ULO 11. Apply knowledge and methods of inquiry characteristic of the social sciences to explain and evaluate human behavior and institutions.

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1 ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics Syllabus: Fall 2014 Professor: Dr. Chris Loucks Office: Micron Business and Economics Building, 3256 Phone: Office Hours: My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon-1 p.m. If those hours are not convenient for you, please me to schedule a mutually convenient meeting time. I am available by almost every day. Required: Macroeconomics, in Modules, 3 rd Edition, Paul Krugman and Robin Wells (Worth Publishers, 2014) ECON 201 serves as a disciplinary lens course for the Foundational Studies Program and is part of the core required for majors in the College of Business and Economics. Listed below are the learning objectives for each program. FOUNDATIONAL STUDIES PROGRAM DISCIPLINARY LENS COURSE Boise State s Foundational Studies Program provides undergraduates with a broad- based education that spans the entire university experience. Economics 201 satisfies 3 credits of the Foundational Studies Program requirements. It supports the following University Learning Outcomes, along with a variety of other course-specific goals: ULO 11. Apply knowledge and methods of inquiry characteristic of the social sciences to explain and evaluate human behavior and institutions. This course helps to achieve the goals of the Foundational Studies Program by focusing on the following course learning outcomes: 1. Understanding of historical and/or cultural forces: familiarity with major U.S. and international economic institutions. 2. Responsibility, personal reflection: ethical issues in macroeconomics relates to personal responsibility. 3. Reasoning, inquiry, and problem-solving: critical thinking, and express economic relationships to predict the consequences of changes in relevant variables. COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REQUIRED INFORMATION CORE CURRICULUM STUDENT LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ECON 201 Students in this class will learn or practice the following COBE Core Learning Goals: 1. Understand and apply analytical and disciplinary concepts and methods related to business and economics: 1.3 Economics 1.6 International environment of business 2.1 Communicate effectively: Write messages and documents that are clear, concise, and compelling 2.2 Communicate effectively: Give oral presentations that use effective content, organization, and delivery 3.0 Solve problems, including unstructured problems, related to business and economics. 4. Use effective teamwork and collaboration skills 5. Demonstrate appropriate principles of responsible business practices. Syllabus 201 1

2 Grade Determination: Each student's grade will be determined by the number of points accumulated on a pre-test for Understanding College Economics (TUCE), a post-tuce, quizzes, 3 exams and a comprehensive final exam. The pre-tuce is worth 25 points; the post TUCE is worth 50 points; and homework assignments will be worth 100 points. The other exams taken during the semester are each worth 100 points; the top two exam grades earned during the semester will count towards the final exam grade. The comprehensive final exam is worth 150 points. The TUCE exams are 30 question multiple-choice exams. The other exams will consist of two parts, (1) multiple choice/fill in the blank and (2) short answer/problem/essay. There will be no make-up or late exams, homework assignments or quizzes unless you have a university-excused absence from class. TUCE Exams: The Department of Economics uses information taken from the TUCE exams for assessment purposes; the results will be used to improve student success in our principles courses. The TUCE exams will be taken in the Boise State Online Testing Center in the Education Building, 4 th Floor, Room E418. Although your ECON 201 class does not have 100 students, I encourage you to schedule the Post-TUCE exam. There is likely to be little demand for the Online Testing Center during the first two weeks of the semester when you take the Pre- TUCE, but the Post-TUCE is scheduled at the end of the last week of regularly scheduled classes and during finals week. There will be high demand for the Online Testing Center during this time period, so please schedule a time to take the Post-TUCE. Registration for exams during the finals period is available the 8 th week of the semester. Register early to receive a favorable time slot. Remember to take photo identification with you to Online Testing Center and please read the Online Testing Center rules and policies before you go the Online Testing Center. Homework Assignments/Quizzes: There will be numerous homework assignments and quizzes this semester. Some quizzes will be online; some quizzes will take place during class after homework is reviewed. For the homework assignments, I will divide you into groups and assign questions from the Section Review (Section Reviews appear at the end of a group of modules. For example, Section 1 Review appears at the end of Module 3. The questions contained in the Section Review cover the material contained in modules 1-3.) Your group is responsible for explaining the answers to the assigned questions. I will give you a quiz after we ve gone over the homework assignment to make sure you (1) did the homework and (2) understand the major concepts covered in the homework. The quizzes will be online quizzes available on course management system operated by Worth Publishers. You will have access to the course management system through a code you received when you purchased Krugman and Wells. There will be many quizzes assigned throughout the semester. I will flip a coin after a quiz score to determine if the quiz score counts in the final grade. You will have the opportunity to earn 100 points from quizzes. Points Counted Towards Final Grade Activity Total Points Possible Pre-TUCE 25* Post-TUCE 50* Two Highest Exam Scores 200 Comprehensive Final Exam 150 Homework Assignments/Quizzes 100 Maximum Points Possible 525 Syllabus 201 2

