ECONOMICS 211.02: INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS     Fall 2024

Required Text: Gwartney, et al., Macroeconomics; Private and Public Choice (17th ed., 2022) ISBN# 978-0-357-13400-9.

Macroeconomics is the study of the larger scale aggregates in the economy, such as unemployment, output and the price level, and their determinants and interactions. To study macroeconomics, we will build the necessary basic microeconomic tools; expand those tools’ application, including related measurement issues, to the economy as a whole; use those tools to investigate the effects of fiscal policy--government purchases, net taxes, and effects on deficits and debt--and monetary policy; deal with stabilization policy and expectations, economic growth, and aspects of international trade and finance.

After completing this course, students will be able to: understand and apply the core principles of economics, including opportunity cost, marginal thinking, comparative advantage, gains from voluntary exchange, and supply and demand; understand and apply the aggregate supply and demand model, particularly with regard to effects on the price level and inflation, real and nominal output, employment and unemployment; understand and apply the analysis of fiscal policy (government tax and expenditure policy) and monetary policy in the aggregate supply and demand model; and understand differences between schools of macroeconomic thought and the difficulties of stabilization policy, particularly problems of measurement, forecasting, lags, and expectations.

Class meetings will be Tuesdays and Fridays in BPC 189. For each class meeting, students should have read the assigned material and should have the text and other readings and relevant handouts with them. I may also send you Messages (via Courses and/or email) before some class sessions about the material and our class discussions. Be sure to pay close attention to the handouts and the extensive review questions and answers, which increase in frequency and importance as we proceed. They often go substantially beyond the text’s discussion both in organization and application and provide the best idea of what to expect will be emphasized on exams.

COURSE OUTLINE

Topics Chapters

1.   The Economic Approach                                                    1

2.   Introduction to Basic Economic Tools                                2, 18  

3.   Supply, Demand, and the Market Process                         3, 4  

4.   Output and Prices: Theory and Measurement                    7

5.   Macroeconomic Fluctuations, Unemployment                    8

and Inflation                                      

6.   The Basics of Macroeconomics                                          9

7.   Aggregate Supply and Demand                                         10

8.   Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth                                   11, 12, 16

9.   Money, the Banking System and Monetary Policy             13, 14

10. Stabilization Policy and Expectations                                 15

Exams will be objective and heavily focused on application; rote memorization of definitions will not be sufficient to do well on the exams. Because of that focus on application, questions are often more difficult than memorization questions, grade cutoffs will reflect that. My expected course grade cutoffs will be roughly 80% for an A; 70% or for a B; 50% for a C; 46% for a C-; 42% for a D. That will apply to each exam and overall in the course.

COURSE SCHEDULE

1.    Tuesday 8/20      Introduction; Economic Paradigm Handout

2.    Friday 8/23          Ch. 1

3.    Tuesday 8/27      Ch. 2, Ch. 2 Addendum

4.    Friday 8/30          Ch. 2, Ch. 18 (360-362)

5.    Tuesday 9/3        Ch. 3

6.    Friday 9/6            Ch. 3, Supply and Demand Handout

7.    Tuesday 9/10      Ch. 4 (70-72, 80-85, 88-91)

8.    Friday 9/13          Ch. 4 (72-80), review

9.    Tuesday 9/17 Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4, 18)  

10.  Friday 9/20          Ch. 9 (175-178), Ch. 7 (132-140), Circular Flow Handout            

11.  Tuesday 9/24      Ch. 7 (140-151), Ch. 7 Addendum

12.  Friday 9/27          No class. Faculty Staff Leadership Conference

13.  Tuesday 10/1      Ch. 8 (156-162), Measurement Review Handout  

14   Friday 10/4          Ch. 8 (162-172)  

15.  Tuesday, 10/8     Ch. 9 (178-187), AS/AD Basics Handout   

16.  Friday 10/11        Fall Break                                 

17.  Tuesday 10/15    Ch. 9 (187-195), AD Shifts Handout        

18.  Friday 10/18        Ch. 10 (197-201, 205-208, 210-214), AD Shifts Handout     

19.  Tuesday 10/22    Ch. 10 (201-204, 208-210), Special Topic 7, review

20.  Friday 10/25 Exam 2 (Chapters 7- 10, Special Topic 7)                                             

21.  Tuesday 10/29    Ch. 11 (217-222), Expenditure Multiplier/Crowding Out Handout                                                                       

22.  Friday 11/1          Ch. 11 (222-229) Multiplier/Crowding Out Review Questions                       

23.  Tuesday 11/5      Ch. 12 (231-237, 241-246) Multiplier/Crowding Out Quiz                                                

24.  Friday 11/8          Ch. 12 (237-241), Ch. 4 (85-87), Ch. 16 (311-321), Fiscal Policy Review & Quiz

25.  Tuesday 11/12    Ch. 13 (248-259)            

26.  Friday 11/15        Ch. 13 (259-268), Money Supply Handout    

27.  Tuesday 11/19    Ch. 14 (270-279), Money Supply and Demand Review Questions     

28.  Friday, 11/22       Ch. 14 (279-290), Money Supply and Demand Quiz                                                      

29.  Tuesday 11/26    Thanksgiving Holiday

30.  Friday 11/29        Thanksgiving Holiday      

31.  Tuesday 12/3      Chapter 15 (291-299), Stabilization Handout    

32.  Friday 12/6          Review   

33.  Wed.,12/11 Final Exam (cumulative after first exam), 10:30 a.m.

The indicated readings are to be completed in advance of each class. Do not be surprised if they require more than one reading to be mastered. If you have questions before class, please email them to me. Also please ask them when they arise in class.

EXAM DATES AND COVERAGE

Midterm 1     Chapters 1-4, 18 (Tuesday, 9/17).................................................................100 points.

Midterm 2     Chapters 7-10, Special Topic 7 (Friday, 10/25)............................................150 points.

Final Exam   Cumulative after Midterm 1 (Wednesday,12/11; 10:30 a.m………………….200 points.

GRADING

Grades will be based on the total points earned out of 450 possible points on the exams, although substantial improvement after the first exam will also be taken into account.

Course Policies and Disclosures

Student Learning Objectives: The student learning objectives in this course, provided on the first page of the syllabus, are in support of the following learning objectives of the economics major:

Relate the core intuitions of economics – marginal analysis, supply, demand, Nash equilibrium, quantity theory, etc. – to economic and social phenomena, in order to produce sound economic analysis.

Use formal (mathematical) theoretical models to illustrate economic concepts.

Explain show the foundational insights of the economics of micro and macro policy.

The student learning objectives in this course, provided on the first page of the syllabus, are in support of the following General Education Learning Outcomes:

Critical thinking--Students analyze issues, ideas, behaviors, and events to develop opinions, solutions, or conclusions; Quantitative reasoning--Students reason and solve quantitative problems and explain mathematical concepts and data; Scientific reasoning--Students use the scientific method to investigate the natural or physical world; Human institutions & behavior--Students describe the major concepts of economics, psychology, or sociology to explain institutional and human behavior.

Online Evaluations: Students are expected to complete the online evaluation of the course and teacher at the end of the semester.