Syllabus
Class:
Semester:
EC201
Spring 2015
Section and time: 201:002, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Instructor:
Office:
Office hours:
Phone:
Email:
Don Holley
MBEB 3202
426-1158
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings dholley@boisestate.edu
Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Macroeconomics, 3 rd
edition, Worth Publishers Text:
Assignments:
Week Beginning Reading Subject Matter
January 12 Chs. 1 – 3
January 19
January 26
February 2
February 9
February 16
February 23
March 2
March 9
Chs. 1 – 3
Ch. 6
Ch. 7
Ch. 7
Ch. 8
Chs. 9 & 10
Ch.10
Ch. 11
Connecting with Sapling
Tutor schedules
Review of semester requirements: Spreadsheets, Executive
Summaries, and Minutes of the Open Market Committee
January Executive Summary
Supply and demand and the labor market
December Statement of the Open Market Committee
Macroeconomics: The Business Cycle and theBig Picture
Tracking the Economy
First set of graphs
Tracking the Economy: GDP and Real GDP
Price Indices: CPI, Implicit Price Deflator
Unemployment and Inflation
January Statement of the Open Market Committee
Unemployment and Inflation
Long-Run Economic Growth and Savings, Investment Spending and the Financial System
February Executive Summary
Savings, Investment Spending and the Financial System
Second set of graphs
The Income-Expenditure Model: The Keynesian Revolution
March 9
March 16
Chs. 12, & 13
Chs. 12, & 13
March 23
March 30
April 6
April 13
April 20
April 27
May 4
Chs. 14, & 15
Chs. 14, & 15
Ch. 16
Ch. 17
Ch. 18 or
Short-Run Economic Fluctuations
Short-Run Economic Fluctuations
March Statement of the Open Market Committee
March Executive Summary
Spring Vacation
Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve System
Monetary Policy
Third set of graphs
Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve System
Monetary Policy
April Executive Summary
The Financial Crisis
Macroeconomics: Events and Ideas or Open-Economy
Macroeconomics
Fourth set of graphs
Final Exam Week
April Statement of the Open Market Committee
Problems and Exams
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Exam #1
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Exam #2
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Exam #3
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Exam #4
Sapling Assignment
Sapling Assignment
Exam #5
During this course, to complete certain assignments, you will be required to access the Sapling website. To access the website, you need to register for an account with Sapling at saplinglearning.com
. Please register on the website right away. Sapling will give you 2-3 weeks to pay so if you drop the course in the first week or two they won’t send a collection agency to take your car.
For each chapter there is an assignment found in Sapling.
Five exams are scheduled. Each exam is made up of 50 multiple choice questions worth 4 points each, which means that each exam is worth 200 points. The syllabus contains the due dates for the exams and the fact that all exams are to be taken in the Testing Center. The enrollment is large enough that you will have to make an appointment.
The Department asks that each student take a pre-test at the beginning of the semester and a post-test at the end of the semester. The tests are made up of 30 multiple choice questions. The purpose is to help us assess our teaching effectiveness. Both the Pre-Test and Post-Test are to be taken in the Testing Center. Given the size of the class you must make an appointment. You have until January 16 to complete the Pre-Test.

On Blackboard, under Course Documents, you will find a spreadsheet with column headings for a number of economic indicators. You are required to find and enter the data for each of the variables on the spreadsheet and to update the spreadsheet monthly as additional data become available and then create an Excel graph for each series and under each graph some statement analyzing the information. The graphs will be submitted on January 27-29, February 24-26, March 31-April 2, and April 28-30.December 4. Each submission is worth 25 points for a total of 100 points.
On the following website, http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/default.htm
, you will find “Related Information” and under that you will see “View All”. You are now at a listing of the announcements and minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee. The Committee met In December and will meet in January, March, and April. After each meeting the Committee issues a Statement which briefly outlines the action that was taken and the reasons for that action. You are to read the Statement and provide a short 1-3 paragraph summary. The December 2014 Statement is due January 20-22. The January 2015 Statement is due February 10-12. The March 2015 Statement is due March 24-26.
The April 2015 Statement is due May 4-5.
1. According to the Federal Open Market Committee, what is the current state of the U.S. economy?
2. What did the Committee decide to do?
3. Why did they decide to do it?
These summaries are worth 100 points, 25 points each.
In Blackboard, under Course Documents, you will find the monthly Executive Summary from Global Insight. One becomes available about the middle of each month. Beginning with the September Summary and ending with the one for November, you are to review the month’s Executive Summary and provide a one page summary answering the following questions:
1. According to Global Insight, what is the current condition of the U.S. economy?
2. Is the U.S. economy recovering from a recession or in a recession?
3. Given the condition of the economy, is the current monetary policy appropriate?
4. Given the condition of the economy, is the current fiscal policy appropriate?
5. What are the risks facing the economy?
The review for January is due January 13-15. The review for February is due February 17-19. The review for March is due March 17-19. The review for April is due April 14-16.
These summaries are worth 100 points, 25 points each.
During the course of the semester, there will be some in-class assignments. I am not sure when or how many … maybe one each week. These assignments are worth a total of
100 points.
In determining your grade I will drop the lowest score of the exams. Your final grade will be determined by the following schedule.
Score
90% - 100%
80% - 89.9%
70% - 79.9%
Grade
A
B
C
60% - 69.9% D
The assignments in Sapling can be difficult. Students see ambiguity when there is none and if you choose a and b when only a is correct the computer gives you no points. Consequently the grading MAY slip. I emphasize the word, “MAY”. It is possible that most everyone does so well that the grades won’t slip.
In that case 89.99% is a “B” and 90.0% is an “A”. It’s not fair, is it?
Please take advantage of the services provided by the fees you pay. The Department has tutors that can help with homework and answering any questions that you may have. When that fails you have access to the smartest person in the class. My office number, phone number and e-mail are found at the top of this syllabus.
Students:
1. Go to http://saplinglearning.com
and click on your country at the top right.
2a. If you already have a Sapling Learning account, log in and skip to step 3.
2b. If you have a Facebook account, you can use it to quickly create a Sapling Learning account. Click “Create an Account”, then “Create my account through
Facebook”. You will be prompted to log into Facebook if you aren't already. Choose a username and password, then click “Link Account”. You can then skip to step 3.
2c. Otherwise, click "Create an Account". Supply the requested information and click "Create My Account". Check your email (and spam filter) for a message from Sapling Learning and click on the link provided in that email.
3. Find your course in the list (you may need to expand the subject and semester categories) and click the link.
4. If your course requires a key code, you will be prompted to enter it.
5. If your course requires payment, select a payment option and following the remaining instructions.
Once you have registered and enrolled, you can log in at any time to complete or review your homework assignments. During sign up or throughout the term, if you have any technical problems or grading issues, send an email to support@saplinglearning.com
explaining the issue
.