Today is the perfect time to learn about macroeconomics! Current media discussions are exceptionally pointed and centered on many macro-economic policy issues. They range from various paths of economic recovery from the negative impacts of COVID, taxation and inequities, costs vs. benefits of environmental protection, trade wars, technology-driven job destruction vs. creation, welfare debates and the list goes on. The concepts that students learn in Macroeconomics are directly related to all of these debates and it is imperative to understand the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of such debates to be able to make informed conclusions on various policy agendas.

The core objective of the Principles of Macroeconomics course is to introduce students to how policy makers at the Federal level are thinking about the national economy, its health, the inevitable booms and busts, and what needs to be done to mediate the volatility of business cycle fluctuations. The exponentially increasing fragility of the global environmental and financial/economic systems of the last few decades, in particular the damning evidence of climate change and grim consequences of the Great Recession, demonstrated that the foundational knowledge of macroeconomics is imperative to the ability of individuals to evaluate and vote on fiscal and monetary policy proposals that directly impact us all.

The course uses an open-source textbook (i.e. FREE, yay!) developed and offered by Openstax and adapted specifically for GT ECON 2105 (https://intromacro.econ.gatech.edu/). The course is designed using the Significant Learning methodology, which goes beyond the objectives of understanding and applying the concepts, but being able to relate ECON 2105 to other courses, understand social and personal implications of the main concepts, daring to learn more, knowing how to keep on learning about macroeconomic policies after the course is over. Finally, the course aspires to assist students to further understand and contribute to the following SDG goals: good health and well-being, quality education, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.