Harvard EC 1010B: Intermediate Macroeconomics
Ec 1010B is Harvard's intermediate macroeconomic theory course — growth, fluctuations, unemployment, inflation, and the analytics of fiscal and monetary policy — the second theory pillar of the economics concentration after Ec 10. Models that Ec 10B sketched verbally get full mathematical treatment here.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Harvard University. This is an unofficial study guide.
Build my EC 1010B study planWhat makes it hard
The course juggles several formal models — growth models, short-run fluctuation frameworks, open-economy extensions — each with its own assumptions and time horizon, and exams live at the boundaries between them. Students who can solve each model but can't say which one a question is invoking lose points they technically knew.
What you'll cover
- • National income and long-run equilibrium
- • The Solow growth model
- • Unemployment and labor markets
- • Money, inflation, and monetary policy
- • Short-run fluctuations
- • Open-economy macroeconomics
The EC 1010B study guide
How to study for Harvard EC 1010B, step by step.
- 1
Master the Solow model mechanically and verbally
Steady states, golden rule, convergence — solve them by hand, then explain in words what each result says about real economies. Growth is the backbone unit and exams return to it repeatedly.
- 2
File every model under its time horizon
For each framework, write down whether prices are flexible, what's exogenous, and which run it describes. Exam questions are sorted by these boundaries even when they don't announce it.
- 3
Trace policy shocks through each model
Take a fiscal expansion or rate cut and walk it through output, prices, and interest rates in every framework you know. The compare-across-models skill is the course's real deliverable.
- 4
Rework psets cold before each exam
Redo the hardest pset problems from a blank page days later. The exams reward regenerating the analysis, not recognizing your old solution.
- 5
Keep every model in rotation with Fennie
Upload the Ec 1010B syllabus and Fennie's Daily Plan cycles the frameworks through spaced review so none go cold before the final, with model-boundary quizzes generated from your actual course materials. Free to start.
Start my EC 1010B plan free
How Fennie helps with EC 1010B
Fennie's Daily Plans cycle Ec 1010B's models through spaced review so the growth unit is still warm when the final reaches open-economy material. Chat through how a policy shock propagates in a specific framework, and quiz yourself on which model a question is invoking — the skill exams quietly test.
FAQ
Is Ec 1010B hard?
It's less computationally heavy than 1010A but more conceptually slippery — several formal models with different assumptions and horizons. Keeping the frameworks distinct is the real challenge.
Should I take Ec 1010A or 1010B first?
Either order works for most students; both assume Ec 10 and calculus. Concentrators typically clear both during sophomore year.
How is Ec 1010B different from Ec 10B?
Ec 10B introduces the ideas; 1010B formalizes them — you solve the models rather than describe them. The math step up is real but smaller than 1010A's.
Pass EC 1010B with a plan, not a cram
Upload your EC 1010B materials and Fennie generates a Daily Plan paced to your deadline — plus chat, flashcards, and quizzes built from the actual course content.
Get started freeMore Harvard courses
EC 10A — Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
Ec 10A is the fall-semester microeconomics half of Harvard's famous Principles of Economics sequence — historically one of the largest courses at the college. It covers supply and demand, markets, firm behavior, and policy applications, and is the entry point to the economics concentration.
EC 10B — Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics
Ec 10B is the spring macroeconomics half of Harvard's principles sequence: GDP, inflation, unemployment, growth, monetary and fiscal policy, and international economics. Together with Ec 10A it forms the foundation for all further economics coursework at Harvard.
EC 1010A — Intermediate Microeconomics
Ec 1010A is Harvard's intermediate microeconomic theory course — consumer and producer optimization, equilibrium, market failures, and welfare — and the first of the two theory pillars of the economics concentration after Ec 10. It's where economics goes from graphs to calculus.