Description: Countries around the world have faced significant macroeconomic challenges in the 21^st century. The deep global recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic arrived just a few years after recovery from the protracted economic slump that followed the global financial crisis. We will learn some of the key tools that macroeconomists use to understand these developments, explore the specific circumstances and institutions that mattered in each episode, and consider what policies can mitigate the harm of recessions. We will then turn to the...