ECON 202: Economics II 1 Important Information Instructor: Yuan(Ryan) Yuan Contact info: yy23@drexel.edu This is a really good way to touch me ! Course’s webpage: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~yy23/ Office hours: by appointment. (I will be available almost every afternoon on weekdays) Meeting Times: M and W 12:00 – 1:50 pm, Pearl 101 2 Required text: R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O’Brien, Macroeconomics, 2nd Edition. 3 Requirements and Grading Two midterm tests (25% each) Final exam (25%) – not cumulative 4 - 6 homework assignments (25%) 98 for an A+, 94 for an A, 90 for an A-, 87 for a B+, 84 for a B, 80 for a B-, 75 for a C+, 70 for a C, 65 for a C-, 62 for a D+, 60 for a D, below 60 for an F. No makeups for unexcused midterms and final. No exceptions. If you miss any of the midterms, you will need to take a cumulative final exam (covering the entire course) worth 50% of your course average. Lowest homework assignment can be dropped. Homework due on assigned date AT THE BEGINNING of class. Attendance not required. Class participation for potential bump ups 4 Additional Help: The Drexel Learning Center (DLC) provides free individual tutoring. Contact information for appointments: 050 Creese, dlc@drexel.edu, (215) 895-2568. Their website is www.drexel.edu/dlc. 5 Tentative Calendar Jan. 21st (Week 3): Homework 1 due date. Jan. 28th (Week 4): Midterm exam 1. Feb. 11th (Week 6): Homework 2 due date. Feb. 18th (Week 7): Midterm exam 2. Mar. 4th (Week 9): Homework 3 due date. Mar. 11th (Week 10): Homework 4 due date. Attention: We have class on Mar. 16th, Monday of the final week ! Final: According to university schedule. 6 Course Outline We do not cover Chapters 1-4, since they are a review on materials that you should have learned in Econ 201 or 211. The tools and concepts learned in microeconomics, particularly supply and demand diagrams, will be used extensively throughout this course. Chapter 1-4 of the textbook offer a good review, and you are encouraged to read those chapters. The very important concepts such as supply and demand curves and so on will be briefly reviewed when they are needed. 7 Macroeconomics Real GDP and Nominal GDP Price level and inflation Employment and unemployment Economic growth Aggregate demand and aggregate supply Monetary and fiscal policy Tradeoffs between Inflation and unemployment International economy (Time permitting) 8 Some Tips For Learning Macroeconomics The most important thing: Intuition - how economists think. Practice with formulas: solid understanding of economic concepts and intuitions. Linkage between what happened and what you learned. Asking questions and discussion