Econ 111 Principles of
Macroeconomics
Welcome!
• “Economics is common
sense made difficult”
• As seen by an undergraduate
student
Dr. Anwar Al-Shriaan
Economics Department
Office hours:
Sundays and Tuesdays 12:00– 12:50 pm and
by appt.
Today
• Syllabus
• Intro to economics
Some definitions of economics
• “Economics is a study
of mankind in the
ordinary business of
life”
• Alfred Marshall
•
"the purpose of studying
economics is not to acquire
a set of ready-made
answers to economic
questions, but to learn how
to avoid being deceived by
economists."
• Joan Robinson
•
“Economics is what
economists do”
• Jacob Viner
Economics (1)
• Study of the choices people make
to attain their goals given their
scarce resources.
Economics: Foundations and
Models
1.
What do economists study?
•
gasoline prices, inflation, housing markets,
international trade, income inequality, sports,
families, smoking, health care, happiness
•
decision-making or choices
2.
How do they do it?
•
by using theories and models
•
theories are based on assumptions
What makes a good theory or a
model?
• Models are not judged by
their realism but by their
usefulness
• What is the most useless
map in the world?
To be useful a model has to be refutable
Why study theory?
•
“I don’t know how it is in theory
but here is what I know from my 20
years of experience will happen “
• Theory saves time!
•
Laura, Executive MBA student
Learning Objective 1.3
Making
the
Connection
•When Economists Disagree:
A Debate over Outsourcing
Does outsourcing by U.S. firms
raise or lower incomes in the
United States?
Economics (2)
• Study of the choices people make
to attain their goals given their
scarce resources.
Course Materials
Required:
McConnell and Brue“ Economics“,
16th ed
Recommended
course web site
•
•
URL at top of the syllabus
contains
• course information
• exam study guides
• TA’s
lecture notes
• PowerPoint slides
Email list
• I send email about
• Announcements
• Course information
• Do you prefer Emails or Facebook
groups .
TA
• Check my website
• But please see me too!
Grading Policy
Midterm 1 25%
Midterm 2 25%
Recitation and Participations 10%
Final 40%
Grading Policy
Letter grades will be assigned as
follows:
94.00 – 100.0 % … A
90.00 – 93.99 % … A86.00 – 89.99 % … B+
83.00 – 85.99 % … B
80.00 – 82.99 % … B78.00 – 79.99 % … C+
73.00 – 77.99 % … C
70.00 – 72.99 % … C66.00 – 69.99 % … D+
60.00 – 65.99 % … D
59.99 – 0.00 % … F
Grading Policy
Your Final Grades: 1st Mid + 2nd Mid + Part
+ Final.
If Your Participation > 8.5 you will have
Extra credits as follows:
Your Final Grades: 20% X Max (1st Mid, 2nd
Mid, Final)
Grading Policy
Your Final Grades: 1st Mid + 2nd Mid + TA + Part + Final.
If Your Participation > 8.5 you will have Extra credits as follows:
Your Final Grades: 20% X Max (1st Mid, 2nd Mid, Final)
1st Mid
(25)
2nd Mid
(25)
Part
Final
(10)
(40)
22
24
9
28
%84
%88
%70
Total
82
B-
86
B+
1st Mid
(25)
2nd Mid
(25)
Part
Final
(10)
(40)
15
17
9
36
%60
%68
%90
Total
77
C
82.4
B-
1st Mid
(25)
2nd Mid
(25)
Part
Final
(10)
(40)
15
17
6
40
76
%100
76
%68
15
17
9
40
Total
C
80
B-
86
B+
final exam
• cumulative
Makeup's
• Usually I don’t do it
• planned absence: 1 week’s notice
• emergencies: case-by-case
• must be an excused absence!
• must be documented!
• makeup's may be essay exams or I
may re weight other exams
Attendance
• regular attendance is expected
• you are responsible for information
•
in class
attendance is necessary to earn
extra credit.
Please be respectful of your
classmates
• be on time
• do not talk during lecture
• do not have your phone on
Cheating
• you cheat,
• I catch you,
• you fail the course
• programmable calculators (e.g. TI83),translators, phones, PDAs, etc.
are NOT allowed in exams
Course Schedule
• in syllabus
• note exam dates,
• note the final exam date & time
Tips for success
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
come to class with lecture notes to follow
read the book!!
weekly “look-through”
ask for help
ME or
the TA or
ME
use available resources
• course web site
Why you should try to learn something
in this course.
Percentage of wage dispersion explained by skill factors.
Huge variation in
earnings of low vs.
high-skilled
college graduates
• if you need special
•
accommodations, see me
if you are having problems in the
course, see me sooner NOT later