University of Washington, Department of Economics AUTUMN 2012 Econ 201 B: Introduction to Macroeconomics Sui Luo Contact: sluo65@uw.edu Lectures: M/W 8:30~10:20 AM in CDH 110B Office Hours: M 10:30 ~ 11:30PM/ W 12:30~1:30PM in SAV 319G or by appointment Purpose This course is designed for the students with interests in macroeconomic concepts, issues, figures, and debates. The main goals of learning in this course are as follows: Fundamental Knowledge •
Understand and be able to use macroeconomic terminology. •
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Understand the basics of how the economy works in the aggregate level. Learn how the macroeconomic variables are related. •
Learn to read and interpret the empirical information in macroeconomic data, graphical displays, and tables. Application •
Analyze the sources of long‐term prosperity and the contributing factors to long term economic growth. •
Analyze the causes of short‐term economic fluctuations (business cycles) and the mechanism of “fixing” the economy to restore full employment (low unemployment) and low inflation. •
Analyze the emergence and the effects of rising national debt •
Analyze the current international macroeconomic issues and policy debates University of Washington, Department of Economics AUTUMN 2012 Textbook Principles of Macroeconomics, 6e by Greg Mankiw. You can purchase the textbook from the bookstore, or purchase an e‐book online. Older edition is acceptable for this course, but you may need to check if there is any difference between. Resources: Course Website https://catalysttools.washington.edu/workspace/sluo65/14056/ Everything related to the course will be posted on the course website, including some of my notes and all the answer keys. Please check it at least once every week. Textbook website http://academic.cengage.com/economics/mankiw/edition_6/macro.html The book comes with some web resources, including practice quizzes, tools to strengthen your graphing skills, helpful video clips, and other resources to help you learn the textbook material more easily and effectively. Other Useful Resources Greg Mankiw’s blog: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/ Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/home‐page/ Economist: http://www.economist.com/ Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/ University of Washington, Department of Economics AUTUMN 2012 If you want to learn about some current issues, these websites are good resources. You may also find some interesting topics there. Tentative Schedule Part I The Data of Macroeconomics Part II The Real Economy in the Long Run Week 1 Introduction Chap. 10 Measuring a Nation’s income Week 2 Chap. 11 Measuring the Cost of Living Chap. 12 Production and Growth Quiz 1 (Oct. 3, Wed) Chap. 13 Saving, Investment, and Financial system Chap. 14 The Basic tools of Finance Quiz 2 (Oct. 10, Wed) (Cont.) Chap. 14 Chap. 15 Unemployment Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Part III Money and Prices in the Long Run Part IV Short‐run Economic Fluctuations Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9
Part V The Macroeconomics of Open Economies (Cont.) Chap. 15 Review for the 1st exam Quiz 3 (Oct. 22, Mon) Exam 1 (Oct. 29, Mon) Chap. 16 The Monetary System Chap. 17 Money Growth and Inflation Quiz 4 (Nov. 7, Wed) Holiday on Nov. 12 Mon Chap. 20 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply Chap. 21 The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy on Aggregate Demand Week 10 Quiz 5 (Nov. 26, Mon) Optional: Chap. 18/19 Open‐Economy Macroeconomics Week 11 Review for the 2nd exam Exam 2 (Dec. 5, Wed) Note: 1. We don’t have classes on Nov.12th due to public holiday. University of Washington, Department of Economics AUTUMN 2012 2. Dates for quizzes and exams are as scheduled above. But what will be covered in each one will depend on the actual progress. I will put up a notice about it on the course website in advance. Grades Your Grades in this class will be a composition of the best four of your quiz scores and two exams. Grades •
Quizzes First exam Second exam 40% 30% 30% Quizzes: We will have five quizzes in this quarter, the lowest of which will be automatically dropped. Make‐up quizzes will be given only if you miss more than one quiz due to documented absence/emergency. •
Exams: The two exams are given as scheduled above, Oct. 29th and Dec. 5th. Note that there is no traditional final exam in the final exam week. No make‐up for the exams unless due to documented absence/emergency. •
Documented absence: Please let me know as soon as possible if you have to miss any quizzes or exams so that we can set up make‐up plans. •
Extra Credits: There will be 2‐3 mini pop quizzes which may bring you extra points. There will be no other extra assignments to increase your grade. •
Grade Scales: As required by the Department of Economics, the class median will be set at between 2.8 and 3.1. The preliminary grade scale is posted on the course website for your inference. However, it may be adjusted at the end of the quarter due to the department requirement.