ECON 360.00: Intermediate Macroeconomics
INFLATION, UNEMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Spring 12-week, 2011
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Uğur Aker
(To remember the first name, think of SEWER and drop the “S”; to pronounce
the second name, say “I CARE” with a southern accent!)
TIME and PLACE:
MWF 2:45-4:05
Hinsdale 114
OFFICE:
113 Hinsdale
OFFICE HOURS:
TR 2:00-5:00 and by appointment.
If it is important, please make an appointment. Please feel free to stop by my
office to clarify concepts, argue against my opinion, glorify or condemn
economics, etc.
PHONE:
(330) 569-5142 office
(330) 569-3494 home (Please, no calls after 10 PM).
INTERACTION:
My e-mail is: akerus@hiram.edu. This syllabus and lecture notes will be posted
in my web site: http://thehiramcollege.net/econ .
The textbook has its own web site:
The 6th edition: http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/mankiw6/default.asp
The 7th edition: www.worthpublishers.com/mankiw7
I.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Econ 360 is the course called “Intermediate Macroeconomics” around the world.
As you can tell from the title of the course, inflation and unemployment are the two main ills
we will be concerned about. The term “Business Conditions” refers to the recessions and recoveries
the national economy sails through. Our explanation and suggested policy solutions to inflation and
unemployment will take the national economy as a unit and will abstract from individual industries or
regions. There is no concern for individual firms, profits, and consumer choices in this course. We
will concentrate on variables that affect the whole economy, like interest rates, exchange rates, money
growth, government’s budget and of course, inflation and unemployment. You may think of
macroeconomics similar to public goods approach in microeconomics: actions affect everybody. The
most difficult part of the study of macroeconomics, I think, is the feedbacks each variable has with
other variables. Depending on what kind of disturbance on the economy is experienced (shocks, as
they are called), one could get both direct and inverse relationships between variables. For example,
inflation can be experienced with both high and low unemployment levels.
II.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This course is required for Economics majors. It is an elective for Economics minors.
The course will be a success (1) if it provides a framework to understand and analyze the
news that affect all of us, thus raising our cultural literacy; (2) if it provides an understanding
about the future of the economy and a basis for a reasonable personal strategy; and (3) if it
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enlightens us about improving the macro economy through the political process, thus giving us a
reason to be a responsible, engaged citizen.
III.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
1.
TEXTS:
Mankiw, N. Gregory, Macroeconomics, 7th edition, (Worth Publishers, New York, 2009)
2.
WEB SITES:
My web site is http://thehiramcollege.net/econ.
N. Gregory Mankiw’s web site is http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/mankiw
The web site of the sixth edition of the book is
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/mankiw6/default.asp
The web site of the seventh edition of the book is www.worthpublishers.com/mankiw7.
3.
ASSESSMENT:
There will be 6 tests, including the Final. Homework questions are the best way to
prepare for the tests. The more homework problems you turn in, the higher will be your
Homework grade.
4.
ATTENDANCE:
You are required to attend all classes. If you miss a class, your grade for the course is
reduced by 0.33%. Three absences would lower your grade, say, from 87 to 86, or, from B+ to B!
Knowing that some -- maybe all -- absences can be the consequence of unforeseen circumstances;
I do allow you to make-up absences. Four questions answered at the end of the chapter will
erase an absence. The deadline to erase absences is April 1.
Remember, College is not just going to classes and doing the assignments. Please utilize as
many opportunities available for you here as you can. Once you are out of college and working and
raising a family your options for grabbing opportunities will be severely curtailed. Go to as many
convocations, concerts, plays, etc. as you can. Some of the happenings during the Spring Semester are
listed under Calendar in Hiram College's home page.
IV. ASSESMENT AND EVALUATION
1. GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
95 - 100 A
87 - 90 B+
79 - 80 B71 - 74 C
63 - 66 D+
55 - 58 D2.
91 - 94
83 - 86
75 - 78
67 - 70
59 - 60
0 - 54
AB
C+
CD
F
ASSIGNMENTS:
At the end of each chapter, Mankiw has two types of questions: Questions for Review and
Problems and Applications. Instead of picking questions to be submitted, I will let you
answer the ones you wish and give them to me any time before the test on that chapter.
There are roughly 15 questions per chapter; if we cover 15 chapters they add up to 225
questions. I will require 75 questions to get the full 10% of the total grade. That means,
you get 10% regardless of the quality of your answers. If fewer questions are submitted, you
will lose proportionally from this 10%. If you submit more, you will get extra credit.
Homework assignments are best tackled collectively. I do encourage you to work in a group
and discuss the problem. However, plagiarism is a very serious offense and academic honesty
is the basis of our trust for knowledge. Therefore, you should work together but should not
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submit the same answer, same format, and same language in your assignment. After
discussing the problem and the way to answer it, I want each person, individually, to write it
in their own words.
