Here you can find some of my notes on different courses I have taught over the years on computation, macroeconomics, and economic history. Since these are teaching notes, I borrow some material from papers, books, etc., both mine and of different people. To the best of my understanding, all that material is covered by the "fair use" doctrine or under creative commons licenses.

Please do click on each accordion button to get to the posted material.

Courses on Computation


This set of lecture notes has been prepared for my one-year (two semesters) course on computational methods for economists. See, also, my course on machine learning and on estimation of dynamic equilibrium models for extra material on machine learning, reinforcement learning, Bayesian methods, and simulation.

  • Lecture 1: High-Performance Computing in Economics.

  • Lecture 2: Software Engineering.

  • Lecture 3: OS and Basic Utilities.

  • Lecture 4: Concepts on Programming Languages.

  • Lecture 5: Scientific Computing Languages.

  • Lecture 6: Coding Tools.

  • Lecture 7: Programming Paradigms.

  • Lecture 8: The Elements of Programming Style.

  • Lecture 9: Data Handling.

  • Lecture 10: Web Scrapping.

  • Lecture 11: Paralellization.

  • Lecture 12: FPGAs in Economics.

  • Lecture 13: Numerical Differentiation and Integration.

  • Lecture 14: Optimization.

  • Lecture 15: Dynamic Programming.

  • Lecture 16: Computational Complexity.

  • Lecture 17: Nonlinear Methods.

  • Lecture 18: Projection Methods.

  • Lecture 19: Perturbation Methods I, Basic Results.

  • Lecture 20: Perturbation Methods II, General Case.

  • Lecture 21: Perturbation Methods III, Change of Variables.

  • Lecture 22: Perturbation Methods IV, Perturbing the Value Function.

  • Lecture 23: Perturbation Methods V, Pruning

  • Lecture 24: Appendix on Linearization.

  • Lecture 25: Heterogeneous Agent Models I.

  • Lecture 26: Heterogeneous Agent Models II.

  • Lecture 27: Heterogeneous Agent Models III.

  • Lecture 28: Heterogeneous Agent Models IV.

    Extra material:

  • Chapter on software engineering for economists.

  • Chapter on Unix.

  • Chapter on Git.

  • Chapter on Make.

  • Chapter on notebooks, markdown, and Pandoc.

  • Chapter on Julia. Now for Julia 1.1! Also, check my script for a 4-hour tutorial on Julia here and a good cheat sheet here.

  • A Practical Guide to Parallelization in Economics.

    My github page: here.

    The github page on parallelization: here.

    Some codes:

    A basic RBC model.

    An RBC model with stochastic volatility.

    An RBC with EZ preferences, Taylor rule, and yield curve.

    An RBC computed with Chebyshev polynomials.

    An example of memory locality.

    • This set of lecture notes has been prepared for a course on machine learning for macroeconomics.

  • Lecture 1: Machine Learning for Macroeconomics.

  • Lecture 2: Coding Machine Learning Algorithms.

  • Lecture 3: Introduction to Deep Learning.

  • Lecture 4: Optimization in Deep Learning.

  • Lecture 5: Challenges Solving Economic Models.

  • Lecture 6: Deep Learning for Solving Economic Models.

  • Lecture 7: Advanced Topics in Deep Learning.

  • Lecture 8: Symmetry in Dynamic Programming.

  • Lecture 9: Transversality and Stationarity with Deep Learning.

  • Lecture 10: Reinforcement Learning.

  • Lecture 11: Machine Learning for Data Analysis.

    • This set of lecture notes is the backbone of a course on formulation, computation, and estimation of dynamic general equilibrium models. The notes have been written jointly with Juan Rubio-Ramirez at Emory University.

  • Lecture Notes 1: Introduction

  • Lecture Notes 2: Formulating Dynamic Equilibrium Models

  • Lecture Notes 3: Solving Dynamic Equilibrium Models

  • Lecture Notes 4: Introduction to Bayesian Econometrics

  • Lecture Notes 5: Monte Carlo Methods

  • Lecture Notes 6: Markov Chain Monte Carlo

  • Lecture Notes 7: Metropolis-Hastings

  • Lecture Notes 9: Filtering Theory

  • Lecture Notes 10: Model Comparison

  • Lecture Notes 11: Inference

  • Lecture Notes 12: Nonlinear and/or Non-gaussian Filtering

    • Computational Tools and Macroeconomic Applications

    A short course taught at the NBER SI 2011 with Larry Christiano. Link to the course web page.

    Courses on Macroeconomics


    This set of transparencies are prepared for a graduate course in macroeconomics. Dirk Krueger is the source of much material in them and some of the material is borrowed from standard first-year textbooks (Acemoglu, L-S, SLP, etc.).

  • Lecture Notes 1: Introduction to Uncertainty.

  • Lecture Notes 2: Equilibrium with Complete Markets.

  • Lecture Notes 3: Asset Pricing.

  • Lecture Notes 4: OLG Models.

  • Lecture Notes 5: Topics in OLG Models.

  • Lecture Notes 6: OLG Models with Production.

  • Lecture Notes 7: Job Search.

  • Lecture Notes 8: Random Matching.

  • Lecture Notes 9: Search Theoretic Models of Money.

  • Lecture Notes 10: Neoclassical Growth Model.

