Introduction to Macroeconomics
Syllabus
Spring 2011
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence,
then, is not an act, but a habit.Ó Aristotle
READ ME CAREFULLY
Introduction
Welcome to Introduction to Macroeconomic Principles. It is a wonderful time to
be taking a macreconomics course and I am confident the course material will prove to be
important far after the course is over. You should think of this
course as I do, An
Intelligent Citizen's Guide to Macroeconomics. At the end of the semester
you should have a much better understanding of many important public policy
issues we will face in the near future plus an insight into the heated debates
over the economic stimulus package and the unprecedented efforts by the Federal
Reserve to bail out the financial system. In fact, at the center of the course is the basic
question: what is the proper role the government can play using monetary and
fiscal policies to manage the economy? The role of the government is also a
central question in microeconomics, but here you will note early on that
macroeconomics, much more so than microeconomics, focuses on concepts that show
up on the nightly news or in the daily papers - inflation and unemployment,
economic growth and recessions, exchange rates, interest rates, budget deficits
and trade deficits.
You also need to know
this course is a General Education course where the three required skills are
your ability to Read
Complex Texts, Use of Quantitative Data, and Use of Information Technology. To succeed you
will need to read articles from the "popular" press and
"push" around some numbers - and you will be using IT to do it.
If you are still with me,
than you should review the course's goals to see what it is that you need to
accomplish in the course, the structure of the course, and the method of
evaluation since these are the "rules" for the semester - rules you
need to understand if the experience is to be a rewarding and successful one.
Goals
The goals of the course are
specified in terms of what you should be able to do when the course is over and
not what we will do during the course. The course is designed to help you
bridge the gap between "theory" and "reality," and along
the way you will learn more about that "real" world into which you
will be graduating. There are a few basic economic principles that will be
valuable to you regardless of your major or career choice, and we'll start with
them. Another feature of the course is its emphasis is on thinking critically
and solving problems rather than memorizing. The good news is these are
THE skills demanded in today's dynamic work force. The bad news is this is
not easy. In fact it is quite difficult so you will need to practice at it,
which is why there are many opportunities during the semester to practice. As
for the goals, when this course is completed, you should be able to:
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effectively use interpret tables, graphs, and some simple
equations |
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identify the 'economic logic' or 'economic principles' useful
in interpreting current or historical events |
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describe the characteristics of alternative economic systems and the broad outlines of the major ideological views on economic
systems |
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explain the "theoretical" justification for
international trade and identify the pros and cons of free
trade |
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demonstrate an understanding of the supply and demand model
of prices |
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define the important macroeconomic variables and
describe their strengths, weaknesses, and track record |
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describe the evolution of economic theory and economic
policy including the key roles played by the Great Depression, the Great
Stagflation, and the Great Recession |
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utilize the AS-AD model to explain changes in
macroeconomic performance and the impact of policy decisions |
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explain the role of a monetary system in a modern economy
including the role of the Federal Reserve |
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explain the role of fiscal policy in a modern economy |
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explain the process of economic growth, identify economic
growth successes and failures, and identify policies that could affect growth
rates |
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better contribute to discussions on public policy and election
issues |
Structure
For most of you this course
will be very different from what you are used to because all of the material is
on-line, which will require a little adjustment in how you work during the
semester. It will also require you to use Sakai, an interface between you and
the material.
Once you are into Sakai
you will find the following parts to the course that can be found behind icons
appearing on the home page for the course. Each of these links is explained briefly below.
The Schedule page should be monitored regularly because this is where you will find the
daily schedule for lectures & readings, assignments, exams, extra credit
opportunities and review problems.
- Lecture & Reading: Here you will find two sets of
readings. The first are the equivalent of the textbook and they are available
online. Also included are outside readings drawn from newspapers,
magazine, and academic journals that will be posted on the Readings page.
- Assignments: Here you will find the assignments
and they appear on the date they are due. You are responsible for 4
assignments during the semester.
- Practice questions: These we will discuss in weekly
after-hours problem-solving sessions. You should try to make the sessions,
and if you can't, at least try your hand at these sample questions. I suggest that after you take them
you print out the results and then revisit the readings to see where you
went wrong. You could also bring the sheet to office hours or the review
sessions since this helps identify the material you need help with.
Course Outline is what it says - an outline
of the entire course. Included there are most of the key concepts and I suggest
you print this out as a study guide for your exam preparation.
On the Exams page you will find a copy of exams from a
previous year PLUS copies of each of this semester's exams that will be posted
soon after the exam is taken along with the answer key and any needed
information regarding the scale and interpretation of results. You should check
out the answers to determine your grade and make sure you agree with the
answers since there have been instances in the past where students have raised
legitimate concerns regarding the answers. I will also upload to Sakai
your scores only 4 times during the semester – after each exam – so
if any changes are made between exams then they will not show up until the next
exam upload. If you have any questions you should see me in my office, BUT I WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY EMAILS OR
QUESTIONS THAT ASK FOR INFORMATION I HAVE ALREADY ADDRESSED EITHER IN ONLINE
ANNOUNCEMENTS OR INCLASS ANNOUNCEMENTS. SO READ MY ANNOUNCEMENTS.
The Message link is for on-to-one
communications and it is the email you should use to contact me about course
related material. You should check it on a regular basis.
The Discussions and Private
Messages link is for
one-to-many communications. This link you should check on a regular basis since
this will be used as a means of getting information to the class regarding the course plus it is a
great place to post questions that you should post under the Class Info link. The FYI is for info that is
interesting but not directly related to macro. This is also the online version
of class participation. You will not be expected to contribute to all
discussions, but you are expected to make a meaningful contribution to the
discussions during the semester.
