Introductory Macroeconomics  An introduction to macroeconomics: a consideration of macroeconomic problems such as unemployment and inflation. Theories and policy proposals of Keynesian and classical economists are contrasted. Topics considered include: banking, financial institutions, monetary policy, taxation, government spending, fiscal policy, tradeoffs between inflation and unemployment in both the short run and the long run, and wage-price spirals.

Microeconomic Theory Microeconomic theory concentrates on the study of the determination of relative prices and their importance in shaping the allocation of resources and the distribution of income in an economy. We will study the optimizing behavior of households in a variety of settings: buying goods and services, saving, and labor supply decisions. We will also examine the behavior of firms in different market structures. Together, the theories of household and firm behavior help illumine contemporary economic issues (discrimination in labor markets, mergers in the corporate world, positive and negative externalities, for example).

Senior Research Workshop II In this second semester of the senior research workshop sequence, the focus is on the execution of the research plan developed in ECON 0701.  Most instruction is now one-on-one but the workshop will still meet as a group to discuss and practice the presentation of results in various formats (seminars, poster sessions, et cetera) to the rest of the workshop and others in the college and broader communities. Feedback and critiques from such presentations will be incorporated into the project, which will culminate in a research paper in the style of an economics journal article.

Senior Research Workshop I In this first semester, students will design and begin their projects. Emphasis will be on designing a novel research question (while making the case for its importance) and an appropriate strategy for answering it. This requires immersion in the academic literature on the topic. General research principles and tools will be taught in class, as a group, while those specific to individual projects will be covered in one-on-one meetings. By the end of the term, students will outline their plan for completing the project, including demonstrating that it is a feasible research question for which the necessary information (e.g., data or source materials) is available or can be generated by the student (e.g., lab or other experiment).

Poverty, Inequality and Distributive Justice This seminar will explore recent theoretical and empirical research on socioeconomic inequality. The definitions, causes and consequences of inequality at both the individual (micro) and national and international (macro) levels will be considered.

Macroeconomic Theory Macroeconomic theory analyzes whether the market effectively coordinates individuals' decisions so that they lead to acceptable results. It considers the effectiveness of monetary, fiscal, and other policies in achieving desirable levels of unemployment, inflation, and growth. The theories held by various schools of economic thought such as Keynesians, monetarists, and new classicals are considered along with their proposed policies.

Peter Matthews

Reviews and ratings for Peter Matthews at Middlebury College.Peter Matthews teaches Intro Macroeconomics, Micro Theory, Senior Research Workshop II and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Peter Matthews good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Peter Matthews is a good prof. He will repeat himself many times to make sure everyone understands. Overall I thought the material was not too hard to understand and that the grading was pretty nice on the exams. That being said the exams account for 80% of the grade, but you can drop your lowest one. 

Professor Matthews runs a solid Intro to Macro course. He cold calls, but it keeps you on your toes and engaged. Exams are every other week, but they’re totally fair if you stay on top of the material. Grading is fair too—no surprises. If you take good notes and actually do the readings, you’ll be in good shape. It’s a straightforward class with a professor who knows his stuff.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Mathews was great and taught the material very well. Very little homework outside of class and the quizzes were doable. Mathews did a good job of applying work to the real world as well.