EC140: Introduction to Macroeconomics

Transcription

1 EC140: Introduction to Macroeconomics Course Outline Instructors and Student Support EC140 is a coordinated course, with 4 instructors teaching a total of 5 sections in the winter term. Each instructor will cover the same content during the term. Students in all sections will be assessed identically, with common quizzes, midterm tests, and final exams. Specific content and examples covered in lectures and iclicker questions may vary across sections. Section Day and Time Room Instructor Phone A M/W 2:30pm BA201 Ken Jackson kjackson@wlu.ca x.2316 B M/W 4:00pm BA201 Ken Jackson kjackson@wlu.ca x C T/Th 2:30pm 1E1 David Johnson djohnson@wlu.ca x D T/Th 4:00pm BA201 Jason Dean jadean@wlu.ca TBA E W 7:00pm 1E1 Rizwan Tahir rtahir@wlu.ca TBA Course Description EC140 examines the working of the economy with an emphasis on the measurement and determination of national income in the short and long run. The role of the government sector in influencing national income, both directly and through the financial sector is considered. The course closes with a more detailed discussion of the international sector. Course Website Announcements, lecture slides, and grading will all be posted to My Learning Space mylearningspace.wlu.ca You are expected to regularly log-in to My Learning Space to access course material, complete quizzes, and check for announcements and course related If you need technical assistance with My Learning Space, please send an to myls@wlu.ca

2 Additional Support A core concept in Economics is that specialization according to comparative advantage can significantly increase efficiency. With that in mind, there is a wide range of resources to assist you with specific issues throughout the term. Your Instructor Questions with regard to course material, and issues with iclicker assessment and grading should be directed to the instructor of your section. Course Coordinator: Ken Jackson (kjackson@wlu.ca ) Office: SBE 1264 Questions with regard to common elements of the course (online quizzes/homework, test or exam grading, or course policies should be directed to Dr. Jackson. Undergraduate Program Director (Economics): Ken Jackson (kjackson@wlu.ca) Please see Dr. Jackson with questions regarding the economics program, including progression and admission requirements in Economics, or more general inquiries. Administrative Assistance: Ms. Helen Kaluzny Office: Peters Building, P3082 (Economics department office) Please see Ms. Kaluzny for administrative issues, including submission of documentation if you miss a midterm test or if you have grading inquiries on the midterm tests or final exam. Teaching Assistants: TBA Office: Peters Building, P3117A (Across from the Economics department office) The teaching assistants will provide individual instruction on specific questions in the course material. TA s hold office hours throughout the term to answer student questions regarding course material. The TA s are busy leading up to exams, so you are encouraged to see them early. The office hours schedule will be posted the first week of classes. Accessible Learning Students with disabilities or other special needs are advised to contact Laurier's Accessible Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. Required Textbook Ragan, Christopher T.S., Macroeconomics, 14 th Canadian Edition, Pearson Canada, The textbook may be purchased as a special package through the WLU bookstore bundled with MyEconLab access, or in a variety of formats (electronic text, with or without MyEconLab access). We will expect you to have read the assigned chapter(s) of the textbook prior to attending lecture.

3 Course Evaluation Table 1 presents the grading scheme for EC140. Your grade will be based on your absolute grade obtained from the different components of the course evaluation: (i) best 10 pre-lecture quizzes, (ii) best 15 in-class iclicker grades, (iii) best 8 post-lecture assignments, (iv) two mid-term tests, and (v) one final exam. Table 1: Grading Scheme Evaluation Component Weight Due Date Location 1. Pre-lecture Quizzes 5% (best 10) Weekly by Monday 8:00am (starting January 11th) Online (MyLearningSpace) 2. iclickers 5% (best 15) Every lecture (starting January 18th) In lecture 3. Post-Lecture 5% Weekly by Friday 8:00am Online Assignments (best 10) (starting January 22nd) (MyEconLab) 4a. Mid-term test #1 15% Saturday, January 30th To be announced (6:30pm) 4b. Mid-term test #2 25% Saturday, March 12th To be announced (6:30pm) 5. Final Exam 45% April 2015 To be announced 1. Pre-Lecture Quizzes Starting Monday, January 11 th, short multiple-choice quizzes will be due on MyLearningSpace for the chapters scheduled for the upcoming week. The pre-lecture quizzes will cover the basic concepts in the chapters scheduled for the upcoming week, and are intended to help you prepare for the lectures. Read the textbook chapter, and then complete the quiz. Please note that the quiz questions are preparatory and are therefore not representative of the difficulty of questions on the midterm tests or final exam. There is one quiz for each chapter, and therefore some weeks will have two quizzes, while others have one. The quizzes for the chapters covered in the first week, chapters 19-20, will not count for grades, but are recommended as practice. The remaining 13 quizzes are graded, and your best 10 quizzes will count for 5% of your course grade. Students with a higher grade on the final exam will have the grade weight from the pre-lecture quizzes shifted to the final exam. 2. iclickers Starting January 18th, we will make use of iclickers (or clickers ) an electronic response system that allows you to register an answer to questions asked in class. iclickers may be purchased through the bookstore. Your best 15 lecture sessions will count for 5% of the course grade. Students with a higher grade on the final exam will have the grade weight from the iclickers shifted to the final exam.

