Syll.intro

Welcome to the online version of ECN202, an Introduction to Macroeconomic Principles. It is important to understand right up front what this course is all about - what will be my responsibilities and what will be your responsibilities. If you have been through my ECN201, you know the drill, but be sure to read this since there are some differences and you have the responsibility to know the "rules." Most of you do not have the option to opt out of ECN202, but most of you do have the option of opting out of this section, so make sure this is a good match and you want to take this "version."

What you need know is that 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.

One of the things you will note early on in the course is that macroeconomics, much more so than microeconomics, focuses on issues and concepts that show up on the nightly news or in the daily papers. Some of the questions we will look at this semester are: What is inflation and why are people so worried about it? What is GDP and why do we see GDP growing rapidly at the same time we are losing jobs? What will be the prospect for jobs upon your graduation and what would you look for in a president's policies if you wanted some help in improving the prospects of finding a meaningful job? Should the FED raise or lower interest rates at the present time, if they do it, how would they do it, and what would be the likely consequence? And then there are the issues associated with the federal budget - what should we do with the HUGE projected deficits, how will those deficits affect you, and what do these deficits mean about the future of social security? There is also a large international component in this course where we will address a number of important current issues. Some of the questions we will examine here are, Why do countries trade, should we expand trade agreements such as the WTO and NAFTA, is the HUGE balance of trade sustainable, what is the future of high wages in the industrialized countries of the world, and what is the impact of immigration on the economy? The list could go on - and it will as the semester progresses - but now it is time to get on with the specifics of the course - what one could call the bureaucratic details. -

You should start with a review of the course's goals to see what it is that you need to accomplish in the course and examine carefully the structure of the course and the method of evaluation since this is where you will find the "rules" for the semester - rules you need to understand if the experience is to be a rewarding and successful one.

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. My job is 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. It turns out there are a few basic economic principles that will be valuable to you regardless of your major or career choice. nother feature of the course is that it focuses on thinking critically and solving problems rather than memorizing concepts and facts. 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:

	effectively utilize the Internet for finding news and information including macroeconomic data
	demonstrate an ability to effectively use and interpret tables, graphs, and equations, which would include the ability to translate the information in a newspaper/magazine article into the appropriate graphs
	identify the economic theory that is the foundation for discussions of public policy proposals and / or decisions
	identify the 'economic logic' or 'economic principles' useful in interpreting current or historical events
	understand more of the business news including the financial pages
	explain to your parents and/or friends the function of an economic system and contrast the US system with that of other countries
	describe the characteristics of alternative economic systems
	describe the broad outlines of the major ideological views on economic systems
	demonstrate an understanding of opportunity cost and be able to use it to explain the "theoretical" justification for international trade as well as the "gap" between the theory and practice of international trade
	demonstrate an understanding of the supply and demand model of prices and use it to explain past changes in prices and formulate 'forecasts' for prices
	define and describe the strengths and weaknesses of the primary macroeconomic variables including inflation, unemployment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), interest rates, and exchange rates
	provide examples of the parallels between economic performance and the evolution of economic theory and economic policy including the key roles played by the Great Depression and the Great Stagflation
	provide examples of the link between macroeconomic performance, political change, and national security
	use the AS-AD model to explain changes in the performance of the macroeconomy and the impact of policy decisions
	define business cycles, describe the historical pattern of these cycles in the US, and explain the government's policy options for reducing the economic swings through appropriate the use its "fine-tuning" tools
	explain the role of a monetary system in a modern economy including the role of the Fed in the monetary system in the US and the relationship between money and the performance of the economy
	explain the role of a fiscal policy in a modern economy including the relationship between the federal budget and the performance of the economy
	explain the process of economic growth: who is growing faster, why the differences, and what are policy options for speeding up / slowing down growth
	better contribute to discussions on public policy and election issues such as budget and trade imbalances, the merits of tax proposals including the flat and consumption taxes, and the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy

The semester's course is divided into three sections Introduction to the Basics, The Basics of Macroeconomics, and The Evolution of Macroeconomic Theory. In Introduction to the Basics, you will be introduced to some of the basic tools and concepts you will use for the entire semester - the same ones you will need when you get into that "real world." It is true that "[t]he language of public policy is increasingly the language of economics, and sophisticated policy formulation depends to an ever greater extent on an understanding of economic concepts," so think of this as an investment in the basics that will allow you to fully understand the public policy choices that will be made in your lifetime - and there will be some BIG ones. We will begin by taking some time to examine overarching themes for the course, including the importance of data analysis. If you follow any presidential campaign, you are also familiar with how the opposing parties tossed around numbers that made it difficult to know the truth, and in this course we will follow a similar strategy of using numbers - and graphs - to tell an economic story. Because of this we'll spend some time learning the basics of data analysis where the uses and abuses of the visual display of information are highlighted. There are also units on opportunity cost because we live in a society that rewards those who make good choices, and economists have a particularly valuable concept of cost that is essential for making good choices. This will be used as the basis for a discussion of international trade which is at the center of the globalization process that is rapidly transforming our lives. Furthermore, at the center of the economy in which you live are prices, and you success in life will be dependent upon your understanding of those price movements, which is why we will spend time on the supply and demand model of prices. And the section closes with a unit on investing that provides a guide to the financial pages of newspapers an is a wonderful application of all the "tools" you have been introduced to, and a section on elasticity, a key concept in many business and public policy decisions.

