Applied and empirical macroeconomics—the study of aggregate economic outcomes using a combination of theory and microdata—is a large and rapidly growing area in the field of economics. The increasing availability of large datasets has made it feasible to study the micro-foundations of macroeconomic phenomena as varied as producer price-setting behavior and inflation, the drivers of global capital flows, the dynamics of firms and workers in the labor market, and the individual occupational choice. The first half of the course will focus on topics in international macroeconomics and finance. The second half of the course will focus on economic development and growth. Both parts of the course will guide students to the research frontier in the respective areas and emphasize methods that allow students to use microdata to address macroeconomic questions.

Tommaso Porzio

Assistant Professor

Tommaso Porzio is an assistant professor of macroeconomics in the Economics Division at Columbia Business School. His research primarily studies the role of human capital for growth and economic development with a focus on understanding the barriers that may prevent individuals from exploiting their talent. His work has been published in the Journal of Political Economy and in the Journal of Human Capital.

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