WACO, TEXAS COURSE SYLLABUS AND INSTRUCTOR PLAN Macroeconomics ECON 2301 M1 David Davenport AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION winter 2014
Course Description Introduces the principles and policies of macroeconomics to include the practical aspects of economic analysis as applied to supply and demand, national production, consumption, saving, taxation, inflation, unemployment, and growth. Competency in reading as demonstrated by THEA or the MCC Placement Test is recommended. Semester Hours (3 lec.) Prerequisites and/or Corequisites There are no prerequisites for the course. It is highly recommended students are through with any remedial coursework. Course Notes and Instructor Recommendations There are no course notes or instructor recommendations. Instructor Information: Instructor Name: David Davenport MCC E-mail: ddavenport@mclennan.edu Office Phone Number: (254) 299-8667 Office Location: MAC 213 Office/Teacher Conference Hours: Because I teach on-line courses, I check e-mail 7 days a week. This is the BEST way to contact me. Required Text & Materials Title: Mankiw Principles of Economics or Macroeconomics Author: N. Gregory Mankiw Edition: 7 th Edition but any edition will do. Publisher: South-Western College Publishing ISBN: 978-1-285-16592-9 Aplia software is also required. You can purchase either the complete package at the bookstore or purchase Aplia online using the link in Blackboard. Details can be found on the Announcements page of Blackboard on the first day of class. MCC Bookstore Website 2
Methods of Teaching and Learning As an internet course, this course will be mostly self-taught. I will provide you with all of the materials I give my face to face class and you have the textbook (a great study guide.) There are individual video lectures from Khan Academy in the Course Documents folder in Blackboard that cover the materials in each chapter. You must take it upon yourself to e-mail with specific questions/problems. The Chapter Tests and Final Exam will come from the text, PowerPoint slides, and the Blackboard quizzes (though not word for word.) Course Objectives and/or Competencies A. The primary objective of this course will be to help students develop a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the economic system as a whole. B. Specific Learning Objectives Successful completion of this course should enable students to: 1. Understand how limitations on factors of production are the source of society's scarcity and production possibilities, as well as the prices and opportunity costs of goods and services. 2. Distinguish between macroeconomic issues, which focus on resource allocation to achieve goals for the overall economy, and microeconomic issues, which focus on resource allocation from the point of view of individual market participants. 3. Illustrate and distinguish between the concepts of scarcity, law of increasing opportunity cost, inefficiency, unemployment, and growth, using the production possibilities curve. 4. Know the three basic questions - WHAT, HOW, and FOR WHOM - and the differences between the market mechanism and government directives in answering those questions. 5. Recount some of the market failures of the market mechanism as well as the government failures associated with government directives. 6. Read and interpret graphs used to illustrate economic concepts. 3
7. Understand how the WHAT, HOW, and FOR WHOM, - decisions are made in the economy: WHAT goods and services does the United States produce? HOW is that output distributed? FOR WHOM is the output produced? 8. Recognize how market signals and government directives alter the outcomes for the WHAT, HOW, and FOR WHOM decisions. 9. Interpret, distinguish, and use data on: Output (the GDP) and the components of output. Standard of living (per capita GDP). Economic growth (percentage change in GDP). Relative importance of different sectors (share of GDP) 10. Understand how income quintiles are used to measure income distribution and outcomes of the FOR WHOM question. 11. Discuss the efficiency vs. equity issues involved in the FOR WHOM question. 12. Distinguish between factor and product markets in the circular flow model, and trace the flow of goods, services, and payments for these goods and services on this model. 13. Identify the two major assumptions made in any economic analysis. 14. Know the definitions of supply and demand and be able to distinguish supply and demand from quantity supplied and quantity demanded. 15. List and understand the determinants of supply and demand for goods and services. 16. Visualize the shifts of supply and demand when the determinants change. 17. Describe the effects on equilibrium output and prices when determinants change and the curves shift. 4
