University of British Columbia
Department of Economics
Econ 102 Principles of Macroeconomics
Course Outline
Instructor: Dr. Ratna K. Shrestha
Office Room # BuTower 902
Tel: (604) 822-5608
Email: shrestha@interchange.ubc.ca
Office Hours: T/Th: 12.00-1.00 pm
Class Time: T/Th: 9.00-12.00 Noon
Class Room: Swing 222
Objective: This course introduces the basic principles and tools of Macroeconomics. The topics
covered include GDP and standard of living, money and banking, unemployment and business cycle,
economic growth, fiscal and monetary policies, inflation, and expenditure multiplier. The course will
also cover international trade and finance with a particular focus on Canadian economy.
Recommended Text: Macroeconomics: Canada in the Global Environment, 6th or 7th Edition by:Parkin
and Bade, Pearson Addison Wesley. There is no required text for this course.
You are required to do Quizzes every week from the UBC WebCT site. Once you begin your Quiz, it
must be finished within the allocated time (usually 25-60 minutes, depending on the number of
questions contained). Corrections can be made within that allocated period of time only. Once you
submit your solutions, no correction can be made. Since the quizzes are very challenging, I suggest
you to do self-tests (which are not graded) before the actual quizzes.
First Week
Part 1: Introduction/How Market works?
Chapter 1:
Chapter 1(a):
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Introduction
Graphs in Economics
The Economic Problem
Demand and Supply
Second Week
Part 2: Macroeconomic Overview
Chapter 19
A First Look at Macroeconomics
Chapter 20
GDP and Economic Growth
Chapter 21
Business Cycle, Jobs and Price Level
Chapter 22
Aggregate Supply and Demand
Third Week
Part 3: Aggregate Demand and Inflation
Chapter 23
Expenditure Multipliers
Chapter 24
Fiscal Policy
Chapter 25
Money, Banking and Interest Rates
Review for the Midterm
Fourth Week
Midterm May 26
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Exchange Rate
Inflation
Monetary Policy
Fifth Week
Chapter 29
Fiscal and Monetary Interaction
Chapter 32
International Trade
Review for the final
Final Exam: Last Day of Class (June 11: this may change)
Grading Policy:
WebCT Quizzes (20%),
Midterm (30%),
Final (50%) and
Class Attendance 2% Extra Bonus Mark.
Class Attendance: There will be 2 attendances taken randomly during the term. So each
attendance carries one bonus mark. If you miss a class for some genuine reason, you must
provide a valid document to get credit for your missed class.
Prerequisite: A good knowledge of high school Algebra and Geometry is required. The
mathematics used will be slightly more advanced than what you will find in the text.
Website
http://www.econ.ubc.ca/rshrestha/index.htm