Learn economies as places with institutions and historical paths. Start with countries and organizations, then switch into the macro history timeline.
The chart above traces aggregate output from the earliest available estimates to the present. It covers recessions, expansions, and the structural breaks in between. Each marker on the curve links to a deeper read on the causal chain, the data that moved, and the models economists built in response.
Red markers flag moments where the growth trajectory broke: financial crises, oil shocks, pandemics, or policy regime shifts. These are the breaks that rewrote the textbook each time they happened.
Blue markers flag when the economics profession responded with new frameworks: IS-LM, rational expectations, RBC, New Keynesian DSGE, or HANK. Each milestone links to the model reference page where you can see the equations and the logic.
Click any marker on the chart, or pick one from the list below.