Economics 202 Principles of Macroeconomics
3 Credit Hours
Summer 2012, Internet Delivery
South Dakota State University
Instructor and Contact Information
George Langelett Ph.D.
Office: 110 Scobey Hall
Office Phone: (605) 688-4865
Instructional Methods
The primary method for instruction will be through Desire2Learn
Email
You may use george.langelett@sdstate.edu to contact me. Currently, the Desire2Learn
internal email system is not fully functional at this time. I check my regular email address,
george.langelett@sdstate.edu at least once a day Monday through Friday, and will normally
get back to you within 48 hours. Do not email may me from your D2L account, D2L
email does not receive any emails from outside the D2L system.
Office Hours
If you have any questions or comments, you may email me and set up an appointment with
me. We can have a private conversation in a chat room in the Desire2Learn.
Time Zone
US Central Time
Course Description
Principles of Macroeconomics considers the economy as a whole, how its sectors interact,
and how monetary and fiscal policy can influence output, inflation, interest rates,
unemployment, poverty, and other factors.
Course Prerequisites
MATH-102, MATH-115, MATH-120, MATH-121, MATH-123, MATH-125, OR MATH281
You also need PowerPoint, QuickTime, Java. If you do not have them, please download them
from http://learn.sdstate.edu/online/require.htm.
Required Texts and Supplements
Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 5th Edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, ISBN: 0324590377 or
Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 4th Edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, ISBN: 0324813945
The bundle is available at the SDSU bookstore (http://www.sdstatebookstore.com).
Free Tutoring Available to SDSU Students
For more information, call Deb at 688-4155.
Courses Requirements and Evaluation Procedures
Your grade for the course will be based on chapter quizzes, exams and discussion.
1
Chapter Quizzes
There will be fourteen chapter quizzes, three quizzes per test starting June 9th. The chapter
quiz each week will be available from the beginning of the semester until 11:00 P.M. on the
due date (this means the quiz must be completed and submitted by 11:00 P.M. on the due
date). You can change your answers as many times as you like before the due date has passed
(be sure to click Save answer). After you finish all questions, be sure to click Finish at the
bottom of the page to submit your quiz. You are allowed to have three attempts for each
chapter quiz. Each time the computer will randomly generate a similar quiz from the test
bank. I use your highest score for your grade. Technical problems and other circumstances
will sometimes arise that prevent you from completing an online quiz. If you miss a due date,
you will receive a zero for that particular quiz without exception. To soften the impact of
unforeseen contingencies, you are allowed to “skip” any two chapter quizzes without penalty.
I will simply drop them when calculating your grade. If you complete all quizzes (so that you
have no zeros to skip), I will drop your two lowest scores at the end of the semester. These
“skips” are intended to be used to cover any and all circumstances that prevent you from
completing a quiz on time (computers crash, power lines blow down, viruses, etc). Each quiz
will count for 3% of the course grade -- so 36% of the course grade is based on the quizzes.
Exams
There will be five exams. They are generated from the same test bank as chapter quizzes and
have the same format. Technical problems and other circumstances will sometimes arise that
prevent you from taking an online exam. If you miss an exam, you will receive a zero for that
particular exam without exception. To soften the impact of unforeseen contingencies, you are
allowed to “skip” one exam without penalty; I will simply drop it when calculating your
grade. If you take all exams, I will drop your lowest test score at the end of the semester. This
drop is intended to be used to cover any and all circumstances that prevent you from taking
an online exam. Each exam will count for 11% of the course grade -- so 44% of the course
grade is based on the exams.
Discussion
We will form discussion groups. Discuss Tab in the Desire2Learn will be organized by
groups. “Group 1” in the Desire2Learn discussion area is the private discussion area for the
students in the first group, and so on so forth. Your weekly discussion involves:
1. I have posted discussion questions under the Discuss Tab. Read each chapter and discuss
your thoughts under discussion topics of interest.
2. Read the blog of Prof. Mankiw, the textbook author and the former Chairman of the
President's Council of Economic Advisers, at http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/. Raise and
discuss any questions or issues that interest you.
3. You may also discuss any class-relevant topics in your group discussion area. For instance,
if you have questions about a concept or a theory, you can post a message in your group
discussion area, and other members in your group can respond. I firmly believe that the best
way to learn a new skill is to teach it to others.
4. There are two forums entitled “Course Issues” and “Economic Questions”. If no one in
your group can answer your question, post your question in these forums.
2
In brief, your group forum area is where you interact with your group members. Please note:
1. Not only respond to my questions, but carry on a dialogue with your group members as
well. This is a discussion, not just a question-and-answer session. It is one of the items that
make a good online course and establishes community. If you only respond to my questions,
it makes our discussion more of an "exam" rather than a dialogue.