The Information Sources page links you to an index of sources of economic data and
information.
Evaluation
Your course grade will be
based on a number of requirements you should be aware of at the outset since
the large size of the class combined with the number of requirements makes it
impossible to allow any late work. You need to know what you are
responsible for - and when it is due. Here is the list of requirements for
the course.
Assignments:
There
are assignments you will be required to hand in during the semester and they MUST BE TYPED AND HANDED IN ON THE
DEADLINE. THEY MUST INCLUDE THE # OF THE ASSIGNMENT AS IT APPEARS ON THE
ASSIGNMENT AND TITLE AS WELL AS YOUR NAME. I do not care if it is your 3rd
assignment for the semester, I care that it is the courseÕs 3rd
assignment. You will have flexibility in terms of which assignments you do, but
none in terms of when they are due. The list of assignments may change over
the semester so you should monitor regularly the Schedule and the forums. You will be responsible for ONLY 4 of the assignments. You will receive
NO extra credit for doing more than four assignments.
Exams: In addition to the assignments, there will
be three semester exams and a final exam. The exams will focus on your skill at
solving problems by applying the principles and concepts discussed in the
course. Think of the
exams as a set of word problems from high school, so the exams will
tend to be difficult and the scores somewhat lower than if the questions had
been composed of recall questions. Before you take the first test you
should get some practice – look at the practice questions and / or the
test from a previous year. This will give you a better idea of what to
expect, which should help reduce the surprise effect on that first exam - and
improve your grade. ALSO, if you have no grade lower than a B- on any semester exam plus you have done all
of the assignments, you will be given the opportunity to skip the final exam -
a reward for consistently good work.
Discussions and
Participation: You will be required to participate in
class and in online discussions during the semester. Each class you will be
assigned questions that you should come to class prepared to answer, and you
will be graded on your participation. You will also need to post at least one
interesting article to the discussions with some comment and participate in at
least two discussions. Macroeconomics is always in the news these days, and you
will need to be part of the discussion of the top stories.
The grades in the course
will be based upon the following weighting scheme.
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Exams |
75 |
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worst semester exam |
5 |
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best semester exams |
50 |
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final exam |
20 |
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Assignments (first 4) |
15 |
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Discussions/participation |
10 |
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Total |
100 |
And then there is class
attendance. While I realize the temptation to cut class is higher in a large class
(an example of opportunity cost), attendance does matter and it may be factored
into your final grade. For those students that miss more than four classes
during the semester, you may be penalized up to a grade point for every class
above the four you miss. Also, in this course I will follow the procedure outlined
in the University manual and any registered student will be dropped from the
course if they miss the first two classes. The attendance data is based on your
handing in the daily index cards, so do not use the ÒI was there and passed it
inÓ excuse since you have been warned.
Text
You should also note that
there is not a textbook and that all of the materials that you will need are
available on-line. There is a ECN202 Handout you must purchase at i-copy located at the Emporium. Included
here will be much of the material that will be discussed during class periods
and it will become your notebook. If you do not like reading the material
online, or if you simply want to have a hard copy, you could also purchase a
copy of the ECN202
Readings at i-copy.
How
to Succeed
If you got this far, you
have already demonstrated an interest in doing well, so think about the
following "Tips for Success" that I have learned from talking with students
about their successes and failures in the course. Isaac Newton once explained
his greatness by noting that "I stand upon the shoulders of the giants of the past,"
and you will have the chance to learn from those who came before you. As a
starter, I would suggest you read
1. show up: what do you say to a student
who writes you a letter describing the problems they had with the class and you
see he/she has missed half the classes. I am more inclined to give the F they
"earned" rather than the sympathy they seek. Also, there is a
statistical relationship between attendance and grades, so keep this in mind as
you think about not showing up.
2. read: imagine my surprise when I
asked a failing student if they had done the readings and the response was
"some of them." The exams are built on the readings and the class
discussions, so I would expect the non reading student "earned" that
F.
3. practice: Every exam question is a word
problem, so you need to get good at identifying problems - and solving them -
and you get good with practice. So do the review quizzes and the practice exams
to get yourself ready for the real exam. [Be careful, however, when studying
past questions since I will seldom ask the same question and you will be
penalized if you take the approach "this looks like that earlier questions
where the answer was___." You can count on me having changed something
from the original even if it looks similar so try to reason through the
question rather than recall an earlier answer.]
4. practice more: It was worth repeating
because practicing is crucial. But make the practice useful, so when you do
those exams and quizzes, do them alone. Too often I see caring students do
awful because they work with friends on the quizzes, and not surprisingly the
group does well, but there is no group when you do the exams. Work with the
group after you have done the quizzes alone and compare results - but do them
alone.
5. manage your time: What do you tell a flunking
student who works 35+ hours a week and takes a full-time load? I tend toward
telling them that Superman and Superwoman were only imaginary superheroes.
While I know school is not cheap, this is a recipe for disaster for the
overwhelming majority of students. You need to manage your time, and why not
start where most of your instructors did when they were in college. You have 15
hours of classes, and each hour of class "comes with" three hours
outside of class - so now we are talking 15 +45 = 60 hours, which is more than
a full-time job. Add on to that those 35 hours of work and you are at 95 hours
- and you only have 168 hours in a week. This gives you about 10 hours for
sleeping, eating, and .... You get the picture.
6. turn off those cell phones: While time is scarce and must
be managed, you can also do things that help you get more out of your time. As
a starter, turn off those cell phones. How can you really study if the cell
phone is continuously interrupting you? You can't, so take some time during the
day where your friends and family know you are "off line It will not take
long for "the world" to realize you are busy and they must work
around your work schedule.
So now let's get to the
course, and take the first step toward a successful semester.