In a comprehensive course on Macroeconomics, we learnt from Professor Robert Godby, visiting professor from University of Wyoming, the art of analysing some of the most important concepts needed to develop situational awareness in order to make key business decisions considering the overall economic state and welfare.
Rob introduced to us the basic concepts like types of markets in an economy, the circular flow diagram, the critical KPI of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and how important it is for the growth of a nation, and the different methods of calculating it. Rob helped us in understanding the extremely important terms like inflation, hyperinflation, boom, busts, and the different KPIs used worldwide to estimate economic growth by discussing real life examples of Germany, the USA, India and other countries.
Rob also cemented our understanding of the business cycles and the famous AD-AS model used to interpret and analyse the state of an economy in the short and long run. By the end of the class we were using models to understand how exogenous shocks to the economy affect economic outcomes, and what policies might be used to address such challenges. We also discussed in detail, the case of COVID, how it impacted the overall economy and how governments reacted to it, to control inflation and unemployment and boost the GDP (including the US soft-landing approach).
Overall, we had a fantastic experience learning from Rob. His passion for economics, his contagious energy while discussing the ideas, the real case studies discussed and analysed, the study material provided to refer after the lectures, created a lot of interest among us for the topic of Macroeconomics. A big thank you to Rob for inspiring us, and for helping us to understand how an economy on a macro-level works, gets measured and can be regulated. And more importantly by doing this, to develop an economic perspective to view the business world and life. We look forward to staying connected with you, Rob.

text and photo: Aditya Yardi, Class of 2025