Instructor Information

Name

Dr. Hedayeh Samavati

Email

SAMAVATI@IPFW.EDU

Office location

Neff 340E

Office hours

M: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., TR: 11:00 - 12:00 Noon & by appointment.

Phone

260-481-6487

Textbooks

Required reading

The Macro Economy Today, 11th Edition, 2008 by Bradley R. Schiller McGraw-Hill/Irwin Publishing Co.

Recommended reading

Online Information available on the course Website.

Course Prerequisites

 

Econ E201 or equivalent, Sophomore Standing

Course Objectives

 

1. Students are to learn how the economy as a whole works and how macroeconomic performance is defined and measured.

2. Students are to learn about the macroeconomic environment in which businesses, government, and household operate.  They will learn about factors affecting standard of living through studying production/income, unemployment, and inflation, among other things. 

3. Students are to learn how international trade and government policy could affect macroeconomic outcomes.

4.  Students are to develop analytical skills to apply macroeconomic knowledge to explore and debate pros and cons of current macroeconomic issues and policy choices.

Course Outline

 

1. Economics: the Core Issues, Chapter 1.

 

·        The Economy Is Us

·        Scarcity: The Core Problem

·        Production Possibilities

·        Basic Decisions

·        The Mechanisms of Choice

·        What Economics Is All about


2. The U. S. Economy: A Global View, Chapter 2.

 

·        What America produces

·        How America Produces

·        For Whom America produces


3. Supply and Demand, Chapter 3.

·        Market Participants

·        Demand

·        Supply

·        Equilibrium


4. Measuring Macro Outcomes: National Income Accounting, Chapter 5.

·        Measures of Output

·        The Uses of Output

·        Measures of Income

·        The Flow of Income



5. Measuring Macro Outcomes: Unemployment, Chapter 6.

·        The Labor Force

·        Measuring Unemployment

·        The Human Costs

·        Defining Full Employment

·        The Historical Record

 

 

6.      Measuring Macro Outcomes: Inflation, Chapter 7.

·        What is Inflation?

·        Redistributive Effects of Inflation

·        Measuring Inflation

·        The Goal: Price Stability

·        Causes of Inflation

·        Protective Mechanisms


7.     Growth and Productivity: Long-Run Possibilities, Chapter 17

 

  • The Nature of Growth
  • Measures of Growth
  • Sources of Growth
  • Policy Tools

 

 

8.     The Business Cycle, Chapter 8.

 

  • Stable or Unstable?
  • Historical Cycles
  • A Model of the Macro Economy
  • Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
  • Competing Theories of Short-Run Instability
  • Long-Run self-Adjustment


9.      Aggregate Demand, Chapter 9.

 

  • Macro Equilibrium
  • Consumption
  • Consumption Function
  • Investment
  • Government spending & Net Exports
  • Macro Failure



10.  Money & Banks, Chapter 13.

  • What is “Money”?
  • The Money Supply
  • Creation of Money
  • The Money Multiplier
  • Banks and the Circular Flow



11.  The Federal Reserve System, Chapter 14.

  • Structure of the Fed
  • Monetary Tools
  • Increasing the Money Supply
  • Decreasing the Money Supply


12.  Monetary Policy, Chapter 15.

  • The Money Market
  • Interest Rates and Spending
  • Policy Constraints
  • The Monetarist Perspective
  • The Concern for Content

 

 

13.  Supply-Side Policy: Short-Run Options, Chapter 16.

 

  • Aggregate Supply
  • Shape of the AS Curve
  • Shifts of the AS Curve
  • Tax incentives
  • Human Capital Investment
  • Deregulation
  • Infrastructure Development

 

 

14.  Open Economy Macroeconomics: Global Macro, Chapter 18.

 

  • International Trade
  • Trade Imbalances
  • International Finance
  • Capital Imbalances
  • Productivity and Competitiveness
  • Global Coordination

 

 

Web – Research Home-Work Assignments

 

There will be 3 Web-research home-work assignments required in this course.

1.  Assignment #1:  Will be posted no later than Week 4 (Friday, September 19, 2008) and it will be due by the end of Week 5 (Friday, September 26, 2008).  This assignment involves internet searches to find current macroeconomic data regarding output and production, , and

2.  Assignment #2:  Will be posted no later than Week 6 (Friday, October 3, 2008) and will be due by the end of Week 7 (Friday, October 10, 2008).  This assignment involves internet searches to find current macroeconomic data regarding employment/ unemployment data.

3.  Assignment #3:  Will be posted no later than Week 8 (Friday, October 17, 2008) and will be due by the end of Week 9 (Friday, October 31, 2008).  This assignment involves internet searches to find current macroeconomic data regarding aggregate price level and inflation.

 

 

 

A Tentative Timetable For The Coverage Of Course Material

 

Please pay close attention to the DATES of exams and CHAPTERS over which you will be tested, WEEKS are less important. Also, slight adjustments are possible.  The professor reserves the right to vary the class schedule, depending on student response, the need for increased / decreased time for coverage of topics, and possibly important events.

 


WEEKS 1,  AND 2


Course Introduction, Chapter 1 and 2.

WEEKS 3, 4,  AND 5


Chapters 3, 5, and 6.



WEEK 6:  EXAM I               Tuesday, September 30, 2008

 

WEEKS 6, 7 AND 8

Chapters 7 and 17.

                                                

WEEKS 9 , 10 AND 11

Chapters 8 and 9.

WEEK 11:   EXAM II             Tuesday, November 11, 2008
 

WEEKS 12 AND 13


Chapters 13, 14 and 15.



WEEKS 14 AND 15

 

Chapters 16 and 18.

FINAL EXAM                           Thursday, December 18, 2008, 10:30 - 12:30 PM

 

Examination and Grading Policy

 


Students will take their quizzes online but their tests in-class.

Exam 1

25%

Exam 2

30%

Final Exam

30%

Quizzes & Homework Assignments

15%


The following guidelines will be used to determine letter grades:

A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
F = Less than 60%

Additional Information

 

1. Dates of quizzes are posted on the course web site and can be seen by clicking on each quiz icon. Make sure to check all of the deadlines so you do not miss your quizzes.

2. If you are ill and cannot take an exam, you must notify me before the exam. Those who miss an exam without notification will receive an "F" for the exam.

3. DISABILITIES STATEMENT: If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (Walb, room 113, telephone number 481-6658), as soon as possible to work out the details. Once the Director has provided you with a letter attesting to your needs for modification, bring the letter to me. For more information, please visit the web site for SSD at http://www.ipfw.edu/ssd/

 

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