Mt. San Antonio College
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS: MACROECONOMIC
Prerequisite: Eligibility for ENGL 1A.
INSTRUCTOR: FRANNY CHAN
E-mail address: fwchan@mtsac.edu Voice Mail: 909-594-5611, Ext. 3031
Office Hours: By appointment only
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Principles of aggregate economic analysis; economic cycles including
recession, unemployment, inflation and economic growth; national income accounts; money and financial
institutions; monetary and fiscal policy; alternative economic viewpoint; budget deficits and public debts;
international trade and finance.
COURSE OBJECTIVE: This course presents the United States' basic macroeconomics system.
Students are expected to understand the role of government, business cycles, unemployment, inflation,
economic growth, fiscal and monetary policies, and international trade and finance.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. The students will know fiscal policy, various types of fiscal policies, and the tools available to the
federal government to use fiscal policy.
2. The students will know monetary policy and the tools available to the Federal Reserve System (FED)
to use a certain type of monetary policy. The students will know the difference between an expansionary
monetary policy and a contractionary monetary policy.
3. The students will know the use of fiscal policy and will be able to comment on the fiscal policy used by
the government.
4. The students will know the use of monetary policy and will be able to make comments on the monetary
policy being used by the FED.
TEXT: Roger A. Arnold; Macroeconomics, 11th edition, Thomson South-Western; W/Aplia.
CLASS WEBSITE: http://instruction.mtsac.edu/fchan Please click on Macroeconomics for
additional information about this class.
RECOMMENDED READINGS: Have access to newsmagazine and newspaper such as U.S. News
and World Report, Time, Business Week, Fortune or the Wall Street Journal. Current economic news will
be discussed in the class. It will be helpful if you can familiar yourself with the present economic
environment of our country.
COURSE OUTLINE
ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4*
EXAM 1
MACROECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS
CHAPTERS 6, 7, 8
EXAM 2
MACRO ECONOMIC STABILITY, INSTABILITY AND FISCAL POLICY
CHAPTERS 9, 10, 11
EXAM 3
BANKING, MONETARY POLICY , AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
CHAPTERS 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23*
FINAL EXAM
*Indicates read-only chapters
FINAL IS SELECTIVELY COMPREHENSIVE
Weekly Schedule:
Week #
Class requirements
Ch 1 Definition of economics &
Ch 2 Production possibility frontier
WK 1
Ch 3 Supply & Demand
Exam 1
WK 2
Ch 6 Prices and Unemployment
Ch 7 GDP
Ch 8 AD and AS
WK 3
Exam 2
Ch 9 Self-Regulating Economy
Ch 10 A Critique of Self-Regulating Economy
WK 4
Ch 11 Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy
Exam 3
Ch 12 Money and Banking
Ch 13 The Federal Reserve System
WK 5
Ch 14 Money and the Economy
Ch 15 Monetary Policy
Ch 22 International Trade
Ch 23 International Finance
WK 6
Final Exam
Course schedule may be changed at the discretion of the instructor.
GRADING:
If you wish to withdraw from this class, be sure to drop officially in the record office. Failure to do so will result in
F. Your grade is based upon the following assignments and tests:
6 Classroom Assignments 20% (3.33% each)
3 Exams
45% (15% each)
Final Exam 35%
A=90% B=80% C= 60% D= 50%
Exams: All the exams will consist two parts: true/false and multiple-choice problems. Please bring a calculator
and scantron (#882-E) to each exam. Class notes will be very helpful in preparing for the exams. You can prepare a
formulae sheet to bring to the exam. No makeup examinations will be given. If you miss any exam, your overall
Aplia result will replace that exam grade.
Problem Sets: All problem sets are available in Aplia and graded automatically. You have 3 attempts, and your
grade will be the average of all your attempts. If you have achieved 100% in the first try, additional attempts may
lower your average. All problem sets are due by Sundays, and you may review your feedbacks after due dates, and
you may continue to access the feedbacks throughout the semester. These problems can help you in preparing for the
exams. You may use your overall Aplia problem set results to replace one exam grade.
Classroom assignments: Classroom assignments have to be finished in the classroom. They are open-book
exercises and will be given at the end of the section. No makeup assignments will be given, and no late classroom
assignments will be accepted. If you missed an assignment, you have to do the extra ones to make up. You will be
given more than 6 assignments. If you did more than 6 assignments, the extra assignments will be counted as extra
credit towards your grade.
Classroom Rules: All quantitative answers in class work and exams should have at least 2 decimal digits, 4 are
recommended. No cell phone use in classroom and exams. Students are highly encouraged to attend all class
sections on time. Excessive tardiness (more than 3) will count as one absence. Students with more than 3 absences
will be dropped. College requirements will be followed in this course.
COMMUNICATION: I would be glad to answer your questions about the lecture or course materials. The
most effective method of contacting me is by e-mail. Usually, I will respond to your questions within 24 hours. If
you like to talk to me, I can meet you before the class or by appointment.
The general rules of the College, the requirements of the Business Division and the Department of Business
Administration are all assumed and specially applied to the cases of cheating, plagiarism and assignment of
an incomplete grade.