Richard Croxdale
Eco. 2301--Introduction to Macroeconomics
Office hours: 2:10--2:40
Room: SAC 1331.
or by appointment.
E-mail:
rcroxdal@austincc.edu
Phone: 6565-9534
RGC
Text: Gerald W. Stone CoreMacroeconomics.
(You may use the split text.)
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.
The goal of this course is 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.
This is a lecture course designed for introductory students
and there are no prerequisites.
Basic math is assumed but those who have poor math skills should not
panic. This is a course in
economics, not mathematics. While
not required, access to regular economic news will be extremely helpful in this
course. The Wall Street Journal,
Business Week, television talk shows, or daily newspapers would all
suffice.
Due to the nature of the subject matter, there is no rigid
week-to-week, day-to-day schedule.
Some sections for some classes may take longer than others. We may wish to spend extra time
discussing some aspect of one section.
Interests of students can be accommodated. But, roughly, the schedule is the
following:
Sec. 1. 2
weeks. Chaps. 1-6 . Topics will an introduction to the
Sec. 2. 1.5 week. Chaps. 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Topics will be AD-AS analysis, Keynesian theory and fiscal policy.
Sec. 3. 1.5 week. Chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, and 16. Topics will be monetary policy, theory of money, international trade,
and economic growth.
There will be a
test after each section. The test
will be primarily objective. There
will be a review before each test.
Although the test dates are not in this syllabus, there will at least one
week’s notice of a test. The test will be take in
class. There will be no retests,
however, if you are unable to take the test at the scheduled time, please
contact me for rescheduling.
Course
objectives are 1) the meaning of unemployment and inflation data and how that
data is collected and computed, 2) the meaning and components of National Income
Accounts, especially GDP, 3) the meaning of the business cycle and its phases,
4) the manipulation of the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model of the
macro economy, 5) how fiscal policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and
drawbacks, 6) how a fractional reserve banking system works, and 7) how monetary
policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and
drawbacks.
Grades
The final grade will be composed of two parts--1) test average of the
three tests and 2) total homework points. Grades will awarded on the
traditional basis of
90-100
A
80-89
B
65-79
C
55-64
D
You must earn the points in both categories, both tests and
homework, to earn the final letter grade.
For example, to make an A, you must average a 90 on the tests and also
earn 90 points in homework.
However, at the A and B level you may transfer up to 5 points from one
category to the other. At the C level, you may transfer 10 points from one
category to the other.
Homework
Chapter
questions--you may earn a maximum of 70 points from the chapter questions, which
I will assign in class. Each set
will be worth 10 points. Obviously,
you do not have to complete them all once you have earned the maximum
points.
The project for
the semester will be to construct a journal composed of summaries of 10
articles. The student will choose a
subject, to be approved by me. The project is worth a maximum of 10 points. The
subject needs to be selected and turned in to me by the end of the first month
of the semester. The 10 articles,
which amounts to one a week, can be found in
newspapers, magazines, or the internet, although the LRS masterfile-academic premier index of journals is
recommended. The summaries should
be at least 1/2 typed page, double-spaced, accompanied by the appropriate
bibliographic information.
It will be due the last week of the semester, approximately two class
days before the last test. You
should note that only the summaries should be turned
in.
A book review is worth
a maximum of 15 points. The book
needs to be approved by me. The
book review should be five pages, double-spaced. This will be accepted at any
time during the semester.
You might write
3-page biographies of famous economists for 3 points each. There is a maximum of 2 biographies for
this section. Talk to me if you do not know the names of any famous
economists. In this section, I
expect more than simple life stories, although I do expect you to place the
economist within his or her historical context. I would also expect to have some
presentation of the economic ideas for which the economist selected is
recognized. This will be accepted at any time during the
semester.
You may ask to read and answer a homework set on a chapter in the book
that we do not cover in the course.
This will be worth 5 points.
A maximum of two chapters. This will be accepted
at any time during the semester.
It is policy
that any student missing 10% of the classes is subject to withdrawal by the
professor, so if you are missing a lot of classes, contact me if you intend to
finish the course. Otherwise, you
may be withdrawn from the course.
It is your responsibility to withdraw yourself from the course. I fully understand that this is a
community college, and sometimes work or family obligations require attention,
but attendance in class is essential to a full understanding of the subject
matter.
Incompletes are not recommended.
A miniscule fraction of the students asking for
incompletes ever finish the course.
However, if you feel the need, ask at least two weeks before the end of
the semester.
Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered
include scholastic dishonesty, including by 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 found cheating on a test, or plagiarizing a book report, will be
given an F for the course.
Each ACC campus offers
support services 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.