1. Listen to the first 15 minutes of the following podcast by Roger Farmer in Macro Musings. The guest discusses the Natural Rate of Unemployment Hypothesis and the limitations regarding the way it is taught in most Macroeconomics Textbooks and offers an alternative view. He highlights the differences between the two approaches by using the Rocking Horse and the Sail Boat analogies. Critically discuss the alternative view described by the author in light of the evolution of unemployment rates over time in the U.S and across countries.
2. Listen to the following podcast by Robert Solow, one of the pioneers of the neoclassical growth model introduced in class last week. You can just listen to the first 30 minutes of the talk. What are the sources of long-run growth as envisioned by the author in his early contributions? Technological progress in the 1980s and 1990s was enabled by the growing use of computers in the production process. What type of technological progress do you think best describe this revolution? Do you think the US and other advanced countries will sustain economic growth over the next 50 years? If so which potential technological revolution could make that possible?