3 As described above, there are 525* points to earn this semester. Grades will be determined by the following accumulation of points. (There may be an adjustment to the number of points given for the TUCE exams. However, the percentage point score given below will still apply. For example, to pass the course, you need to earn 52% of the total possible points; to earn a C, you need to earn at least 64% of the total possible points, etc.) Points Earned Grade Percentage Score A B C D Below 273 F Below 52 Exam Dates: Pre-TUCE**: August 25-September 12 (45 minutes) (Online Testing Center, see above) Exam 1: Thursday, September 25 Exam 2: Thursday, October 30 Exam 3: Thursday, December 4 Post-TUCE**: Thursday, May 8 (45 minutes) (Online Testing Center, see above) Comprehensive Final Exam: 7:30 a.m. class: Tuesday, December 16, 7-9 a.m. 9:00 a.m. class: Tuesday, December 16, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Academic Integrity: I will follow the rules set forth in the Student Code of Conduct of Boise State University. Refer to Boise State s Student Code of Conduct for definitions of cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty as well as policies and procedures for handling such cases. I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with this policy, as it is applicable to all of your classes and dealings with the University. Academic honesty is a core belief of the University. The Boise State University Student Code of Conduct and policies on Academic Dishonesty are located at the following websites. I encourage you to read these carefully. Students will be held to these standards in all areas of academic performance. Classroom Behavior: I expect you to come to class on time and to be ready to discuss the assigned material. The clock of record is the classroom clock. If you are habitually late, habitually leave early, or exhibit bad classroom behavior, I reserve the right to decrease your grade up to 10 percent. Our classroom is a scream-free, bubble blowing free, cell phone free, text (as in communicating with each other by text during class) free, web surfing free, respectful learning environment where the shared values listed below are practiced! On days students are responsible for presenting answers to homework questions, students who have not prepared the homework assignments may be asked to leave class during the discussion of answers to homework. Freeloading on the work of other students is not acceptable classroom behavior. Statement of Shared Values: Boise State University upholds the following values as the foundation for a civil and nurturing environment. Campus community members and all who are part of COBE are expected to adhere to the following values. Academic Excellence engage in our own learning and participate fully in the academic community s pursuit of knowledge. Caring show concern for the welfare of others. Citizenship uphold civic virtues and duties that prescribe how we ought to behave in a self-governing community by obeying laws and policies, volunteering in the community, and staying informed on issues. Syllabus 201 3

4 Fairness expect equality, impartiality, openness and due process by demonstrating a balanced standard of justice without reference to individual bias. Respect treat people with dignity regardless of who they are and what they believe. A respectful person is attentive, listens well, treats others with consideration and doesn t resort to intimidation, coercion or violence to persuade. Responsibility take charge of our choices and actions by showing accountability and not shifting blame or taking improper credit. We will pursue excellence with diligence, perseverance, and continued improvement. Trustworthiness demonstrate honesty in our communication and conduct while managing ourselves with integrity and reliability. Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities needing accommodations to fully participate in this class should contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC. Please stop by Administration 114 or call to make an appointment with a disability specialist. To learn more about the accommodation process, visit our website at: If you have a disability, please contact the Disability Resource Center the first week of class. I want to see the contract with the Disability Resource Center by the end of the second week of class. Blackboard: I will be using Blackboard this semester to communicate with you, to use as a grade book, and to post current assignments. Please log on to Blackboard this week. Make sure that the address on Blackboard is your correct address. With respect to Blackboard, you ll be checking four places this semester: (1) Course Document: This is where I will post your syllabus and outside readings. (2) Assignments: This is the folder where I ll post what we re doing week-by-week. Open the folder and click on the week of the semester. You ll see reading assignments, homework assignments, what we re going to cover in class, etc. (3) Announcements: This is where I will post information about exams, interesting articles, etc. (4) Grade Book: This is where exam scores and scores for the writing assignments are posted. At any time during the semester, you can use this information to calculate your grade. Syllabus 201 4

5 Modules We Will Cover this Semester Module Module Title 1 The Study of Economics 2 The Production Possibility Frontier Model 3 Comparative Advantage and Trade 9 Introduction to Macroeconomics 10 The Circular Flow Diagram and the National Accounts 11 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 12 Interpreting Real Gross Domestic Product 13 Defining Unemployment 14 Categories of Unemployment 15 The Costs of Inflation 16 Measuring Inflation 17 Sources of Long-Run Economic Growth 18 Productivity and Growth 19 Long-Run Growth Policy 20 Savings and Investment Spending 21 The Market for Loanable Funds 22 The Time Value of Money 23 The Financial System 24 The Multiplier 25 Consumption and Investment Spending 26 The Income-Expenditure Module 27 Aggregate Demand 28 Aggregate Supply 29 The AD-AS Model 30 Fiscal Policy Basics 31 Fiscal Policy and the Multiplier 32 Budget Deficits and Public Debt 33 Defining and Measuring Money 34 Banking and Money Creation 35 The Federal Reserve System 36 The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy 37 The Money Market 38 Monetary Policy and the Interest Rate 39 Money, Output, and Prices in the Long Run 40 Inflation, Disinflation, and Deflation 43 Capital Flows and the Balance of Payments 44 The Foreign Exchange Market 45 Exchange Rate Policy 46 Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy 47 History and Alternative Views of Macroeconomics 48 The Modern Macroeconomic Consensus You ll notice that I have not indicated the dates that specific modules will be covered. I will keep you informed on a daily basis where we are in the text and which chapters I d like you to read before the next lecture. As exams approach, I will keep you informed concerning which material will be covered on the exam. Syllabus 201 5