Principles of Macroeconomics

Tentative Syllabus

 

ECON 2301

 

Introduction:

Instructor: Tod Hamilton

Summer 2007, synonym 05178

Office: Room 1321

Phone: 512-223-1795 ext. 26205

E-mail: thamilt2@austincc.edu

Office Hour: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 11:05 a.m.-12:05 a.m.  Students can also make appointments to meet the instructor outside of the normal office hour.

 

 

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 the monetary policy carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank. Macroeconomics is concerned with unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle.

 

Required Texts/Materials:

N.Gregory Mankiw,  Principles of Macroeconomics, fourth edition, Ohio, Thomson South-Western.

 

Instructional Methodology:

The course is designed in a lecture/discussion format. Students are highly encouraged to participate in class 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course Objectives/Student Outcomes:

 

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 GDP;
    • the meaning of the business cycle and its phases;
    • and to manipulate the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model 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.

 

 

Course Evaluation/Grading System:

 

Students’ grades will be determined by their performance on exams, completion of homework assignments and problem sets, and quizzes.  Students will be given three midterm exams. The best two midterm exam scores will count toward the final grade.  Each midterm is worth 25% of the total grade. Students will also be given a final exam worth 30% of the total grade.  Completing and submitting practice exercises and problem sets will account for 10 % of the final grade. Quizzes will account for the final 10% of the final grade.  

 

Make-up exams will not be given. Students will receive a zero on all missed exams. Students are required to take the final exam in the course.


The importance of doing practice exercises and problem sets cannot be overemphasized. Most students are unable to understand the material well by only reading the text and reviewing class notes. Students will be assigned periodic problems sets. No late assignments will be accepted. Homework is given as a learning tool to help students learn the course material and perform well on exams. Therefore, students will receive full credit on homework assignments if each assigned question is thoughtfully answered and the assignment is submitted on time.

 

Final letter grades will be distributed according to the following scale:

 

Letter Grade

Percent

A

(100-90%)

B

(90-80%)

C

(80-65%)

D

(65-55%)

F

(55-0%)

 

 

Attendance Policy:

Attending class is vital for success in this course. Therefore, students should make every effort to attend all class sections.  

 

Withdrawal Policy:

Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from this course if that is what their personal situation requires. The instructor makes no promise either implicit or explicit to withdraw students from the course.

 

Incompletes

Incompletes are discouraged. They will be given only when extraordinary events intervene so as to make completion of the course impossible.

Scholastic dishonesty:

 

Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.

 

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 Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

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Tentative Course Outline/Calendar:

Lectures and readings, while generally not identical, will be complementary; understanding them both will greatly enhance your probability of success in this course.

 

 

EXAM

Chapters Covered

Tentative Exam Dates

1

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8,9

July 16

2

10, 11, 12. 13

July 23

3

14, 15, 16, 17

August 2

Final

Comprehensive

August 14