本课程由Lester Thurow先生教授。Thurow先生为麻省理工学院史隆管理学院的Jerome 与 Dorothy Lemelson管理与经济学教授，任教于麻省理工学院已逾30年，并于1987至1993年期间担任史隆管理学院院长。除了写过多本畅销书外，Thurow先生还是多家全国性及国际性媒体(包括纽约时报、波士顿全球报、新闻周刊及日本日经商务)的经济专栏作家。本课程有 课堂讲稿，提示课程纲要与重要观念，同时提供与每个课程主题相对应的补充教材的教学时程。

This course is taught by Lester Thurow, the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Professor of Management and Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has taught at MIT for more than 30 years, and was Dean of the Sloan School of Management from 1987 to 1993. In addition to authoring numerous best-selling books, Thurow has been an economics columnist for many national and international publications including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, and Nikkei Business Japan. This course boasts lecture notes that outline, in simple terms, key concepts of the course. A calendar that details optional readings corresponding to each class topic is also available.

本课程着重于企业环境中的经济变量，特别是国民生产总值、通货膨胀、利率、汇率以及国际贸易等。课程分为5个部份。第1部分是以历史事件，特别是美国的情况来介绍宏观经济的基本管理工具。第2部分则是国家经济发展的策略。第3部分集中在新兴市场最近的金融及货币危机。第4部分则是转型中经济实体所面临的问题。最后，是发达国家所面临的挑战。

This course will focus on the environment of firms with particular emphasis on economic variables such as GNP, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and international trade. The course is divided into five parts: The first presents the basic tools of macroeconomic management by focusing on historical episodes, particularly in the United States. The second looks at national economic strategies for development. The third section concentrates on the recent financial and currency crises in emerging markets. The fourth part looks at the problems faced by transition economies. Finally, the last module looks at challenges of developed countries.