Zara Contractor

Exams were pretty tough with weekly problem sets. Exams were pretty much all stuff you had "seen" before but in a different vain. It was tough to predict what was going to be on the exams and she usually threw a wrinkle in one of the problems.

Macro Theory was one of the more demanding classes I've taken, but also one of the most useful for actually understanding how the pieces of the economy fit together. The course moves fast — you're expected to be comfortable with the math (Lagrangians, dynamic optimization, phase diagrams) within the first couple weeks, so a solid micro and calc background going in makes a huge difference. If you're rusty, the first month can feel like a slog. The content itself covers the core models — Solow growth, RBC, IS-LM/AD-AS extensions, and some intro to New Keynesian frameworks — building from static to dynamic settings. What I appreciated most was how the course forces you to think in terms of microfoundations rather than just memorizing reduced-form relationships; once that clicks, a lot of macro news and policy debates make a lot more sense. Problem sets are long and genuinely challenging — budget real time for them, not a night-before effort. Exams reward understanding the intuition behind the models, not just the mechanics, so don't just grind derivations without understanding why the model behaves the way it does. Overall, worth the difficulty if you're serious about econ, finance, or policy — it's the kind of class that pays off later when you're trying to reason through rate decisions, growth data, or business cycle dynamics on the job. Go in with your math sharp and don't fall behind on the readings.

Macro Theory was one of the more demanding classes I've taken, but also one of the most useful for actually understanding how the pieces of the economy fit together. The course moves fast — you're expected to be comfortable with the math (Lagrangians, dynamic optimization, phase diagrams) within the first couple weeks, so a solid mic …Read more

My personal experience with Macro Theory was poor. I don't think it's a bad class and certain lectures were quite interesting, but I really did not love my professor. I think the teaching was redundant and unclear, and exams featured substantial amounts of topics we did not cover. Homework is brief and easy, but Professor Contractor simply needs more experience as a professor. She's kind and accommodating, but struggled to effectively teach the course.

My personal experience with Macro Theory was poor. I don't think it's a bad class and certain lectures were quite interesting, but I really did not love my professor. I think the teaching was redundant and unclear, and exams featured substantial amounts of topics we did not cover. Homework is brief and easy, but Professor Contractor …Read more