4 Clicker Registration You are responsible for purchasing your clicker from the Laurier Bookstore. You are required to register your clicker online via MyLearningSpace ( When you login you will see a course called Clicker Registration for Winter To register your clicker, follow these steps: 1) Enter the Clicker Registration for Winter 2016 course by clicking on the title. 2) From the homepage, click on the Click here to register your clicker link. 3) Enter your clicker serial Remote ID in the box provided. 4) Click on the Register button. Please note: If you registered your iclicker in a previous term, you MUST register it again for this term. Please direct any questions about this process or about iclickers in general to clickers@wlu.ca or to the help desk in the concourse. 3. Post-Lecture Assignments Starting Friday, January 22 nd, there will be weekly post-lecture assignments will be available online through MyEconLab, which is embedded directly into the MyLearningSpace page for EC140. The chapters covered in the weekly assignment are listed on the course schedule below the assignments for chapters 19 and 20 are due on January 15 th, but are not graded. Your best 10 MyEconLab assignments count for 5% of your final grade. Each assignment must be completed by 8:00am on the Friday morning of the week listed on the syllabus. Students may purchase a MyEconLab access code either with the textbook, or separately, through the Laurier Bookstore. Students with a higher grade on the final exam will have the grade weight from MyEconLab shifted to the final exam. 4. Mid-term tests There will be two mid-term tests. Each mid-term test will cover all course material discussed up to the date. This means the second mid-term test will cover material that may have been on the first mid-term test. Each mid-term test will consist of multiple-choice questions. There are no deferred midterm tests (see exceptions below). If you miss a midterm test for an acceptable, and documented, reason your midterm test grade will be replaced with your final exam grade. That is, if you miss mid-term test #1 for an acceptable, and documented, reason your final exam will be worth 60% of your final grade. Failure to submit the appropriate documentation will result in a grade of 0% on missed midterm tests. 5. Final Exam You are expected to write a final examination at the end of the term. The final exam will be cumulative, meaning all material covered in the course may be on the exam. The format of the final exam will be similar to the format of the midterm test (i.e. multiple choice questions). The final exam is worth 45% of your final grade, or more depending on how you did on the pre-lecture quizzes, clicker questions and post-lecture MyEconLab quizzes, and whether you wrote the midterm tests. The registrar schedules the final exam during the final exam period in April.

5 Missing Quizzes, iclickers and Assignments Due to the timely nature of the pre-lecture quizzes, iclickers, and post-lecture assignments, late submissions will not be accepted for any reason. Each student is responsible for registering their iclicker, ensuring their in-class participation is recorded to the grading system, and they have access to the online quizzes and assignments. Deferred Midterm Tests Students who will miss a midterm due to a religious commitment may submit a petition to the SBE Petitions Office, SBE1250, to write a deferred midterm. To be eligible to write a deferred midterm test on religious grounds, your petition must be submitted within one week of the start of the term. Students who will miss a midterm test due to their participation in varsity sports must contact their coach, who will arrange proctoring of the test at an alternate time. Varsity athletes at the University of Waterloo should have their coach contact Helen Kaluzny in the Economics Office at WLU. To be eligible to write a deferred midterm test, your petition must be submitted within one week of the start of the term, or as soon as possible given the release of academic and athletics schedules. Students who miss a midterm test due to illness, family emergency, or any other approved alternative commitment must provide Helen Kaluzny (P3082) with appropriate written documentation, and complete a form to transfer the weight of the midterm test to the final exam. Following Lazaridis School policy, these students will not be permitted to write a deferred midterm test. Deferred Final Examinations Students who miss the final exam with an acceptable excuse may apply to write a deferred final exam. Applications, accompanied with supporting written documentation, should be made to Ms. Lee Leeman, in the SBE Petitions Office (SBE 1256). If you miss the exam due to illness, you will need medical documentation on the date of the exam. Students are strongly urged not to make any commitment (i.e. travel arrangements, or vacations) during the examination period. Students are required to be available for examinations during the examination periods of all terms in which they register.

