Econ 102
Introduction to Economics II
(Introduction to Macroeconomics)
Fall 2015
Bilkent University
Fatma Taşkın
Goal of the course:
This course will familiarize you with macroeconomics. You will learn both about
‘economics’ as a way of thinking about the world and about the basic characteristics of
Turkish and other ‘economies.’ At the end of the semester not only should you have a
better understanding of economics, you should also have a better awareness of the state
of the world. Your performance in this class will depend on how well you understand the
economic concepts and how well you relate them to the real world.
Lectures:
Sections 01-07 Monday 10.40 – 12.30 and Thursday 9.00 - 10.30
Place:
Offices:
V-02
A103,
Email:
Web Page:
taskin@bilkent.edu.tr
(http://taskin.bilkent.edu.tr/econ_102-15_Fall.htm)
Office Hours: Monday 13.45 - 14.45
or by appointment,
This course is composed of 4-hour lectures in the auditorium (V-04), followed by twohour lectures of class discussion for groups of 20 students, which will be conducted by
teaching assistants. For each section you should check for your discussion hour details
from your registration.
We have to remind you that it will be impossible to learn the material and get a passing
grade without attending both the lectures and recitation hours. Attendance to lectures and
recitation hours is required.
Text Book:
Required:
(1) “Economics” by R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O’Brien, 4th ed.
Suggested as supplementary:
(2) “Macreconomics” by Dornbusch, R., S. Fischer and R. Startz, 11th ed.
Additional readings will be assigned on IS&LM and Solow Growth Model.
(You are welcome to use older versions of textbooks if you happen to have them.)
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FZ GRADE conditions:
(1) who have missed more than two quizzes (with or without a medical excuse) or
(2) those who have an average of 30/100 and below from the material up until the final
exam (this corresponds to 12 points out of 40 for your midterm exam and quizzes
results) will receive the FZ grade.
Language of the course: We would like to emphasize that this class will be in English.
We will lecture in English and ask questions in English, so will the teaching assistants of
the small sections. We expect you to ask your questions and answer ours—and the
TAs’—in English as well. If you don’t trust your language skills, that’s OK. Do your
best, the teaching assistants and we will help you. Do not switch to Turkish because it is
convenient for you. An important part of your Bilkent education is acquiring fluency in
English which you can only do by using the language.
Attendance: Attendance to lectures and discussion hours are recommended
Part of your grade is based on participation in discussion hours. Please note the difference
between attendance and participation. We should also point out that there is a high
correlation between attendance and performance. (People who come to class actually
learn something. If you are not planning to attend the lectures, we recommend not
taking this class. )
Grading
Your course grade will be a weighted average of class participation, answering
questions about homework questions in discussion sessions, quizzes and exams, with the
weights as follows:
Participation
Quizzes
Midterm
Final
10%
20%
30%
40%
Note on final exams and letter grades: It is important to note that although the
weight of the final exam is 40%, those who get a grade below 30 out of 100 in the final
exam will fail regardless of their previous grades. Overall grades will reflect your
performance in each assessment component and how much you have learned.
Note on exam grading: It is possible to get negative grades from questions. Not
answering a question or making reasonable mistakes is fine. Writing nonsense or proudly
displaying a lack of understanding of basic definitions (such as defining disinflation as
falling prices) is not. These instances will lead to negative grades from those questions.
Note on exams: The exam schedule is set and is shown below. Make sure you
arrange your personal schedule accordingly. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS
given without documented medical and other emergencies. The mid-term and final exams
will be comprehensive and will include material that is covered in lectures and discussion
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lectures up to date. There will be NO CELL PHONES allowed in the exam rooms in
midterm and final exams.
Note on homework/ quizzes:
 There will be a question set sent to you every other week. The answers
will be discussed in the following discussion hours.

Quizzes and other exams will very closely follow the homework
questions. The aim is to encourage you to think about your homework
questions (we think a lot when we prepare them) and make sure that you
understand what you do in homeworks.

There will 6 quizzes, with equal weight. The grades of highest 5 will be
taken into consideration. There will be no make-up for the missed quizzes.
Note on discussion participation:
 Participation in discussions is required. Please note again that participation
is different than attendance. Your participation will be based on the
meaningful questions you ask, the thoughtful answers you provide and
your contribution to class discussions in your small group sections.

