An Examination of the Intermediate Macroeconomics Course: Results from a Survey of U.S. Institutions

Intermediate macroeconomics (intermediate macro) is a core requirement in the undergraduate economics major, serving as a terminal macro course for many students while preparing others for advanced electives and, in some cases, graduate study. Yet systematic evidence on how intermediate macro is taught across U.S. institutions remains limited, an issue that is particularly acute given the diversity of theoretical approaches and the gap between undergraduate coverage and the research frontier. This paper reports results from a national survey of instructors who have recently taught intermediate macro at U.S. institutions awarding bachelor’s degrees in economics. The survey instrument was designed to capture multiple facets of course design, curricular context, and instructor characteristics and perceptions. Instructors report high autonomy over content, strong support for integrating real-world examples and data, and high satisfaction teaching the course.