AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS

ECONOMICS 2301

FALL SEMESTER, 2009

 

INSTRUCTOR:          DR. CHARLES AKI

______________________________________________________________________________

 

COURSE GUIDE

 

CLASS SCHEDULE AND OFFICE HOURS

 

43946, ECONOMICS 2301

CLASS SCHEDULE:       MONDAY  7:05 PM – 9:45 PM, NRG2 2120

 

OFFICE HOURS:              MONDAY & TUESDAY, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

OFFICE: Room 2111,    NRG2 CAMPUS,  TEL: 461-9477

E-MAIL: charlesaki@yahoo.com

 

TEXTBOOK:   PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS      

                                    BY N. GREGORY MANKIW, 4th Edition or Later

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLASS PROCEDURE

 

The class schedule is attached. In the schedule you will find the required reading in the textbook for each week.  Read the material before each class time. You are required to submit an outline of each period's required reading every Monday. You will earn 10 points for each outline that is properly turned in. All 8 outlines will yield a total of 80 points, equivalent to 8 percent of the course grade. There will be one mid-term exam (worth 400 points) and a final exam (worth 400 points). To help you review for these exams, there will be two quizzes, each worth 60 points, for a total of 120 points.

 

 

COURSE POLICIES

 

You are required to adhere strictly to all college requirements for attendance. Serious absences, excused or not, are grounds for withdrawal. All absences must be cleared with me.

 

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.

 

GRADING POLICY

 

Please refer to the Student Handbook for complete grading system. I will assign grades of A, B, C, D, I or F in this course. The following scales and weights will be applied:

 

GRADE SCALE                                                             POINTS                             WEIGHTS

                                                                               

A = 90 - 100                                                                          MID-TERM EXAM            400  (40%)

B = 80 -   89                                                                          FINAL EXAM                      400  (40%)

C = 70 -   79                                                                          WEEKLY OUTLINES      80    (8%)

D = 60 -   69                                                                          REVIEW QUIZZES          120  (12%)

 

F = Below 60                                                                       TOTAL                                                 1000  (100%)

 


 

 AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS

ECONOMICS 2301

FALL SEMESTER, 2009

 

INSTRUCTOR: DR. CHARLES AKI

________________________________________________________________________

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

 

DATE                                                  TOPIC                                     MATERIAL

________________________________________________________________________

 

AUG 24                                               The Principles of                                           CHAPTER 1

                                                Economics

 

AUG 31                                               Thinking Like An                                            CHAPTER 2

                                                Economist                                                     

 

 

 

SEPT 7 – SEPT 14                Interdependence and                                               CHAPTER 3

                                                The Gains from Trade

 

                                                Market Forces of                                           CHAPTER 4

                                                Supply and Demand            

 

SEPT 21 – SEPT 28              Elasticity & Its                                                            CHAP 5

                                                Applications                                                  

 

Supply, Demand & Government

                                                Policies                                                          CHAP 6

 

SEPT 28                                 Review Quiz

 

OCT 5                                     Review for Mid-Term Exam

 

OCTOBER 12                         MID-TERM EXAM                                          (CH 1 - 6)

           

OCT 19                                               Measuring a Nation's Income                                  CHAP 10

 

OCT 26                                               Measuring the Cost of                                               CHAP 11

                                                Living

                                                                       

NOV 2                                     The Natural Rate of                                      CHAP 15

                                                Unemployment                     

                                   

                                    The Monetary System                                               CHAP 16

 

NOV 9                                     Money Growth & Inflation                              CHAP 17

 

 

NOV 16                                               Aggregate Demand &                                               CHAP 20

                                                Aggregate Supply                            

                                   

NOV 23                                               Influence of Monetary Policy &                    CHAP 21 

                                                                Fiscal Policy on Aggregate                                                                                                                         Demand                                             

 

                                                FINAL REVIEW QUIZ

 

           

NOVEMBER 30                                  Review for Final Exam

 

DECEMBER 7                                    FINAL EXAM (CHAP  10-11, 15-17 & 20-21)