  • Lecture Notes 11: Endogenous Growth Models.

  • Lecture Notes 12: RBC Models.

  • Lecture Notes 13: Ramsey Fiscal Policy.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 0: Measure Theory.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 1: Stochastic Dynamic Programming.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 2: Numerical Dynamic Programming.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 3: Continuous Time Stochastic Processes.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 4: Optimization in Continuous Time.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 5: Spectral Analysis.

  • Technical Lecture Notes 6: NIPA.

  • Lecture Notes 1: Motivation.

  • Lecture Notes 2: Dynamic Programming in Continuous Time.

  • Lecture Notes 3: Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning.

  • Lecture Notes 4: Heterogeneous Agent Models.

  • Lecture Notes 5: Optimal Policies with Heterogeneous Agents.

  • Lecture Notes 1: Motivation and Evidence.

  • Lecture Notes 2: Macroeconomic Models with Uncertainty Shocks.

  • Lecture Notes 3: Solution Methods.

  • Lecture Notes 4: The Econometrics of Uncertainty Shocks.

  • Lecture Notes 5: Applications.

    Notes 1: Motivation and Evidence uses several graphs (pp. 32-37, 39-41, and 49-51) generously shared by Nick Bloom.

    • This set of transparencies are prepared for a graduate class in macroeconomics with financial frictions.

  • Lecture Notes 1: Macroeconomic Models with Financial Frictions.

  • Lecture Notes 2: A Model with Collateral Constraints.

  • Lecture Notes 3: A Model with Costly-State Verification.

  • Lecture Notes 4: A Model with Costly Enforcement.

  • Lecture Notes 5: A Model of Financial Intermediation.

  • Lecture Notes 6: A Model with Explicit Solution.

    • This set of lecture notes is an undergraduate class on Macroeconomics taught from an equilibrium perspective. There is more than enough material for a semester course and probably enough for a one year sequence. When I teach this class I pick and choose from those lecture notes. This is a work in progress and I will welcome any comments!

  • Lecture Notes on Macroeconomics

    • Courses on Economic History


    This set of lecture notes is the backbone of a course on Global Economic History.

    I have borrowed material, tables, and figures from many researchers' work as well as received detailed comments from top economists. Among others, I owe either a direct or an indirect debt to Daron Acemoglu, Robert Allen, Mike Dotsey, Mark Koyama, Joel Mokyr, Nathan Nunn, Kevin O'Rourke, and Jim Robinson. I am working on a formal draft of these notes, where I will make all the attributions explicit.

    Of course, I warmly welcome comments (and the pointing out of errors!).

  • Lecture Notes 0: Empirical Strategies in Economic History

  • Lecture Notes 1: Introduction

  • Lecture Notes 2: Classical Greece

  • Lecture Notes 3: Ancient Rome

  • Lecture Notes 4: The Islamic World

  • Lecture Notes 5: China (to be added later).

  • Lecture Notes 6: Contacts

  • Lecture Notes 7: Malthus: Population and Economic Growth

  • Lecture Notes 8: Geography, Environment, and Climate: the "Real" Real Shocks

  • Lecture Notes 9: Energy: The Mover of Output

  • Lecture Notes 10: Sea Empires

  • Lecture Notes 11: Land Empires

  • Lecture Notes 12: Europe Gets Ahead

  • Lecture Notes 13: Cradle of Modernity

  • Lecture Notes 14: Catching Up, Falling Behind

  • Lecture Notes 15: The Strange Death of Liberal Europe

  • Lecture Notes 16: False Hopes: Communism and Fascism

  • Lecture Notes 17: Africa

  • Lecture Notes 18: Les Trente Glorieuses

  • Lecture Notes 19: New Countries: Failures and Successes

  • Lecture Notes 20: The East is Red

  • Lecture Notes 21: Death and Transfiguration

  • Lecture Notes 22: Back to the Future: the Global Recession

    • This set of lecture notes is the backbone of a course on the Political Economy of Early America.

  • Lecture Notes 1: Introduction to Historial Political Economy

  • Lecture Notes 2: Pre-Columbian America

  • Lecture Notes 3: The Atlantic World

  • Lecture Notes 4: The Regional Economies of Colonial America

  • Lecture Notes 5: Mercantilism and the Navigation Acts

  • Lecture Notes 6: Slavery and the American Colonization

  • Lecture Notes 7: The Road to Independence I: Interpretations

  • Lecture Notes 8: The Road to Independence II: Imperial Reforms and Constitutional Conflicts

  • Lecture Notes 9: The Economic of the Revolution

  • Lecture Notes 10: The Political Economy of the Constitution

  • Lecture Notes 11: Hamilton's Debt Program

  • Lecture Notes 12: Hamilton's First Bank of the United States

  • Lecture Notes 13: Infant Industries

  • Lecture Notes 14: John Marshall and the U.S. Economy

  • Lecture Notes 15: Jeffersonian Alternatives

  • Lecture Notes 16: Trade Policies in the Early Republic

  • Lecture Notes 17: The War of 1812

  • Lecture Notes 18: Toward the Age of Jackson

  • Lecture Notes 20: A Second Slavery

  • Lecture Notes 21: How Did the Slavery Economy Work?

  • Lecture Notes 23: Money and the Constitution