19. Describe the four phases of the "idealized business cycle" and have in mind a historical perspective of the business cycle from the Great Depression to the present. 20. Distinguish between Classical and Keynesian theories on how to deal with the business cycle. 21. Define aggregate demand, aggregate supply, and macroeconomic equilibrium and understand the implications of macroeconomic equilibrium on prices, output, and employment. 22. Recognize how internal market forces, external shocks, and policy levers affect macroeconomic equilibrium. 23. Make a preliminary evaluation of several theories of the business cycle demand-side, supply-side, and eclectic. 24. Distinguish between those individuals who are ready and willing to work (in the labor force) and those individuals who are not available for employment (out of the labor force). 25. Calculate the unemployment rate recognizing how the unemployment rate may overstate or understate the true dimensions of the unemployment problem. 26. Define four types of unemployment and explain how the concept of full employment is affected by these definitions. 27. Explain why it is important to distinguish between changes in the average price level and changes in relative prices. 28. Recognize the redistributive effects of inflation on income and wealth. 29. Know the macroeconomic effects of inflation, including shortened time horizons, hoarding, uncertainty, bracket creep, and psychological-social impacts. 30. Calculate and interpret a price index and explain why a price index may overstate or understate inflation. 31. Understand the methods for protecting against inflation, including ARMs, COLAs, and universal indexing. 5
32. Explain why a system of national-income accounting was initiated and how it has been used in the past during national emergencies. 33. Relate national income and output accounts to the circular flow model and understand why national income must equal national output. 34. Know how GDP is calculated, what is included and what is not included, and calculate GDP from a given set of national accounts. 35. Distinguish between nominal GDP and real GDP and understand why this distinction is important. 36. Recognize what real GDP per capita measures and what it does not measure. 37. Explain why net domestic product (NDP) is the best measure of future production possibilities. 38. Understand how income generated in market sales (GDP) flows to households through income accounts such as national income (NI), personal income (PI), and disposable income (DI). 39. Identify the shortcomings of our system of national income accounting. 40. Explain how aggregate demand and aggregate supply determine the macroeconomy's equilibrium price and output level and recognize that this equilibrium may or may not be the desired equilibrium. 41. Identify the four components of aggregate demand and explain how changes in these components affect the macro economy s price level and output. 42. Understand the difference between aggregate demand and aggregate spending and relate aggregate spending to consumer income and consumption. 43. Compute the average propensity to consume (APC) and the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and use these computations to graph the consumption function. 44. Define autonomous consumption and explain how changes in autonomous consumption affect disposable income. 45. Use the circular flow model to explain how injections into and leakages from the economy affect income and employment. 6
46. Contrast a recessionary gap with in inflationary gap. 47. Understand the characteristics of investment, the relationship between saving and investment, the distinction between desired investment and actual investment, and the role that investment plays in destabilizing the economy. 48. Explain how an initial imbalance between saving and investment may lead to multiple impacts on the economy through the multiplier process. 49. Understand how the economy may reach equilibrium at less than fullemployment GDP (recessionary gap) or more than full-employment GDP (inflationary gap). 50. Recognize the uses and limitations of the Keynesian and AS/AD models in examining the price and output effects of a stimulus to the economy. 51. Discuss the trade-off between unemployment and inflation in an aggregatesupply/aggregate demand framework. 52. Know the history of federal government expenditures and revenues, and distinguish between government spending for goods and services and government transfer payments. 53. Describe the tools of fiscal policy, know how to compute the desired fiscal stimulus from each tool, and understand how the targets for each tool are set. 54. Use MPC and the multiplier to interpret the impact of fiscal policy on both aggregate demand shortfall and excess aggregate demand. 55. Evaluate public versus private spending as a fiscal stimulus, bringing into the evaluation the meaning of important concepts such as opportunity cost and crowding out. 56. Develop a historical understanding of how budget deficits came into existence and how these deficits affect the national debt. 7