The Basics of Macroeconomics, meanwhile, is the real nuts-and-bolts of the macro course. Here is where we introduce the models and concepts that are at the center of macroeconomics - and they are also the concepts that are crucial for anyone trying to understand the business press. Here we will begin with a unit on macroeconomic models that includes the the National Income Identity and the Aggregate Supply - Aggregate Demand model that will reappear throughout the course - the macro version of the supply-demand model of prices so central to microeconomics. We will also talk about the data that is so often reported in the press including the inflation, interest, exchange, unemployment and GDP growth rates plus the balance of trade and budget deficits. This is the part of the course where we pay our dues - where we learn the concepts and the jargon that will allow us to examine some very important issues in the last section of the course.

Once the basics are mastered, it is time to move into seeing what we can do with these basics. In The Evolution of Macroeconomic Theory we take these concepts for a spin as we take an historical trip through the 20th century to study the efforts by economists to understand the macroeconomy and the efforts by policy makers to implement those theories. It is here where you will study the two great ideological shifts in this country that will help you better understand the current economic policies and the wide gap that often exists between you and those baby boomers like me and many of your parents. Before you are done you will better understand the rationale for the massive Bush tax cuts as well as the implications of the enormous government budget and trade deficits.

The course you have signed up for contains the material of a traditional in-class macroeconomics course delivered in an on-line format. For many of us this course will be very different from what we are used to because all of the material is on-line which will require a little adjustment in how we work during the semester. After some minor adjustments, you should have little trouble reading the course material online. In the remainder of the syllabus the structure of the course will be described, so take some time to read it. What you will find is that there is considerable flexibility in online courses in terms of when you do your work, but there are deadlines that are ABSOLUTE and you owe it to yourself to make sure you are aware of the deadlines. I have talked with too may instructors who comment on the "missing" students in on-line courses, the student who disappears or who consistently misses assignments.

The course also requires you to use Web CT, an interface between you and the material. Once you are into Web CT you will find the following parts to the course that can be accessed from the home page. Each of these links is explained briefly below.

The Schedule page is where you will find the weekly schedule of readings, both the text and articles, as well as any assignments.

The Readings page links you to the textbook - or the closest you will come to one in the course. This course is divided into three segments, each of which contains units that correspond to chapters in a book. Within each unit there are two components - Abstract and Readings. To get an idea of what you will encounter in the unit you should read the Abstract. The list of the three segments and units can be found in the Readings Page. This is the equivalent of the Table of Contents in a traditional book. There will be a test at the end of each segment. In addition to the "text," you will also have a number of Articles to read. These are all available online, and for those that do not have a link, you can access them through the online reserves. You can find the online reserves at the Helin site that is at the URI Library web site. Once there all you need to do is search for my courses and you will find the list of articles. To access the articles you will need your students ID because you will need to read the bar code if you are off campus. The Quizzes are interactive quizzes that provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the important concepts and principles introduced in the units. You need to take the quiz during the allotted time - and you have only one chance at the quiz so you had best make it count. You will access these quizzes off the main Web CT page and the quizzes are timed so you will be working under a time constraint. The specific "time horizon" is specified on the quiz page that is linked from the main page and the menu bar. Here you will find the last date you can take the quiz for credit - so make sure you are aware of the deadlines. If you miss the deadline for any quiz there is no chance to make up the quiz. The quizzes give you a good guide to what you need to study for the exams - you get to know what you know and what you need to work on before the exam.

The Communications page is where you will find a link to mail and a link to discussions. These links you should check on a regular basis since this will be used as a means of getting information to you regarding the course. This is also where you will find the links to the class discussion page, which is the online version of class participation. As with the quizzes, you will not be expected to contribute to all discussions, but you are expected to make a meaningful contribution to the discussions and the basis for your evaluation will be set out below in the evaluation section. You will also find the email that you should use to contact me with any course-related questions since I monitor this regularly.

