Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 2301
(Synonym 11342, Section 039)
Professor: Zachariah Abungah
SPRING 2008
___________________
Class
Hours: Monday (M) and Wednesday (W) 5:20 pm – 6:35 pm
Office
Hours: MW
Students may
also contact me by phone or email.
Campus:
Round Rock (RRH) Office
# 462
Telephone:
223-1795 ext. 26242
Email:
Course
Description: Principles of Macroeconomics deals with
consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, the effects of government spending
and taxation policies and the effects of monetary policy carried out by the
Federal Reserve Bank. Macroeconomics is concerned with unemployment, inflation,
and the business cycle.
Required
Textbook: The Macro Economy Today (10th
Edition), by Bradley R. Schiller.
Recommended
Study Guide: Study Guide Macro-economy Today (10th
Edition), by Bradley R. Schiller.
Instructional
Methodology: Instruction will be presented using lectures,
textbooks, handouts, technology, and discussions.
Course
Rationale: This course is meant to give students insight
into the dynamics of our national economy. The knowledge gained in the course
will make students better informed citizens and allow them to follow the
debates over national economic policy reported in the news media. This course
is also a foundation course that will prepare students to be successful in upper
division finance, marketing, business administration, economics, government,
and social work courses.
Common
Course Objectives/Student Outcomes as Established by the Economics Department:
Students who complete this course will be able to understand:
·
the
meaning of unemployment and inflation data and how that data is collected and
computed;
·
the
meaning and components of the National Income Accounts, especially Gross
Domestic Product (
·
the
meaning of the business cycle and its phases;
·
the
basic Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand models of the macro economy;
·
how
fiscal policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and drawbacks;
·
how
a fractional reserve banking system works;
·
how
monetary policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and drawbacks.
Learning
Objectives/Outcomes as Established by the Instructor:
See Review Questions handed out in class and Discussion Questions at the
end of each chapter in the textbook
relevant to this class.
Grading
System: Students will be graded/evaluated on the
basis of the following criteria:
·
three
exams, including a non-cummulative final exam (up to a total of 150 points)
-thirty multiple choice questions on
each of the three exams (up to 30 points)
-two essay-type questions on each of
the three exams (up to 20 points);
·
four
written-homework assignments (up to 40 points);
·
participation
in class discussions, and/or group projects (up to 10 points).
The
following scale will be used to distribute final letter grades:
Letter Grade Points Percent
A 180-200 90-100%
B 160-179 80- 89%
C 140-159 70-79%
D 120-139 60-69%
F <119 <59%
Course
Policies
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend class regularly. Roll call
will be taken each day of class meeting. If a student misses a class, he/she
will be responsible for the material covered or presented in class during such
absence. Make-up exams will be given only with prior approval by notification
of the instructor.
Withdrawal: It is your responsibility to withdraw from this course if
your personal situation, including failure to show progress requires you to do
so. While I do not anticipate withdrawing students from the course, I reserve
the right to do so, if the situation warrants such action
Scholastic
Dishonesty: Acts prohibited by the college for which
discipline may be administered are scholastic dishonesty, including but not
limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized
collaboration with another person in preparing outside work. Academic work
submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or
self-expression. Academic work is defined herein as student learning
experiences not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on
paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and
homework assignments.
Students
with Disabilities: Each ACC campus offers support services for
students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with
disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for
Student with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority
of their classes. Students are encouraged to do these three weeks before the
start of the semester.
Course
Outline/calendar:
WEEK CHAPTER ASSIGNMENTS
1
& 2 BASIC
CONCEPTS:
A. The Core Issues (
·
Basic
Decisions
·
Production
Theory
·
Appendix
to ch.1: Graphs
B. The
·
Measuring
the size of an Economy
·
Mix
of output
·
Comparative
Output and
3 C. Market Analysis (Ch.3)
·
Demand
Theory
·
Supply
Theory
·
Market
Equilibrium and Disequilibrium
4, 5,
& 6 MEASURING
MACRO OUTCOMES:
A. National Income Accounting (
B. Unemployment (
C. Inflation (
7 EXAM I –
8
& 9 CYCLICAL INSTABILITY:
A. The Business Cycle (
B. Aggregate Demand (
·
Appendix:
The Keynesian Cross
C. Self-Adjustment or Instability? (Ch.10)
10, 11,
& 12 FISCAL
POLICY LEVERS:
A.
Fiscal
Policy (
B.
Surpluses,
Deficits, and Debt (Ch.12)
EXAM
II –
14,
15, &16 MONETARY
POLICY LEVERS:
A. Money and Banks (Ch.13)
B. The Federal Reserve System (
C. Monetary Policy (
16 FINAL
EXAM (EXAM
Notes: Monday, January 21, 2008 No
class College closed for
Monday, March 10 -March 15 No class Closed
for Spring Break
Sunday, May 11, 2008 End
of Spring Semester