57. Distinguish between discretionary spending and automatic spending and understand how automatic spending (automatic stabilizers) affects the business cycle. 58. Recognize the difference between cyclical and structural deficits, understand the economic effects of these deficits, and explain the concept of crowding-out. 59. Know who owns the debt and understand the implications of internal and external ownership of this debt on future generations. 60. Know the basic characteristics and functions of money and the various measures of money supply. 61. Understand the nature of our fractional reserve banking system, and distinguish between a bank's required reserves, actual reserves, and excess reserves. 62. Explain how banks create money and how the money multiplier works. 63. Identify two essential functions that banks perform for the macro-economy. 64. Describe the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System. (Fed) 65. Know the three basic tools the Fed uses to control money supply and be able to make calculations on the impact on potential money supply when the Fed uses these tools. 66. Explain how the Monetary Control Act of 1980 changed banking in the U.S. and how recent trends in the macro-economy are affecting banks. 67. Understand how the tools of supply and demand can be used to analyze the money market and the role of interest rates as the price of money. 68. Explain, from Keynesian perspective, how changes in the money supply affect aggregate demand through interest rates and investment. 69. Describe the constraints on both expansionary and restrictive monetary policy. 70. Evaluate Keynesian monetary policy as a means of stabilizing the macroeconomy. 8
71. Understand the equation of exchange and the assumptions on which it is based and explain how Keynesians and the Monetarists differ in their interpretation of this equation. 72. Recognize the relationship between the Monetarists concept of a natural rate of unemployment and the shape of their aggregate supply curve. 73. Contrast the Monetarists aggregate supply curve with the Keynesian supply curve. 74. Distinguish between the Monetarist and the Keynesian view of the relationship of money to aggregate demand and aggregate supply and the differences in their policy recommendations. 76. Explain the effects of monetary policy on the mix of output and the distribution of income. 77. Compare and contrast the Keynesian and Monetarist theories of aggregate demand and aggregate supply and their recommendations for both fiscal and monetary policy. C. Workplace Competencies 1. Resources: Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources Students in ECON 2301/2302 have to be able to appropriately allocate their time in order to complete class assignments in a timely fashion. They must be able to budget their time and perform class-related activities through a ranking process which allows them to meet self-determined goals. Group assignments help students learn how to distribute the work among the members according to skills and at the same time help students learn how to evaluate one another s work. 2. Interpersonal: Works with others Students in ECON 2301/2302 at times work together in groups. Many times these groups are randomly selected, thus giving the students an opportunity to interact with different types of students. Students must learn to use leadership skills, learning skills, negotiating skills, and evaluating skills as they work together to accomplish a common goal. 3. Information: Acquires and uses information 9
Students in ECON 2301/2302 must acquire the proper information in order to successfully complete the course. Sources include the text, the Wall Street Journal, current news and the internet. They must be able to evaluate what information is necessary and pertinent to solve questions and problems relating to economic issues. They must be able to organize this information in a logical and precise manner to order to communicate their responses appropriately. 4. Systems: Understands complex inter-relationships Students in ECON 2301/2302 must be able to understand the concept and the operation of various economic systems, especially capitalism, as this represents the foundation of these courses. Students must become familiar with various types of systems and be able to evaluate these and demonstrate an understanding of government economic policies. 5. Technology: Works with a variety of technologies D. Foundation Skills Students in ECON 2301/2302 must be aware of the impact of changing technology upon the performance of economic systems. Critical areas include communications and computer technologies. 1. Basic Skills--Reading, Writing, Math, Listening, Speaking Students in ECON 2301/2302 are required to complete text, Wall Street Journal, and internet assignments as well as listen and participate in classroom discussions. Students are required to perform mathematical calculations to prepare written summaries and reports on economic issues. 2. Thinking Skills--Creative thinking, problem solving, visualizing relationships, reasoning and learning Students in ECON 2301/2302 are required to complete exercises and problems in the text, study guide and tutorials which involve the use and development of conceptualizing and visualizing skills, problem solving skills, and decision making skills. Economics issues tend to involve complex relationships which challenge and develop students intellectual skills. 10
