Principles of Macroeconomics
Online Course: ECON 201-DE1
Maymester 2010
Instructor: Lancie Affonso
Office: JC Long 330
Virtual Office Hours: MW 11:00am-12:00noon
Class Location: Virtual
Google Voice: (843) 628-6357
Campus E-mail: affonsol@cofc.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The foundation of aggregate economic analysis is presented,
including identification of basic social goals, money, credit systems, theories of national
income, employment and economic growth, and international interdependence.
COURSE PREREQUISITES: ECON 200 – Principles of Microeconomics
PURPOSE:
This purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of macroeconomic
issues: the determination of output, employment, unemployment, interest rates, and
inflation. Monetary and fiscal policies are discussed, as are the public debt and international
economic issues. It introduces basic models of macroeconomics and illustrates principles
with the experience of the United States and other economies.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of how scarce resources are allocated to achieve
economic efficiency.
2. Demonstrate an ability to apply basic economic models to novel situations.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the major economic problems facing society and the
policy alternatives which may be utilized to contend with these problems.
The School of Business’ learning goals of global awareness and problem solving skills are
addressed in this course.
Students will gain factual knowledge of the macro economy, develop critical thinking and
analytical skills through understanding the following macroeconomic models and concepts:
1. the basic principles of scarcity, choice and opportunity cost
2. the operation of a competitive market and how markets resolve the problem of scarcity
3. GDP, price indices, inflation, unemployment
4. how economic stability and growth are influenced by fiscal and monetary policy
5. exchange rates and the nation’s balance of payments account.
This course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
REQUIRED ONLINE TEXT: ECON Macroeconomics (2nd edition) by McEachern: Aplia
Integrated Textbook Solution costs $70 and can be purchased through the website
http://www.aplia.com.
The materials needed for this course can be found on the Aplia website. This includes an
online copy of the McEachern text, reading assignments, graded and practice problem sets,
class announcements, discussion questions, and other course materials. We will rely
extensively on the aplia website for this online class and you will be required to check
this website daily for any new announcements. You are responsible for notifying me
immediately if you encounter any problems. The last page of this syllabus contains the
instructions and the course key that you will need to register for Aplia.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE (Detailed schedule will be available in Aplia)
Class
Week 1
1 (5/11)
2 (5/12)
3 (5/13)
4 (5/14)
TOPICS/Assignments
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
1
3
4
5
Intro to Course and Aplia/ Ch. 2 Econ Tools-Systems
Economic Decision Makers
Demand, Supply and Markets
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Week 2
5 (5/17)
6 (5/18)
7 (5/19)
8 (5/20)
9 (5/21)
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
Ch.
6 Productivity and Growth/Ch. 7 Tracking the U.S. Economy
8 Unemployment and Inflation
9 Aggregate Expenditure
10 Aggregate Expenditure and Demand
11 Aggregate Supply
Week 3
10 (5/24)
11 (5/25)
12 (5/26)
13 (5/27)
Ch. 12 Fiscal Policy/Ch. 13 Fiscal Budgets and Public Policy
Ch. 14 Money and Financial System/Ch. 15 Banking and Money Supply
Ch. 19 International Finance
Final: Online Presentation Due
This course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
GRADES AND ASSIGNMENTS: Your course grade will be determined by your performance
on problem sets and homework in Aplia (80%) as well as a final online oral presentation
(20%).
Homework & Aplia
Problem Sets
800 points
Final Online
Presentation
200 points
Total
1000 points
Points-to-final-letter-grade conversion:
A- [900-909]
A [910-1000]
B- [800-809]
B [810-879]
B+ [880-899]
C- [700-709]
C [710-779]
C+ [780-799]
D- [600-609]
D [610-779]
D+ [680-699]
F [0-599]
HOMEWORK: Problem sets, news analysis, and experiments are all completed online via
Aplia. PLEASE PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO DUE DATES and TIMES! I will not accept
work that is turned in after a missed deadline. PLAN AHEAD.
Note: One point in Aplia equals two points towards your course grade. Aplia will keep
track of the total points you earn on the homework. Also, the possibility of extra credit is
built into the grading of the homework. There will be at least 450 Aplia points possible if
you complete all the homework assignments with 100% accuracy, but I’m computing
grades on the basis of only 400 points from Aplia (800 course points), as stated above.
Final Online Oral Presentation:- Each student will prepare a presentation on one chapter
in the book. Chapters will be assigned by the instructor during the first week of class. Using
VoiceThread, you will present a brief overview of the key concepts discussed in the chapter.
Also discuss one other reference on the topic in your presentation. The oral presentations
should be approximately 10 min. The link to your VoiceThread must be emailed to me by
12:00noon on May 27, 2010. Factors impacting the grade include organization/content,
knowledge/preparedness, quality of slides, and presentation flow/tone of voice.
This course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
Aplia Website
Weekly homework assignments are found on the Aplia website. These assignments will collectively
count for 80% of your grade. The Aplia site requires a separate registration process. Here are the
steps:
1. Connect to www.aplia.com.
2. Complete the Configuration Test and make adjustments to your configuration if necessary.
3. Return to the Sign In page and click Create a New Account.
4. Choose Student Account.
5. You will then be asked to enter your course key, which is: L8TA-TVJZ-XRJG
6. You will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and select a password.
You will only need to register once. After the registration process is complete, you will not need to
enter the course key again. For any technical or sign-in problems, please send Aplia an e-mail by
clicking the Support link in the upper-right corner of any page or by e-mailing support@aplia.com
Student benefits: By completing regular work in association with the online materials, you will be
better prepared for the problem sets in the course. Cramming is not an effective method of
learning. Think of the regular assignments on Aplia as a weekly workout. Practicing and applying
what you are learning from Aplia will better prepare you to succeed in this class.
Aplia assignments: Most Aplia assignments are graded. You will have three attempts at each
question, and you will receive feedback about your answer and an explanation of the question. You
also may the option to save your work and come back later to finish the question and check your
answer; if you choose this option and do not return, the work you had completed will be graded at
the due date. After the due date passes, you will be unable to change your answers or submit any
new work. The software does not care whether you have an excuse or not. These assignments are
posted weeks in advance. Complete them early to avoid any emergencies preventing you from
finishing them before the due date.
The cost of Aplia is $70 per student for this class for the summer (May 11-May 28, 2010). This
course fee will include access to a digital copy of the text through the Aplia site, so you have to
buy a physical textbook only if you desire one.
Disclaimer: I am not financially affiliated with Aplia and receive no monetary benefit from
requiring this material.
This course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.