6 Academic Misconduct You are reminded the University will levy sanctions on students who are found to have committed, or have attempted to commit, acts of academic or research misconduct. You are expected to know what constitutes an academic offense, to avoid committing such offenses, and to take responsibility for your academic actions. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalty, please consult the relevant section of the Undergraduate Academic Calendar. All students are expected to know and understand all plagiarism and academic misconduct policies. I didn t know that was cheating will never be an acceptable excuse. I will take all allegations of academic misconduct directly to official channels. The policies for dealing with academic misconduct at Wilfrid Laurier University can be found at: Accessible Learning Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier s Accessible Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. You can find the Accessible Learning Centre on the Laurier legacy web page ( under the Academic Info tab, then click Centre for Student Success. Students are encouraged to review the Academic Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus. Please note that faculty are not able to provide exam accommodations directly. If you require special considerations with regard to examinations, you must contact the Accessible Learning Centre. Policy on Technology Use Each instructor will define their own policy on technology use in accordance with university regulations. Students are expected to comply with the instructor's policy, and students who fail to do so may be asked to leave the classroom.

7 Student Learning Outcomes 1. Understand how key macroeconomic variables are defined and calculated. 2. Use a macroeconomic model to explain how changes in policy, preferences or events in other countries will affect equilibrium income. 3. Calculate the effects of such macroeconomic changes on equilibrium income. 4. Extend the analysis of macroeconomic models to consider changes in both aggregate demand and aggregate supply. 5. Understand how medium and longer-run price adjustment affects equilibrium income, and distinguish between short-run and long-run macroeconomic effects. 6. Assess the determinants of long-run economic growth. 7. Examine the role of money in the economy, and understand the effects of changes in monetary policy on the economy. 8. Understand how macroeconomic shocks affect inflation and unemployment. 9. Assess the role of government debt and deficits in our analysis of the economy. 10. Understand at a deeper level the measurement of international economic relationships, the determination of the exchange rate and difference between fixed and flexible exchange rates. Detailed Course Schedule There are three parts of the course, with either a midterm test or a final exam at the conclusion of each section. The material is cumulative, and each part builds from the previous material. Please note that the following schedule is just a guideline, and subject to change both generally, and for lectures in specific sections.. The chapters listed for each week will be the subject of the Pre- Lecture Quizzes due by Monday morning. The MyEconLab assignments listed are due on the Friday morning of the week listed. Part A Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis Week Dates Topic Chapter MyEconLab Assignment 1 January 4-8 Intro to Macroeconomics Measuring National Income January January January Saturday, January 30th (6:30pm) The Simplest Short-Run Macro Model The Simple Macro Model with Government and Trade The Simple Macro Model continued, Review 21 Ch. 19, 20 22, incl appendix Midterm Test # Ch. 21 Ch. 22

8 Part B Extending the Simple Macro Model Week Dates Topic Chapter 5 February February 8-12 February February February 29 - March 4 9 March 7 11 Saturday, March 12 (6:30pm) Output and Prices in the Short-Run Economy in the Long-Run Difference Between Short- Run and Long-Run Reading Week, no classes Economic Growth Money and Banking Money, Interest Rates and Economic Activity Monetary Policy in Canada Review Midterm Test # MyEconLab Assignment Ch. 23, 24 Ch. 25, Ch Ch. 28, Part C Macroeconomics Problems and Policies Week Dates Topic Chapter 10 March March March 28 April 1 Inflation and Disinflation Unemployment Government Debt and Deficits Exchange Rates and the Balance of Payments Exchange Rates and the Balance of Payments April 7 th 23 rd Final Exam Period 19-32, MyEconLab Assignment Ch. 30 Ch. 31, Ch. 35