To prepare for the class discussion you must do the readings. There will
also be regular homeworks questions sent to you before the recitation
session. The homework will help you think about the relevant ideas and
apply these to the real world.

Note that if you don’t do the readings and do not go over the homework
questions and don’t follow the world around you (by reading newspapers,
The Economist, etc.) you won’t be able to contribute to and benefit from
the class discussion. Take this class only if you are going to extend the
effort to improve yourself.

Towards that end, part of your weekly responsibility will be to read “The
Economist,” available at the library and on line through the library’s
electronic collection, as well as at newsstands if you’d like to purchase a
copy or to subscribe. You will be reading essays from The Economist and
will incorporate ideas into your class discussions. Also, if you have not
already done so, get into the good habit of reading a newspaper daily.
Importantly, you should not take for granted the validity of everything
offered to you in these publications but read them critically, drawing your
own conclusions.

The Economics Department offers a seminar series on the Turkish
economy, which we help organize. Attendance to these is not mandatory
but is strongly recommended. These non-technical seminars will help you
gain a better understanding of the economy you are living in.
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Conduct in lectures, and recitation hours and exams:
 There is zero tolerance for any kind of cheating, including plagiarism, and
giving answers and writing that does not belong to you as your own work.

We expect you to be punctual and respect the right of others to listen to
class during the lectures. Make sure that you are not disturbing the class.
TURNING OFF YOUR CELL PHONE DURING CLASS is expected.
Information dissemination:
The course related announcements and electronic documents will be posted on the course
web-page via Fatma Taşkın’s web page, (http://taskin.bilkent.edu.tr/econ_10215_Fall.htm) You wil find your weekly homeworks, class announcements and other
course related material there.
For your questions come to our offices during office hours set aside to answer your
questions and to assist you. If you can not make it to these scheduled office hours please
email us to schedule an appointment. We also encourage you to drop by our offices even
if you do not have course related questions, during our office hours. We will be happy to
talk to about economics in general, or any other topic.
WEEK
of
1
Sept. 7.
2
Sept. 14
3
Sept. 21
4
Sept. 28
5
Oct. 2
6
Oct.5
7
Oct.12
Topics
What is
Macroeconomics?
Measuring GDP
Nominal and Real GDP,
Growth, Unemployment
and Inflation
Business Cycles versus
Economic Growth:
(Monday class only)
Ch.
Hubbard
O’Brian
Ch.’s
Dornbusch
Fischer
Startz
19
2
19, 20
1 and 2-5,
2-6, 2-7
7-3, 7-5
21
Cyclical Facts and
Goods Market
equilibrium:
Aggregate Expenditure
and Output
Money, Banks and
Money Market Money
market equilibrium
3-1, 3-2
HW/Quiz in
reciations
Recitations begin
NO
RECITATIONS
9-1, 5-1, 5-4,
23
Homework 1
25
15, 16
Quiz 1
IS/ LM and AD/AS
24
10-11, 5-4
Notes
Homework 2
AS/AD
24
10-11, 5-4
Quiz 2
4
8
Oct.19
AS-AD, Fiscal policy,
Monetary Policy
26, 27
5
Homework 3
9
Oct. 26
AS-AD, Fiscal policy,
Monetary Policy
(Monday class only)
27
5
Quiz 3, Review
10
Nov. 2
MIDTERM
(Wednesday Nov 4,
17.40)
11
Nov. 9
Inflation
20
12
Nov. 16
28
6
Quiz 4,
13
Nov. 23
Expectations and
Phillips Curve
Trade and GDP and
Balance of Payments
29
12
Homework 5
14
Nov. 30
Growth Facts Revisited
22
3
15
Dec. 7
Solow Growth Model
22
3 and Notes
Homework 6
16
Dec. 14
Solow growth and
endogenous growth
22
4
Quiz 6, Review
17
Dec. 21
Review
NO MAKE_UPS unless a
university approved health
report
Review
Homework 4
Quiz 5
Review
Make sure to read The Economist of the week and to follow a daily newspaper as
well as doing the readings from the textbook. It is imperative that you are informed of
what is going on in Turkey and in the world to make sense of this class.
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