BE103/512
THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
School of Economics and Finance
ECON2102 - Macroeconomic Theory
GENERAL INFORMATION
ECON2102A
Instructor: Dr. Chung-Yi Tse
Email:
tsechung@econ.hku.hk
Office:
Room 1006 K K Leung Building
Phone:
2859 1035
Lecture: Tuesday 12:30pm - 1:20pm in KB 419, Friday 12:30pm - 2:20pm in KB 419
Consultation times:
Tutor: Mr. Yuen Cheuk Yi Kelvin
ECON2102B
Instructor: Dr. Heng Chen
Email:
hengchen@hku.hk
Office:
Room 915 K K Leung Building
Phone:
2857 8506
Lecture: Friday 2:30pm - 5:20pm in MW T2
Consultation times:
Tutor: to be confirmed
Pre-requisites: ECON1001, ECON1002
Co-requisites:
Mutually exclusive: ECON2114 Macroeconomic analysis
Course Website:
Other important details:
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is macroeconomics—the study of the entire economy as opposed to individual markets—at an
intermediate level. Questions include but not are limited to: Why are some countries so poor while others so rich?
Why do some countries grow and others stagnate? What drives booms and recessions? How do government
policies affect aggregate output, unemployment, and inflation? A variety of models are developed in
macroeconomics, each of which is more suited for certain questions than others. This course aims to introduce
students to the basic workhorse models for each major macroeconomic question.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1.
To provide a simple yet rigorous framework to understand real world macroeconomic events.
2.
To avoid the fallacies and mistakes often made in the popular press and by your favorite investment gurus on the causes
and consequences of long-run growth and short-run fluctuations
3.
To prepare students for more advanced studies in macroeconomics.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Course Learning Outcomes
CLO1 Be able to interpret real world macroeconomic events intelligently.
CLO2 Be ready for more advanced studies in macroeconomics.
CLO3 Be able to distinguish good and bad explanations for particular macroeconomic
Aligned Programme
Learning Outcomes
PLO 1,2,3,4
PLO 1,2
PLO 1,2,3
developments.
CLO4 Be able to understand and articulate the effects of important macroeconomic policy
PLO 1,2,3,4
changes.
COURSE TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Course Teaching and Learning Activities
Expected
contact hour
Study Load
(% of study)
39
28.9
11
8.1
15
11.1
70
51.9
135
100%
Weight
Aligned Course
Learning Outcomes
15%
CLO 1,2,3,4
30%
CLO 1,2,3,4
55%
CLO 1,2,3,4
T&L1. Lecture
T&L2. Tutorial
T&L3. Homework
T&L4. Readings and Revision
…
Total
Assessment Methods
Brief Description (Optional)
A1. Homework
A2. Midterm test
A3. Final exam
Total
100%
STANDARDS FOR ASSESSMENT
Course Grade Descriptors
A+, A, A-
Strong evidence of superb ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all
levels of learning: describe, apply, evaluate, and synthesis.
B+, B, B-
Strong evidence of the ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all levels
of learning: describe, apply, evaluate, and synthesis.
Evidence of adequate ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at low levels
C+, C, C-
of learning such as describe and apply but not at high levels of learning such as evaluate and
synthesis
D+, D
F
Evidence of basic familiarity with the subject.
Little evidence of basic familiarity with the subject.
Assessment Rubrics for Each Assessment (Please provide us the details in a separate file if the space here is not enough)
COURSE CONTENT AND TENTATIVE TEACHING SCHEDULE
1. Introduction and national income accounting
2. Basic ingredients of macroeconomic theory:
(a) Production function, labor market equilibrium and full-employment output
(b) Consumption, saving, investment
(c) Open economy
3. Long-run economic growth
1 week
2½ week
2 week
4. The asset market, money and prices
5. Business cycles
(a) Business cycle facts
(b) The IS-LM/AD-AS model
(c) Classical business cycle theory
(d) Keynesian business cycle theory
3½ week
6. Macroeconomic Policy
(a) Inflation-unemployment tradeoff
(b) Monetary policy
(c) Fiscal policy
2 week
7. Exchange rates and international linkages
1 week
8. Advanced topic: The intertemporal approach
1 week
MEANS/PROCESSES FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK ON COURSE
o
o
o
conducting mid-term survey in additional to SETL around the end of the semester
Online response via Moodle site
Others: ________________________ (please specify)
COURSE POLICY (e.g. plagiarism, academic honesty, attendance, etc.)
The University Regulations on academic dishonesty - behaviors in which a deliberately fraudulent misrepresentation
is employed in an attempt to gain undeserved intellectual credit, either for oneself or for another will be strictly
enforced. The Board of Examiners may impose a penalty in relation to the seriousness of the offence and may
report the candidate to the Senate, where there is prima facie evidence of an intention to deceive and where
sanctions beyond those imposed by the BoE might be invoked.
Classroom etiquette
1. Please switch your cell phone to silent mode if you need to keep it on at all.
2. If you need to answer a call during class, quietly walk out of the classroom before you do so. When you finish,
please leave and do not come back in again.
3. If you are late for more than 10 minutes, please do not bother to show up. Your entry in the middle of the class is
a nuisance to everybody.
4. Unless for emergency, please do not leave the classroom before the class is over. Your doing so constitutes
outright disrespect for the instructor.
5. Please do not come to the classroom to mainly surf the net during class.
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION (e.g. e-learning platforms & materials, penalty for late assignments, etc.)
