Week 6 — Readings & Resources

Course: Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Ashford
Focus: Business Cycles & Short-Run Fluctuations · Objective 5

Everything below is a link to a free external resource — nothing is embedded, copied, or downloaded. Links were verified live at build time; if one ever rots, the per-term update re-checks them. (Canvas: a Page of links + ExternalUrl module items.)

📖 Read (≈25 min)

1. OpenStax, Principles of Macroeconomics 3e — Ch. 12, "Introduction to the Keynesian Perspective."
   🔗 https://openstax.org/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e/pages/12-introduction-to-the-keynesian-perspective
   The cyclical behavior of real GDP and the Great Recession as a case study in expansions and recessions — the natural anchor for this week's business-cycle vocabulary.

2. Marginal Revolution University — "Understanding the Great Depression."
   🔗 https://mru.org/courses/principles-economics-macroeconomics/business-fluctuations-great-depression-ad-as-model
   Applies the AD–AS model to a real historical output gap and recession — a concrete case for this week's gap-diagnosis skill.

▶️ Watch (≈10 min)

3. CrashCourse Economics #13 — "Recession, Hyperinflation, and Stagflation." (Adriene Hill & Jacob Clifford)
   🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHw4NStQsT8
   Recessions and depressions explained, plus stagflation as a business-cycle anomaly — a fast, friendly companion to today's lecture.

🛠️ Tools & Data for this week (links only)

4. NBER Business Cycle Dating — the official U.S. peak/trough chronology.
   🔗 https://www.nber.org/research/business-cycle-dating
   See how the Business Cycle Dating Committee actually decides recession dates — multiple indicators and committee judgment, not a single mechanical formula. Read the "how we date recessions" framing directly from the source.

5. Desmos Graphing Calculator — optional, for sketching the vertical LRAS line against a recessionary or inflationary AD–AS crossing.
   🔗 https://www.desmos.com/calculator
   Free, no account needed.

Why these earn the click: OpenStax Ch. 12 anchors this week's business-cycle and gap vocabulary; MRU applies the same AD–AS model to a real historical episode; CrashCourse gives the ideas in voice and motion; the NBER page is the authoritative source for how recessions are actually dated (essential for this week's "rule of thumb vs. official definition" distinction); Desmos is your optional graphing tool for the Workshop.