3.
TESTS:
Tests will comprise 90% of the grade. Tests may have multiple-choice and short answer
components. Drawing and interpreting graphs are of course to be expected.
4.
ATTENDANCE:
For every class you miss, your grade will be lowered by 0.33%.
IV.
SCHEDULE:
WEEK
Jan 10-14
Jan 17-21
Jan 24-28
Jan 31-Feb 4
Feb 7-11
Feb 14-18
Feb 21-25
Feb 28-Mar 4
Mar 14-18
Mar 21-25
Mar 28-Apr 1
Apr 4-8
Apr-11
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
Getting acquainted. Ch. 1
MLK Day
Test Ch. 1-3
Test Ch. 4-6
Test Ch. 7-8
Test Ch. 9-10
Test Ch 11-12
MONDAY 4-6
FINAL EXAM
CH 13-14
VI. DISCLAIMER
Plans are wishes. Not all wishes do come true. Those with the wisdom of ages warn us about the
curse of wishes that do come true. We may change parts of this syllabus as we see fit in the course of the
semester. For the sake of participatory democracy, I promise to include the class in the decision-making
before I make any changes.
ACADEMIC HONESTY (Hiram College Catalog, October 29, 2002)
Hiram College believes that the development of intellectual honesty is at the heart of a college education. The
process of education is severely compromised if we cannot depend on the academic integrity of each member of the
community. Moreover, the principles of academic honesty are aligned closely with the principles of good scholarship
and research, principles of critical thinking and reasoning, and the standards of professional ethics. Thus, students who
fail to practice academic honestly not only risk losing the trust of the academic community; they also fail to develop the
most essential skills and abilities that characterize a college graduate.
Any student who violates the integrity of the academic process will be subject to punishment, including
possible dismissal from the College. There are many forms of academic dishonesty including the giving or receiving of
help in any form on an examination, the sale or purchase of papers and test materials, the abuse of computer privileges
and regulations, the misuse or abuse of library resources, and any other action which debases the soundness of the
educational process. Faculty members and librarians are expected to report all instances of academic dishonesty to the
Associate Dean of the College who will provide advice on an appropriate action.
Plagiarism
The most common form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism. An essay or term paper is designed to develop
a student’s own ability to think clearly and critically about a subject and to express ideas fluently. Similarly, a
laboratory report is designed to develop a student’s capacity to record observed phenomena and to interpret them
correctly. A creative work in the arts is intended to demonstrate the student’s own creative abilities. If a student
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corrupts these purposes by receiving unacknowledged assistance from a written source, he or she is guilty of
plagiarism.
To avoid any suspicion of plagiarism, students should acknowledge any work not their own; in other words,
any language, illustration, information, or diagram which is not original must be documented. Students are urged to
visit the Writing Center for help in understanding these guidelines.
Hiram College expects students to develop a thorough understanding of what constitutes plagiarism and to
avoid it in all forms of campus communication. When plagiarism occurs in work submitted for a grade in a course, it is
particularly serious and becomes a reportable offense. There are two categories of such offenses. Category I includes
instances of plagiarism in which there is clear intent to falsify, mislead, or misrepresent another’s work as one’s own.
An obvious example would be an attempt to hide the source of plagiarized material by not even including it in the
paper’s bibliography. Category II includes instances in which there is not clear intent. Instead, there is evidence that the
student made a simple mistake in citation, or did not fully understand what constitutes plagiarism.
The process for dealing with cases of plagiarism is intended to facilitate the development of the student as a
scholar who practices academic honestly. First offenses usually involve some penalty, depending on severity. Students
are expected to learn from these mistakes and, therefore, there is less tolerance for subsequent offenses.
Cases of plagiarism are handled in the following ways:
• The course instructor judges whether the offense is Category I or II.
• All cases of plagiarism are reported to the Associate Dean of the College who will maintain a database of plagiarism
cases.
• For first-offense, Category II cases involving an underclass (not senior) student, the course instructor has the option of
allowing a makeup of the paper or assignment, or a penalty. These cases do not require a conference with the Associate
Dean and the student. All other cases require a conference with the Associate Dean.
• Category I cases, even if first offense, may result in an F in the course.
• A pattern of Category II offenses, or any second-offense, will usually result in a suspension from the College.
• Records of plagiarism are kept by the Associate Dean. The student’s advisor (for traditional students) or the Weekend
College Dean (for WEC students) is informed of the results of plagiarism cases.
• Appeals of plagiarism case decisions may be made to the Dean of the College.
Special Note on Collaborative Work
Students must assume that collaboration in completion of assignments is prohibited unless explicitly
specified by the instructor. Students must acknowledge any collaboration and its extent in all submitted work. This
applies to collaboration on editing as well as collaboration on substance. (This statement is not intended, however, to
discourage students from forming study groups.)
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