2. Some of my questions may seem to be not discussable in the sense that intuitively there
seems to be only one answer. Please note that it is essential to learn economics terminology
in our class. In other words, it is critical to learn how to use economics terminology to
describe and analyze issues. Some answers may have right intuition, but use wrong or
imprecision economics terminology. In such cases, you can point out the errors and
contribute to the discussion.
3. When you reply to a post, do not just say "I agree" or “I disagree”. Explain why you agree
or disagree.
4. Before each test, two posts is the bare minimum. You need to answer my questions, and
have at least one more post (discuss any interesting issues you read from Mankiw’s blog or
the textbook, or comment on other students’ posts). More is expected for a good discussion
grade. Late posts do not count. You should also plan on posting on more than one or even
two days in order to allow yourself to stay involved with the class.
Weekly discussion will make up 20% of the course grade in all. I will use the following
guidelines for grading your discussion.
1. For an "A" : a weekly discussion grade of "A" will require you to have all your postings
completed by the deadlines, demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of the
week's readings, responses and questions for your classmates, and at least four quality
postings before each test.
2. For a "B": a weekly discussion grade of "B" will require you to have all your postings
completed by the deadlines, demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the week’s
readings, responses and questions for your classmates, and three good postings before each
test, spread out over the entire session.
3. For a "C": a weekly discussion grade of "C" will require you to have your postings
completed by the deadlines, demonstrate average knowledge and understanding of the
week's assignments, responses and questions for your classmates, and two good postings
before each test.
4. For a "D": a weekly discussion grade of "D" will require you to have one or two posts
demonstrating some knowledge of the week's assignments and responses and questions for
your classmates.
5. For a "F": simply do nothing or offer only postings that are strictly your opinion without
any support from the class materials. Rudeness to your classmates also helps you achieve this
goal.
3
Grade policy
In accordance with the 2010-2011 South Dakota State University General Catalog for
undergraduate programs, the following grade policy applies to this course.
Letter Grade
Description
Performance
A
Exceptional
90% and above
B
Above Average
80%-89%
C
Average
70% – 79%
D
Lowest passing
60% – 69%
F
Failure
Below 60%
Get Started
1. Go to Desire2Learn entry page at d2l.sdbor.edu. There is a blue menu bar at the top.
Click Check Browser to make sure your browser will run Desire2Learn.
2. If you need assistance to login, click Student Login Assistance.
3. If you have not used Desire2Learn before, I recommend you to take a tour of
Desire2Learn by clicking Self-Register for Student Desire2Learn 101 in the
section headed by Training. You may have to enable pop ups. We suggest you add
this site as a trusted site: if popup blocked notification appears, right click pale yellow
bar, select Always allow pop-ups for this site, Yes, and Close.
4. SDSU Support Desk has hours: Monday - Thursday: 7:30am - 10:00pm; Friday:
7:30am - 5:00pm; Sat: Closed; Sunday: 2:00pm - 10:00pm. Phone Number: (605)
688-6776. Email: SDSU.SupportDesk@sdstate.edu.
Features of Online Econ 202
1. Course homepage will link you to the various course materials and tools.
2. Course Content. Course material is organized by chapters. You can access each
chapter from the Course Content page. The chapter page will include links to
PowerPoint notes, Videos, Practice problems and solutions, and Advanced Critical
Thinking problems for that chapter.
3. Communicate.
1) Discussion Area. In a sense the discussion area is the classroom for an online
course. You interact with your group members and answer weekly discussion
questions in your private discussion area (Group 1, Group 2 …). You interact with
me and ask me questions in the Ask the Instructor area. I will typically answer the
question within 48 hours. Main is a free discussion area in which you can post any
class relevant messages.
2) Chat Tab. Students may want to meet for study groups in the chat room. The best
way to do this is usually for a student to announce in the discussion area that he/she
will be in the chat room at a particular day and time and would like to discuss a
particular topic. You may post your message in the Main area or in your group
4
discussion area. If you post your message in your group discussion area, the students
in other groups may not see and respond to your message.
4. Calendar will indicate start dates for each chapter, quiz dates and exam dates.
5. Quizzes. This is where you can find chapter quizzes and exams.
6. Grades will show your scores on discussion, quizzes and exams.
7. A typical week will be:
Monday – Wednesday: You study the assigned chapter. To better understand the
chapter, you may go over the PowerPoint notes, watch the Videos, and do the
Practice problems. If you have any questions, please post a message in the Ask the
Instructor area.
Wednesday – Sunday: You interact with your group members on the discussion
questions and complete the quiz. To enrich your understanding, you may go over the
Advanced Critical Thinking problems.
ADA Statement
This course acknowledges the importance of ADA requirements.
