models? People don't do that enough. Is that a separate class?
It's also great to see that there still are MA programs out there. This is good news for those of us who'll find it nearly impossible to get into a PhD program.