Understanding Macro

Hi all,

Does anybody have good resources for getting up to speed on macro? Inflation, Central Bank Policy, etc...

Any books, articles, commentaries that you can recommend?

9 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Do you mean current macro environment, or macro as a discipline?

If the former, usual news sources + think tank websites are good for the basics (PIIE, Brookings, AEI, Council on Foreign Relations Economics program). Even blogs like The Macro Compass are cool. A ton of Macro podcasts too if you just Google "macro podcast".

If you mean knowing broader macro knowledge, I'd recommend looking at the IMF's edX online courses, namely Macroeconomic Diagnostics, or Monetary Policy Analysis and Forecasting. https://www.edx.org/school/imfx. They go over what you need to know to know the basics of theory and policy practice.

The best primer on all things economics to me remains

  • Economic Policy: Theory and Practice, by some French former policymakers. Unbelievably good and complete book.

If you need less technical stuff, check out

  • Alan Blinder's new book, A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States. 
  • The Price of Time, by Edward Chancellor - a history of interest rates from Byzantine onwanrds. Very interesting.
  • 21st Century Monetary Policy by Ben Bernanke
  • The Fed's latest Monetary Policy Report
 

Depends how deep you want to go. Usually the Economist, Financial Times,Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and New York Times (even with their slight left-leaning bias) all have top quality macro contributors who actually know their stuff. In the UK, the BBC has people who studied History or English becoming chief Economic editors who have literally no clue about any pressing macro issue. In terms of books, Monetary and Fiscal of the United States and Macroeconomics for Professionals are good reads. 

 

Quis omnis necessitatibus sed est ab voluptatem iste. Quae saepe quas dignissimos quis quibusdam quos commodi. Omnis aliquid quos temporibus repudiandae voluptatem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”