Accounting, Business and Economics Department

JUNIATACOLLEGE

Accounting, Business and Economics Department

Principles of Macroeconomics

EB 222 01

Class Overview:

Macroeconomics is concerned with the economy as a whole and the relationships between broad economic indicators. The course will cover the aggregate economy: GDP, inflation, business cycles, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policies, economic growth, productivity, and the federal deficit/surplus.

The tools of macroeconomic analysis will be developed and applied to national economic problems facing the U.S. and other market-oriented economies. Contemporary macroeconomic problems including concern about the economy moving into a recession, economic growth rates, inflation, consumer spending and personal saving, fiscal policy, monetary policy, national debt, deficits and surpluses, unemployment rates, international value of the dollar, and trade deficits will be discussed. Understanding underlying economic issues, economic policies and their probable consequences is a focal point of this course.

Learning Goals:

• Developing a rationale and criteria to evaluate the U.S. economic system.
• Developing awareness about news and issues related to the economy.
• Understanding theories that attempt to explain the health of the economy.
• Investigating government's role in the economy.
• Gaining an ability to analyze and predict future economic activity relevant to business decision making.
• Becoming familiar with economic terminology, concepts and principles.
• An understanding of current and recent theories of macroeconomic structure and policy.

By the end of the term, you should be able to do the following

• Explain basic supply and demand in the marketplace.
• Define and demonstrate an understanding of basic macroeconomic terms, such as gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and economic growth.
• Differentiate between and explain fiscal and monetary policy.
• Use the aggregate supply and demand model to analyze the theoretical effect of fiscal and monetary policy on the economy.
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of some of the advanced issues in macroeconomic policy, such as the effects of expectations, the debate over the use of stabilization policy, and the significance of the national debt.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the current state of the U.S. economy and draw links between theory in the textbook and actual economic events.

Class Participation:

This course requires participation by you. You are expected to read all of the assigned material, attend class and participate regularly in developing the ideas concepts of macroeconomics. Class participation will include speaking up in class and occasional short in-class assignments designed to stimulate class discussion.

Grades:

Grading will included the following components:

Due dates:

Assignments: Every 2-4 weeks (Due dates: 1/28, 2/13, 3/15, 3/29, 4/7) at the

beginning of class, (20 point penalty for 0-24 hours late, 40 points

for 24-48 hours late, etc.)

Quizzes: See course calendar

Midterm: 2/23

Cartoon Analysis: 4/16in class (penalty of 1/3 letter grade for each 24 hours late)

Cartoon Presentation: 4/16 or 4/19, depending on group order

Final Exam: TBA

Readings:

McConnell and Brue, Macroeconomics, 15th edition, Irwin-McGrawHill, 2002.

Charles Wheelan, Naked Economics, W.W. Norton, 2002

Handouts, hard copy and online readings, many fromThe Dismal Scientist at:

(Free subscription)

Academic Honesty & Integrity Policy:

Ethics are an integral feature of all personal, social, and professional considerations. Thinking ethically and accepting responsibility for one’s actions are essential to personal development. Juniata’s graduates are committed to their intellectual, ethical, professional, and social development throughout life. Students are expected to understand and comply with Juniata’s Academic Honesty & Integrity Policy.

Assignments:

Assignments will consist of readings and five group assignments. The first two weeks will involve an introduction to economics. Weeks 3-8 focuses on the key elements of macroeconomics, including a deeper understanding and analyses of unemployment, inflation, economic growth and fiscal policy. Weeks 9-11 focus on monetary policy. We then conclude with some important topical issues, including theoretical disputes in macroeconomics, the debt and the deficit, and international trade. The due dates are as follows (with homework sets, quizzes and tests in bold):

Assignment

Due

Chapter 5 con’t

Chapter 7; Chapter 9, Naked Economics; Quiz 3

Round 1 cartoon presentations

Useful Websites:

Federal Reserve System (U. S.) and U.S. Government Sites

Fed—includes Beige Book, Greenspan testimony, etc.

York Fed’s links page; you can access all 12 FRB sites from this link

Reserve Economic Database

of Labor Statistics

Report of the President

International Central Banks

for International Settlements (BIS) list of every central bank

Central Bank

(Germany)

of England

Central Bank (ECB)

Central Bank

Central Bank

International Organizations (IO’s)

Monetary Fund (IMF)

Bank

for Economic Cooperation and

Development

Trade Organization

for International Settlements

Other International Sites

List of Latin American Governmental Sites

Comprehensive site of International Economic

news

Commercial Sites

Exchanges

to 145 stock exchanges