Economics 102

Principles of Macroeconomics

Spring 2004

Section 5: MWF 1:10 PM, 001 Carver Hall

 

Lecturer:           Amani E. Elobeid

Office:              565 Heady Hall

Telephone:        515-294-6175

Email:               amani@iastate.edu

Office Hours:    MWF 11:00 PM – 12:00 PM

 

Teaching Assistants

Name

Email Address

Office and Telephone Number

Office Hours in 20 Curtiss Hall

Biswaranjan Samal

samal@iastate.edu

327 Curtiss Hall / 294-4827

Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Friday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Jittinan Aukayanagul

aukayana@iastate.edu

301 Curtiss Hall / 294-8190

Monday 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Wednesday 2:00 PM to 3.30 PM

Zhaoyang (Clay) Duan

clayduan@iastate.edu

266 Heady Hall / 294-6740

Monday 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Jing (Jessica) Liu

jingliu@iastate.edu

301 Curtiss Hall / 294-8190

Monday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

 

 

The lectures will focus on the major points introduced in the text, the more difficult aspects of each chapter, and on the specific issues/problems dealt with in the material.  A basic familiarity with the lecture topic will greatly assist your understanding of the lecture. I will try to include material from current events as much as I can and make suggestions on articles of interest for additional readings. Questions from the additional readings/current events may appear as extra-credit questions on the exams. The pace at which the course material is covered will depend in part upon how difficult the material in the course syllabus turns out to be for the majority of the class.  While the goal is to cover most of the chapters listed below, this goal will be tempered by the belief that the material covered should be thoroughly understood.

Common Courtesy: As a matter of respect to others, please refrain from reading the newspaper (or any unrelated material) in class and from talking in class.  Please be on time as it is very disruptive to the class to walk in late. If you need to leave before the class is over, please sit near the door and leave as quietly as possible. Please turn off any cellular phones or beepers before you come to class.

 

Class Attendance: There will be no roll calls for attendance.  However, you are responsible for all material and all announcements presented in class.  There may be some material that I will cover in class that will not be in the book so it is imperative that you keep good lecture notes.  I will not have lecture notes available.  Announcements, including but not limited to homework assignments, homework/exam solutions and exam and homework grades, will be posted on the Web (http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ102/elobeid/). However, please note that this is not a Web class so I might announce things in class that may not be posted on the Web. You are responsible for any announcements made in class even if they are not posted on the Web. 

 

Please check the Web at least twice a week for announcements when you are not able to attend class.

 

Economics Help Room: 20 Curtiss Hall

Telephone: 294-1599

MWR: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

F: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

 

Use the Economics Help Room or contact your teaching assistant if you have problems completing your homework. If you are having difficulty with the material, you are encouraged to stop by for extra help.  It is not advisable to let problems build up.  If you cannot make regular office hours, then feel free to make an appointment for a special time.

 

 

Exams, Homeworks and Grades

NO MAKEUP EXAMS!!

There will be three in-class exams and a comprehensive final.  Everyone must take the final exam but the two best scores out of the three in-class exams will be used to determine your overall grade.  I recommend that you take all three in-class exams.  The two best scores of the in-class exam are each worth 25 percent of your final grade and the final exam will account for 30 percent of your final grade.  The exams will consist of multiple-choice questions, and five to six short-answer questions or two essay questions. Please expect an exam approximately the first week of every month.

 

Exam and homework grades will be posted on the Web usually one week after the due date for homework assignments and after the exam date for exams.

The grading scale for the exams will depend on the performance of the class in general.  Depending on the grades of each exam, I may or may not grade on a curve. 

There will be a number of homework assignments (depending on how much of the syllabus we are able to cover) that will be worth 20 percent of your grade.

 

Due dates for homework assignments will be announced in class and will be posted on the Web.  Completed assignments should be returned in class on the due date.  No late homeworks will be accepted.  If you fail to submit more than two homework assignments you will receive an F for the homework portion of your grade. 

 

There will be a TA assigned to students in alphabetical order according to their last name.  You are to submit your homework to the assigned TA in class on the due date.  If you have any questions concerning your homework or your grade, please contact your assigned TA directly. The teaching assistant will provide help, during his/her office hours, to students who have difficulty completing their assignments or have questions on the material. 

 

You are strongly encouraged to type and save your homework assignment or else make a photocopy of it before you hand it in.  If, for some reason, you do not find your homework score posted on the Web, you can check with your assigned TA.  However, if he cannot find your homework (which may happen in large classes), you must be able to provide him with a copy to grade.  If you have submitted your homework and you do not find your homework score on the Web, you have one week from the date the scores (for homeworks and exams) are posted to inform the TA and get the matter resolved.  Any inquiries after that will not be accepted.  Please address your homework/exam concerns to the TA first.  If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction, you can bring your concern to my attention.

 

All homeworks and exams will be placed in boxes outside the TAs’ offices after they are graded. You MUST pick up your homeworks/exams from outside the TAs’ offices within one week of the grades being posted.

 

You are welcome to work together on your homework assignments.  However, you must submit your own individual homework assignment.  Any identical assignments (i.e., duplicates of the same homework answers) will receive a zero.

 

Academic Integrity
I do not at all expect to have any problem with academic misconduct.  However, anyone found guilty of academic dishonesty will automatically fail the course and may be subject to University penalties.

If you have any concerns (or complaints), please feel free to let me know.  However, please present your concerns in a polite and respectful manner. I do not respond to rude emails even in cases where the concern is a legitimate one.



Syllabus

 

Required Text: Michael Parkin, Macroeconomics, Sixth Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2003.

 

Required: Mark Rush, Study Guide: Macroeconomics, Sixth Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2003.

                          CD ROM, “Economics in Action, 5.0.” Available with the required text.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY THE ENTIRE (NEW) PACKET.  YOU CAN BUY A USED TEXTBOOK AND STUDY GUIDE IF AVAILABLE.

 

Lecture Schedule

 

Chapters 1-3    Introduction and Overview

 

Chapter 4         Measuring GDP and Economic Growth

 

Chapter 5         Monitoring Cycles, Jobs, and the Price Level

 

Chapter 6         Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand (Exam I tentative)

 

Chapter 7         The Economy at Full Employment

 

Chapter 8         Capital, Investment, and Saving

 

Chapter 10       Expenditure Multipliers (Exam II tentative)

 

Chapter 11       Fiscal Policy

 

Chapter 12       Money

 

Chapter 13       Monetary Policy (Exam III tentative)

 

Chapter 9         Economic Growth

 

Chapter 18       International Finance