Notes for using the course outline template:
When preparing your course outlines, please feel free to amend the template format to suit your course.
Some typical examples for some of the following items are extracted from the current practices for your
reference.
Course Description
A short description of the course
Example (BUSI0016):
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to develop a solid understanding of modern corporate finance and its application to
corporations. The concepts and methods introduced here are heavily used in practice. These materials are very helpful not
only to modern corporations but also to your personal investing.
Course objectives
Example (BUSI1002):
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1.
To provide students with basic knowledge regarding the key principles and concepts of financial accounting;
2.
To develop students’ ability to use financial accounting information in different decision-making scenarios;
3.
…
Course Learning Outcomes and Alignment with Programme Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes are statements which explicitly state the highest level of achievement with
the subject matter that you would expect of the students by the end of this course. The recommendation
is to aim for between four and six learning outcomes in a course. The learning outcomes are usually
measurable and/or assessable and are not a statement of the process of learning but of what is to be
achieved. Mapping Course Learning Outcomes with Programme Learning Outcomes indicates the
relationship between the learning outcomes for the course and the learning outcomes for the program.
Example (BUSI0006):
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Course Learning Outcomes
CLO1. Describe and explain the financial statement auditing process
CLO2. Use relevant information for making decision of client acceptance, risk assessment
and extent of audit work
Aligned Programme
Learning Outcomes
PLO1, 2
PLO1, 2, 3,4,5,6,7,8
CLO3. Apply Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants to resolve ethical situations
PLO3,4,5,6,7,8
CLO4. Demonstrate effective communication skills
PLO3,4,5,9,10
Course Teaching and Learning Activities
Having articulated the learning outcomes we can identify teaching and learning activities and expected
contact hours that provide opportunities for students to develop and achieve the stated outcomes. The
emphasis is on the learning and how the activities facilitate that learning and which outcomes are being
targeted by specific activities.
Example:
COURSE TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Course Teaching and Learning Activities
Expected
contact hour
Study Load
(% of study)
T&L1. Lecture with interactive presentation
36 hours
30%
T&L2. Tutorial and e-forum discussions
12 hours
10%
T&L3. Case-based study and analysis
T&L4. Self study
Total
30 hours
25%
42 hours
120 hours
(within 120150 hours)
35%
100%
Assessment Methods and Alignment with Course Learning Outcomes
Each learning outcome in a course should be assessed. A matrix can be a helpful way to check that the
outcomes, teaching and learning activities and assessment tasks are aligned. Students can see the direct
relevance of the activities and can see that they are being assessed on what is relevant and what they
have been covering during the course. Students will be assessed by using the specific grading schedules
or rubrics as shown in the course outline. Weightings of each assessment are to be specified in the
following section.
Example:
Assessment Methods
Brief Description (Optional)
Weight
Aligned Course
Learning Outcomes
A1. Written assignments
Two short essays to explain the model and
…
30%
CLO1, CLO2
A2. Online assessment
Participation in e-forum to discuss a
specific topic for clarifying understanding of
the concept
5%
CLO1, CLO3
A3. Group project & presentation
Case study to do analysis and synthesis of
the chosen current issues of the study field
30%
CLO4
A4. Final examination
Open-book examination enabling student
to demonstrate most of the stated CLOs
35%
CLO1, CLO3, CLO4
Total
100%
Course Grade Descriptors
The criteria for assessment will indicate the degree to which a student has, or has not met the high
standard set in the learning outcome. These standards let students know more explicitly what they have
to do to achieve assessments at different levels. A general standard for the course is to be specified.
Example:
STANDARDS FOR ASSESSMENT
Course Grade Descriptors
A+, A, A-
Candidate has consistently demonstrated a thorough grasp of the subject as evidenced by original or
exceptionally astute analysis and synthesis…
B+, B, B-
Candidate frequently demonstrated a substantial grasp of the subject …
C+, C, C-
… some of the responses are well organized, clear but with insufficient elaboration…
D+, D
F
… solutions to questions and problems containing unstructured but relevant observations, and marginally
interesting and …
… little evidence of basic familiarity with the subject…
Assessment Rubrics for Each Assessment
For specific standard for each assessment task (e.g., presentation and group project), assessment criteria
or rubrics are to be developed and provided to students. In doing so, information of course learning
outcomes and how individual assessment is to be assessed will give students a clear goal for their study,
something against which they gauge their performance and make improvement accordingly.
Means/Processes for Student Feedback on Course
The SETL questionnaire is one of the ways HKU courses and teaching are evaluated. HKU places
significant importance on student learning and on the continuous enhancement of teaching and learning
outcomes. Students are asked to complete this evaluation of their learning experiences at the conclusion
of each course in which they enrol. Questionnaire items relate to the overall evaluation of the course as
well as an evaluation of teaching.
In addition, individual teachers may seek other student feedback mechanism in the duration of their
course such as through student forums or class discussion feedback. In this section, please indicate the
means or processes for students to provide feedback on your course.
Course Policy
A student’s academic responsibility, such as issues of plagiarism is often highlighted in a course outline
and other academic issues or procedures which may be pertinent to a specific program or course. Other
policies including academic honesty, attendance etc. could also be included as appropriate.
Course Content and Tentative Teaching Schedule
This will include a schedule of topics, readings, continuous assessment and other activities for each
week during the course.