The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basic concepts in macroeconomics with the emphasis on how to interpret and use data and economic theory to analyze everyday economic policy discourse at the local and national levels. Our focus will be on the aggregate behavior of markets, national economies, international markets, and how that behavior can affect you or those you care about. We will analyze the key economic issues like unemployment and inflation through the prism of economic theory. You learn how to interpret economic indicators most widely used in the news media, if changes in these indicators warrant policy interventions, what kind of policies have been at the disposal of policymakers in the past vs. the present, what theories support such policy actions, and if these theories are backed by relevant empirical evidence.