The Syllabus page provides the basic information on the course including the goals, course requirements, and grading procedure.

The Info Sources page contains links to online economic data and information sources.

The News page contains links to an index of online newspapers and magazines.

The Exams page links you to the exams in a previous semester, something you should look at before you take the online quizzes and exams.

The Imp. Equations and Imp. Graphs provides a link to some of the more important equations and graphs you will be required to use this semester. There are not many on these two pages, but these will show up enough to make the investment of time into mastering them very worthwhile.

In addition to these icons on the homepage, there are three additional links that you may want to use. The Optional Readings links you to a lengthy list of additional readings on the topics discussed in this course.

How you should be evaluated is always the tough question, especially in an online course such as this one. This is a General Education course and therefore you will be being evaluated not only on your command of economic principles and concepts, but also on basic skills identified in the General Education program. In accordance with the University's General Education program, you will be evaluated on in this course on your ability to Read Complex Texts, Use of Quantitative Data, and Use of Information Technology. You will be asked to demonstrate your command of the material in online quizzes and online exams. You can check out the quizzes that are accessible from the Quizzes link on the menu bar and course homepage. The quizzes, two semester exams and a final exam will test your command of the material on more than a superficial level. Also included on the exams will be questions based on three readings that will be required. These readings are available at the online reserves for the class. The quizzes and exams in this course will focus primarily on your skill at applying the principles and concepts discussed in the course rather than on your recall skills. THE QUIZZES AND EXAMS HAVE VERY SPECIFIC DATES AND TIMES THAT THEY ARE OPEN FOR YOU TO TAKE AND YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW THE DATES AND WORK YOUR SCHEDULE AROUND SO YOU CAN MEET THEM. THERE ARE NO ALLOWANCES FOR MISSED EXAMS AND QUIZZES, SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT DATES AND TIMES. I MEAN IT, CHECK OUT THE DATES AND TIMES.

In this course you will be responsible for 4 quizzes and 3 exams. The quizzes and exams in this course will focus primarily on your skill at applying the principles and concepts discussed in the course rather than on your recall skills. When constructing the quizzes and exams I have the choice of asking you to recall material covered in the class material and assigned readings or ask you entirely new questions requiring you to apply basic principles and concepts discussed in the readings. For many, maybe most of you, the first is a framework you have become accustomed to in your travels through the education system. While it has its place, it will not be employed here because you are not in training to be practicing economists and thus there is no need for an encyclopedic approach to the course. Furthermore, each quiz and test is constructed based upon the assumption it is an open-book open-note exam - which is what it is in an online course. Economics will matter to you because it helps you understand your world, because you can relate it to your work as a pharmacist, an accountant, or a retail buyer and no instructor can anticipate where it will come into play in your world. This means that the quizzes and exams will tend to be difficult and the scores somewhat lower than if the questions had been recall questions. You should also note that the quizzes and exams have dates associated with them, so be sure you complete them before the expiration date.

To give you an idea of what to expect you will find a practice quiz that you can take anytime to give you a sense of what to expect in the real thing. You will also find a link to Exams where you will find previous exams in the on campus ECN202 course that covers similar material.

There will also be some discussions regarding current policy issues or questions on the course readings that you will be expected to contribute to during the semester. During the course I will post at least one question on the week's reading or an article from the news to a discussion list and you will be required to participate in 4 of the discussions. The discussions will be worth 15 points on your final grade. On Web CT's Discussion link you will find a preliminary list of discussion topics and during the semester additional discussion topics will be added to the course. Also, if you have any questions regarding course requirements or material, you should post them to the course info discussion list. There may also be some extra credit opportunities, so you should monitor the schedule page and the Class Info discussions for information.

Exams	60
worst semester exam	10
best semester exam	20
final exam	30
Discussions	15
Quizzes (average of best 4)	25
Total	100

So, as you begin to make your choices, keep in mind the fact your success in the future is likely to depend less on your major or your first employer and more on the skills you acquire, more on your creativity, originality and ability to think critically than on your ability to store and recall information. With a positive attitude and good choices, you can position yourself well for entry into the new "real world" and even have some fun in ECN 202.

You should also note that there is not a textbook and that all of the materials that you will need are available on-line. In addition to the primary course readings for each unit, each of you will be expected to read on a regular basis the New York Times and some additional online articles and you can expect some questions to be on your readings. I would strongly suggest that you subscribe to the New York Time's online version so that you will be able to receive daily updates directed to your e-mails since certain articles will be assigned during the semester and material from these articles may be included on the semester exams.

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 "Psst! 'Human Capital," a very brief op-ed piece from the New York Times, and then think about some of the following suggestions.

So now let's get to the course, and take the first step toward a successful semester.