Course Description

The global pandemic, beginning in early 2020, resulted in tremendous damage to the U.S. economy, turning a prosperous economic expansion into the most severe recession in over a generation. Some industries, especially those in hospitality and tourism, suffered tremendous setbacks while other industries, such as eCommerce and remote conferencing, weathered the downturn with minimal effects or even prospered. Many sectors of the U.S. economy recovered quickly in part due to significant intervention by the federal government. Much attention has focused on fiscal stimulus packages, such as the $2.2 trillion CARES act of March 2020 and the $1.9 trillion Covid Relief Bill of March 2021. Moreover, these fiscal policy actions were complemented by extraordinary monetary policy actions by the Federal Reserve. This lecture presents an overview of the current state of the U.S. economy, and how the Federal Reserve uses the money supply to influence interest rates to promote price and income stability, as well as to expedite economic recovery. The long-term effects of these monetary policy actions will be discussed, including the effects of rising debt and inflation on the future health of the economy. The presentation concludes with an analysis of key indicators used to prepare economic forecasts.