3. Personal Qualities--Responsibility, sociability, self-management, integrity, honesty Students in ECON 2301/2302 are required to develop and demonstrate selfmanagement and responsibility in completing assignments on time and in good form. Group projects encourage teamwork and the development of the social skills necessary to be successful in the business world. Course Outline or Schedule The following is the schedule for the semester. As this is an internet course, the schedule is set. If anything happens and it is my or MCC s fault, I will adjust the schedule in your favor. This is important: I have opened all materials up so you can work on them from now until the due date but once they are due, they are due. You can complete the semester in a week if you wish but you will have to wait until finals week to take the final exam. This is as flexible as I can get. Please note the strange chapter numbers. If you are using the Aplia text or have the Principles of Macroeconomics Textbook, then you use the first number (i.e. Chapter 10.) If you have the Principles of Economics Textbook, then use the second number (i.e. Chapter 23.) The Blackboard quizzes, Aplia, and chapter tests are due by 11 p.m. on their due date. Due by 11 p.m. Aplia, Chapter Quiz and Test Due January 1st, 2015 Orientation quiz and Chapter 1 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 2 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 4 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 10/23 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 11/24 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 13/26 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 15/28 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 16/29 January 1st, 2015 Chapter 17/30 11
January 1st, 2015 Chapter 20/33 January 1st, 2015 January 2nd, 2015 Chapter 21/34 and Chapter 6 and 22/35 Bonus Final Exam Course Grading Information Your grade will be earned based on scores on quizzes, aplia, the chapter tests, and the comprehensive final exam. The contributions of these components to your grade are as follows: Blackboard quizzes 25% Aplia 25% Chapter tests 30% Comprehensive Final Exam 20% Total 100% If you do not take the mandatory final exam, your grade components will be as follows: Chapter quizzes 15% Aplia 20% Chapter tests 15% Comprehensive Final Exam 50% Total 100% Make-up work will only be given with a valid, VERIFIED reason (see school catalogue for what qualifies as verified reason.) If you miss an assignment of any kind without a valid reason, it will be a zero. If you know that you are going somewhere or have to do something in advance, contact me and we might be able to work something out. I am a lot more flexible in advance of the exams. The class grading scale is as follows: A 90% and above B 80-89% C 70-79% D 60-69% F Below 60% 12
The grade ranges are guaranteed upward, but may be curved downward. For example, I may lower the B range from 80% - 89% down to 77% - 89%. However, I will never raise it up to something like 82% - 89%. Blackboard Quizzes The Blackboard quizzes in the Assignments folder are designed to help you understand what kinds of questions I will ask on the chapter tests and final exam. They will NOT be on the exams word for word but questions similar to them will be. Just studying these questions will not get you a passing grade. All quizzes are in the Assignments folder in two formats: a word document and the quiz itself. Download the word document and work the questions. You can work ahead on the word version of the quizzes as you have every question I will ask you. When you go to take the quiz, it will look exactly like the word document you have been working on and shouldn't take you longer than 5 minutes to complete the quiz. The quizzes are open now but will disappear at 11 p.m. on the Thursday January 1 st, 2015. You can work ahead but once the deadline has passed, it is too late to turn it in. You will receive your grade, your answers, and the correct answers immediately. If that doesn t happen, I pushed the wrong buttons so just e-mail me and I can fix it pretty quickly. I usually mess one up each semester! If you don t understand the quizzes, you definitely won t understand the Tests. I will not accept late work. One final note: you have to take the orientation quiz and score 100% but I will use these points as bonus in the Bb quiz grade like in the Aplia News Analysis bonus described next. Aplia Aplia will take a long time so don t put it off! You do not have to do the Math and Graph section but if you have ANY doubts about your math skills, it might be a very good idea to go through the review. There are numerous opportunities for bonus points in Aplia. To see all of the assignments, click on the View All button. The first one is the item titled Introduction to Aplia. If you look at it now, you will see the word (Bonus) underneath where it says Graded. For grading purposes, let s use this example: you get 379 out of 568 questions right in Aplia (67%) and you CORRECTLY answered 100/143 of the bonus questions. Your Aplia grade would be (379 + 100) /568 = 84%. The News Analysis questions are interesting, apply Economics to the real world, and are helpful to your grade. You CAN NOT get higher than a 100% on the Aplia portion of the grade. Remember that you must do all bonus for a possible bump at the end. Chapter Tests and Final Exam 13