It is the policy of South Dakota State University not to discriminate on the basis of race, color,
creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability
should contact the Coordinator of Disability Services (Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks) privately to
discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Office of Disability Services at (605) 6884504 in Room 102 Administration to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students
with documented disabilities. You may also contact me privately to discuss your specific
needs.
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom is learning. Students are responsible for learning the content of any course of study
in which they are enrolled. Under Board of Regents and University policy, student academic
performance shall be evaluated solely on an academic basis and students should be free to
take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. Students who
believe that an academic evaluation is unrelated to academic standards but is related instead
to judgment of their personal opinion or conduct should first contact the instructor of the
course. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may contact the department head and/or
dean of the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the evaluation.
5
Tentative Schedule
Weeks
7/2 – 7/6
7/9 –7/13
7/16 – 7/20
7/23 – 7/27
7/30 – 8/3
Readings
Quizzes and Exams
Due Dates
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Quiz
Quiz
Quiz
7/9
7/9
7/9
Four Posts for Week 1
and Exam 1
7/11
Quiz
Quiz
Quiz
7/11
7/12
7/13
Four Posts for Week 2
and Exam 2
7/16
Quiz
Quiz
Quiz
7/18
7/19
7/20
Four Posts for Week 3
and Exam 3
7/23
Quiz
Quiz
Quiz
7/25
7/26
7/27
Four Posts for Week 4
and Exam 4
7/30
Quiz
Quiz
8/1
8/2
Four Posts for Week 5
and Exam 5
8/3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
6
Academic Honesty Policy
I will not tolerate acts of academic dishonesty. The following actions will not be tolerated. Any
evidence found of academic dishonesty will result in an “F” for the semester course grade and
will be reported to the appropriate authorities for disposition as directed by the “Policy Governing
Academic Integrity” found in the S.D.S.U. Student Policy Manual.
Cheating: An act of deception by which a student misrepresents that he or she has mastered
information on an academic enterprise which in fact, she or he has not mastered.
Plagiarism: Taking ownership of one’s work even though the words, ideas or arguments are from
another person. No appropriate attribution by quotation, reference or footnote is given to the
original person.
Fabrication: The intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or
citation in an academic exercise.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Those who intentionally or knowingly help or attempt to help
another to commit an act of academic dishonesty are also subject to penalty.
Course Goal and Student Learning Outcomes
This course satisfies the South Dakota Board of Regents System General Education
Requirement (SGR) goal #3 and the Globalization requirement.
System Goal #3: Social Sciences and Diversity - Students will understand the organization,
potential, and diversity of the human community through study of the social sciences. (06-07
Bulletin - pg. 40)
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO): As a result of taking courses, students will:
[1] Identify and explain basic concepts, terminology and theories of the selected social
science disciplines from different spatial, temporal, cultural and/or institutional contexts.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will identify and explain fundamental
economic terminology and classifications, such as demand, supply, CPI, and GDP; students
will also identify and explain the basic economic principles and theories, such as the AD-AS
model.
[2] Apply selected social science concepts and theories to contemporary issues.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will compute macroeconomic statistics such as
the consumer price index and unemployment rate, employ standard business cycle and
growth models to demonstrate the macroeconomic effects of monetary policy, fiscal policy
and unanticipated supply shocks (e.g., a rise in oil prices), and relate to contemporary
economic debates on macroeconomic policy.
7
[3] Identify and explain the social or aesthetic values of different cultures.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will identify and explain how the social values
of different cultures affect how economies allocate financial capital (i.e., how perceptions of
usury affect interest rates), labor and human capital (i.e., how perceptions of gender, race and
leisure affect the job market), and natural resources (i.e., how perceptions of nature affect an
economy’s choices of production inputs).
[4] Demonstrate a basic understanding of the origin and evolution of human institutions.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the
origin and evolution of the marketplace, and the private and public institutions that support
and regulate it.
[5] Demonstrate a basic understanding of the allocation of human or natural resources within
societies.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of, and
distinguish between, resource (e.g., labor, land, capital and human innovation) allocation
mechanisms in capitalist and communist societies.
[6] Demonstrate a basic understanding of the impact of diverse philosophical, ethical or
religious views.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the
philosophical, ethical and religious views that have shaped the framework of modern
economics.
Globalization: Students will understand globalization and how it affects the human
community (06-07 Bulletin - pg. 46)
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO): As a result of taking courses, students will:
[1] Demonstrate a basic understanding of globalization.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the
importance of international trade to the US economy.
[2] Identify the benefits and cost implications of globalization.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of
comparative advantage and gains from trade.
8
[3] Identify and analyze global issues including how multiple perspectives impact such
issues.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will analyze the effects of trade restrictions.
[4] Interpret global issues and data utilizing discipline specific analytical and/or philosophical
tools.
To attain this outcome in this course, students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the
effects of trade restrictions.
9