ECONOMICS 330
F I N AN C I AL E C O N O M I C S
COURSE OUTLINE
Gordon Holmes
Fall 2008
405
Extension: 23826
holmesq(a)_mcmaster.ca
Office Hours: Thursday 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
or by appointment Email:
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Financial economics looks at the role of money in the economy and studies the important
function of financial markets - that is, the money, foreign exchange, bond and stock markets,
and their interrelationships. The effects of the financial system on the economy are determined
by the institutional framework under which the system operates. Thus, the study of money and
banking also requires an understanding of the organization, structure, and historical
development of the various institutions that constitute the financial sector of the Canadian
economy. You will learn how government institutions and regulatory bodies influence the
behaviour of financial institutions and financial market participants. You will also understand the
interplay among the financial system, the monetary authorities (that is, the Bank of Canada),
and government economic policies, and their effects on economic activity as a whole.
REQUIRED TEXT: Mishkin and Serletis: The Economics of Money, Banking and Financial
Markets, (2nd Edition) PearsonlAddison Wesley, 2005.
Courseware for Economics 2103
EVALUATION:
Term Tests (50% of final grade)
There will be three (3) term tests and the best two (2) results will be used to account for 50% of
your final grade. The dates for the three (3) in class tests are:
Thursday, January 31
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 28
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20
7:00 p.m.
* Special Needs Students: Please book your tests by Thursday, January 17, 2008 if you plan to
write the tests outside the classroom
Students are strongly advised to write all three (3) tests and acquire written permission for an
exemption due to sickness (see below).
There will be no "rewrites" or make-up tests.
Final Exam (50% of final grade)
It will be given in the exam period at the end of the semester.
SICKNESS AND EXEMPTIONS
If you do not write one or more term tests you should provide convincing documentary
evidence to your associate dean's office that you had a medical excuse or that there were
compassionate grounds ( death in the family) for missing the test(s). If you have provided
convincing medical evidence explaining your absence on medical grounds, the exemption will
assist you in the event you do not write one of the term tests later in the term. In the event
you only write one (1) term test and have an exemption for another, the weight of the missed
term test will be transferred to the final exam. If you do not provide evidence to your faculty
associate dean, then the grade for the missed test is zero. There will be no make-up term
tests should you miss a term test for any reason.
INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS
The scheduled times for classes and my office hours will provide you an opportunity to
discuss issues, ask questions about the format of tests/exams etc.
I do not reply to E-mails that are related to matters discussed in the classroom.
STUDY PARTNERS
NAME
PHONE NUMBER
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means
and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of
credit with a notation on the transcript ( notation reads: " Grade of F assigned for academic
dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information
on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
specifically Appendix 3, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_inegrity.htm
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism e.g.: the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has
been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work.
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
SICKNESS AND EXEMPTIONS
If you do not write one or more term tests you should provide convincing documentary
evidence to your associate dean's office that you had a medical excuse or that there were
compassionate grounds ( death in the family) for missing the test(s). If you have provided
convincing medical evidence explaining your absence on medical grounds, the exemption will
assist you in the event you do not write one of the term tests later in the term. In the event
you only write one (1) term test and have an exemption for another, the weight of the missed
term test will be transferred to the final exam. If you do not provide evidence to your faculty
associate dean, then the grade for the missed test is zero. There will be no make-up term
tests should you miss a term test for any reason.
INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS
The scheduled times for classes and my office hours will provide you an opportunity to
discuss issues, ask questions about the format of tests/exams etc.
I do not reply to E-mails that are related to matters discussed in the classroom.
STUDY PARTNERS
NAME
PHONE NUMBER
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means
and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of
credit with a notation on the transcript ( notation reads: " Grade of F assigned for academic
dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information
on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
specifically Appendix 3, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac inegrity.htm
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism e.g.: the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has
been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work.
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
i
Homework for Economics 2103
Chapiter
Textbook
Questions
Study Guide
MC & TF
Study Guide
Problems
4
All
1-5,7
5
21
1-15
1-7
All
All
1-2,5,7
1-5
6
1-5,8-10
All
1, 3,5-8
7
8
9
1-6
1-6
1-8
All
All
1-26
1-4
1,2
1-5
10
1-5,9
All
1-3
ll
1-5
All
1, 2
12
1-3
1-10
1
1-8
1
All
1-4
All
1-7
13
14
15
2-9