The tests will be in the Assignments folder where you find the quizzes. They will have 10 questions on each test, 5 theory and 5 math/graph questions. I can t control whether people use their materials and having you come into the testing center kind of defeats the purpose of on-line teaching so trust me when I say the exams will be hard. You will not be able to rely on just having the materials in front of you. The way I grade these tests is I will add up your final grade at the end of the semester and then whoever has the highest number of points gets a 100%. I will use that persons score as the denominator for everyone else. This acts as a curve to the class and is in your favor! The Tests are open now but will disappear at 11 p.m. on the Thursday January 1 st, 2015. The final exam is comprehensive and will come from the same pools as the chapter tests. The exam will have 3 math/graph and 3 theory questions from each chapter except chapter 1 which will have six questions. Chapters 6 and 22/35 will NOT be on the final exam. There may be a curve on the final exam at the end of the semester. I won t know the curve until everyone is done but I try to curve the final exam average to 73%. BAYLOR STUDENTS MUST CONTACT ME PRIOR TO THE FINAL EXAM. BAYLOR HAS INSTITUTED NEW RULES FOR THEIR STUDENTS AND YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FROM THEM IF YOU DO NOT TAKE A PROCTORED FINAL EXAM. Students are responsible for all material covered in the Mankiw textbook chapters. The Tests due dates will work the same as the quizzes. Late Work, Attendance, and Make Up Work Policies Late and make-up work will only be accepted if the absence was due to a School recognized excuse. Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in accordance with the school's attendance policy. Attendance for purposes of this course will be taken by submission of work each week. To get credit for attendance in the first week, the materials for the second week must be submitted on time or two weeks worth of absences will accrue. Student Behavioral Expectations or Conduct Policy Students are expected to maintain classroom decorum that includes respect for other students and the instructor, prompt and regular attendance, and an attitude that seeks to take full advantage of the education opportunity. MCC Academic Integrity Statement 14
The Center for Academic Integrity, of which McLennan Community College is a member, defines academic integrity as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action. Individual faculty members determine their class policies and behavioral expectations for students. Students who commit violations of academic integrity should expect serious consequences. For further information about student responsibilities and rights, please consult the McLennan website and your Highlander Student Guide. Academic Integrity Statement I expect all students to act honorably. Cheating will not be tolerated. When detected, it will be punished up to an including an F for the course. Although I will try to stop and catch cheating, it is also the responsibility of the students to report it. I will protect the privacy of students who report cheating. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying answers from another student, providing answers to another student, and using notes or other aides. Getting other students to do your work for you is also cheating. Working with other students on the quizzes is okay and is actually encouraged. Just copying their answers is not. To limit the opportunity to cheat on exams, the test banks for the chapter tests and final exam are randomized so no two people have the same exams. MCC Attendance Policy Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students, and each instructor will maintain a complete record of attendance for the entire length of each course, including online and hybrid courses. Students will be counted absent from class meetings missed, beginning with the first official day of classes. Students, whether present or absent, are responsible for all material presented or assigned for a course and will be held accountable for such materials in the determination of course grades. Please refer to the Highlander Guide for the complete policy. ADA Statement In accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the regulations published by the United States Department of Justice 28 C.F.R. 35.107(a), MCC s designated ADA coordinators, Dr. Drew Canham Vice President, Student Success and Mr. Gene Gooch - Vice President, Finance and Administration shall be responsible for coordinating the College s efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under ADA. Students with disabilities requiring physical, classroom, or testing accommodations should contact Ms. Renee 15
Jacinto, Disabilities Specialist, Student Services Center, Student Development Department, Room 227 or at 299-8122 or rrjacinto@mclennan.edu TITLE IX No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Legal Citation: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and its implementing regulation at 34 C. F. R. Part 106 (Title IX) In accordance with the requirements of the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 MCC s designated Title IX Coordinator, Al Pollard Vice President, Program Development/EEO Officer and Deputy Coordinator, Phyllis Blackwood Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for coordinating the College s effort to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX. Contact information Al Pollard, Title IX Coordinator Vice President, Program Development McLennan Community College Administration Building, Room 417 Administration Building, Room 101 1400 College Drive 1400 College Drive 254-299-8669 254-299-8659 Phyllis Blackwood, Title IX Deputy Coordinator Director, Human Resources McLennan Community College FAX 254-299-8654 FAX 254-299-8592 apollard@mclennan.edu pblackwood@mclennan.edu 16