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This course relies heavy on materials you have seen in your previous economics
courses. The prerequisites for this course are both principles courses (ECON
201 and ECON 202) and either (MATH 211 or MATH 273) Intermediate Microeconomics is not a prerequisite for the course, however, students with this
background will find the framework in this course very similar to that used
that course. There will be no use of calculus in this course. I will be stressing
economic intuition throughout the course, however, sometimes in economics,
mathematical tools are used to make a point more concise. Students should be
1
comfortable with concepts such as standard deviations and correlation coefficients. Many things, such as budget and resource constraints are conveniently
formulated into mathematics and students will be expected to be comfortable
preforming calculations on such things. If you find that you do not meet these
requirements, contact me after the first class.
Course Materials
There is one required textbook for this course. The book is Williamsons
Macroeconomics. We will be using this book throughout the course. In addition to the textbook, I will post lecture notes for the course. I will post these
notes on the course webpage. These notes are not a substitute for the books.
These lecture notes merely summarize the main ideas from each class. The
textbook will contain details that are not found in the notes. I will also post
other materials on the course webpage, ( homework, homework solutions, etc.)
as needed.
Finally, try to keep informed about current events. I will try to address
current issues from time to time as they fit into the course material. Discussing
these topics is more rewarding and enjoyable if students are actively involved
and knowledgeable.
4.1
Homeworks
Each homework will be worth 20 points. There are 6 homeworks, but I will
only count the best 5 scores when I calculate final grades. At the end of the
semester will take your five best scores and add them up to get your homework
percentage. The following rules regard to all homework assignments without
exceptions.
1. Homeworks will be available, via the internet, on or before the date specified in the course calendar. It is your responsibility to download these
assignments. The due dates for these homeworks will be announced in
class, posted on the web, and placed on the assignment itself.
2. Homeworks are due on the specified date on the course calendar. You
may turn-in the assignment at the end of class, or by 5PM at my office
4.2
Midterm Exams
There will be two in-class midterm exams. These exams will count for 25% of
your course grade apiece. There will be no make-up exams for these midterms
unless you have conflict. If you have a conflict you must notify me before the
exam. If you miss the test for any other reason, and do not have an excused
absence, you can not make-up the exam, and you will receive a zero.
4.3
Final Exam
There will be an in-class exam during final exam week. Everyone must take
the final exam. If some emergency arises that will cause a conflict with this
schedule, come see me as soon as possible.
4.4
Extra Credit
There will be one option for extra credit in this course. Since this easiest way to
learn the material in this course is by working homework problems. I will give
students the opportunity to earn bonus points for working additional problems
beyond the homework assignments.
4.5
Grades
Percent
100-92.50
92.49-87.50
87.49-82.50
82.49-77.50
77.49-72.50
72.49-67.50
67.49-62.50
62.49-55.00
below 55.00
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
D
F
If everyone deserves a good grade, I will give only good grades. But in order
to receive a good grade in this course, you must be prepared for class and work
hard on the homework assignments.
4.6
Attendance
I will not be taking attendance in this course. However, since the is an upper
level course, I would expect student to attend class. Typically students who
attend class regularly score much higher than those who do not.
Academic Honesty
Cheating will not be tolerated in this course. Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism are serious
violations and will result in a zero on the assignment and are grounds for a
failing grade in the course. Students should refer to the Universitys policy
on academic integrity in the University catalogue. Violations of the Academic
Integrity Code will be remanded to the Academic Honor Council for additional
punishment as appropriate.
Tentative Schedule
Date
9/1
9/8
9/15
9/22
9/29
10/6
10/13
10/20
10/27
11/3
11/10
11/17
12/1
12/8
12/15
Topic
Introduction and Overview
National Income Accounting
Consumer and Firm Behavior
Closed One Period Model and Malthus
Neoclassical Growth Model, Endogenous Growth
Exam 1
Two Period Model of Savings
Ricardian Equivalence and Life Cycle Model
Properties of Life Cycle Model and Government Finance
Real Intertemporal Model with Investment
Exam 2
Money,Banking, Prices, and Monetary Policy
Business Cycle Theory: Market Clearing and New Keynesian
Money, Inflation, Banking
Section 101:Final Exam 7:30PM-9:30PM
Readings
Syllabus
W Ch 1,2
W Ch 4
W Ch 5, 6 (190-207)
Ch 6 (207-237),7
W Ch 8 262-289
W Ch 8 (289-312),Notes
W Ch 10
W Ch 11
W Ch 3,12,13
W Ch 16