Eco 2307

Principles of Macroeconomics

 

Baylor University

Hankamer School of Business

Dr. Tom Kelly, Professor of Economics

 

 

Office:        HCB A301.2

E-mail:      Tom_Kelly@baylor.edu

Phone:       710-4146

 

Required Textbooks:

 

Macroeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction, 6th edition by William A. McEachern

Macroeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction, Study Guide, 6th edition

 

Web Site:  http://mceachern.swcollege.com

 

The on-line version of the Wall Street Journal is now active and available to all students who are enrolled in business classes. To access the journal, go to https://business.baylor.edu/wsj/   and login using your bearid. Paper copies of the journal are also available in four kiosks located around the business school. Please help spread the word that this resource is available.

 

Purpose of the course:

The purpose of this course is to introduce concepts concerning the overall performance of the U.S. economy in a global context. We will rely upon the textbook for fundamentals, but we will apply them to current macroeconomic issues.  You will have three one-hour exams and a comprehensive final exam at the end of the semester.

1.      Read the chapter and review my chapter notes before coming to class.

2.      Take the interactive quiz on the web site for the chapter.

3.      Review the “questions for review” at the end of the chapters for class discussion.

4.      Work self-test sections in the study guide before each examination.

5.      Attend class and participate in active learning, i.e. ask questions when uncertain about material and answer questions proposed in class.

Course Outline:  (Plan on reading and preparing one chapter per class meeting)

            Topic                                                                                                  Chapter Notes

I.                    Introduction                                                                                                   1-3

II.         The economic decision makers                                                                   4

III.       Introduction to macroeconomics                                                                5

IV.        Measuring economic aggregates                                                                7

V.        Unemployment and inflation                                                                        8

Topics to study for exam 1

Exam 1 Copy

Exam I on chapters 4, 5, 7, & 8

VI.       Aggregate expenditure by components                                                       9

VII.      Aggregate expenditure and aggregate demand                                            10

VIII.     Aggregate supply                                                                                           11

Topics to study for exam 2

Exam 2 Copy

Exam II on chapters 9 - 11

X.                Fiscal policy                                                                                                  12

XI.       Money and the financial system                                                                  13

XII.      Banking and the money supply                                                                     14

XIII.    Monetary theory and policy                                                                         15

Exam III on chapters 12 – 15 

Topics to study for exam 3

XIV.    The policy debate: active or passive                                                            16

XV.     Federal budgets and public policy                                                               17

XVI.    International finance                                                                                     18

Balance of Payments

Final Exam Topics

Exam 3 Copy

Final Exam:  Comprehensive and on chapters 16 & 18

Grades: No extra credit will be assigned.  Final grade based on percentage of the following totals:

 

            Exam 1                       100 points

            Exam 2                       100 points

            Exam 3                       100 points

`           Final Exam                 150 points

                        Total               450 points

 

Exams: Exams 1, 2, 3 will consist of multiple-choice questions. Each will be a one-hour exam. You will take tests during the normal lecture period on the day of the exam. There will be a one and one-half hour, comprehensive, multiple-choice final. More information on the content of the final will be announced in class.

 

 

Missed Exams/Quizzes: There will be NO make-up exams. If you must miss an exam for a University-sponsored activity, you may take the exam early. If you miss a test for an excused reason, your grade will be based on the average of your other exam grades. If you miss a test for an unexcused reason, you will receive a grade of zero.

 

Missed exams/quizzes will be considered excused for the following reasons: 1. Official university-sponsored activities (with confirmation from the Vice President of Student Affairs), 2. Documented illness (with a note from the Baylor Health Center), 3. Reasons considered valid by the University Chaplain's Office (with confirmation from the Chaplain's Office), 4. Unavoidable emergency. To have an exam excused you must inform me in writing BEFORE you miss the exam. If the absence is unanticipated, you must inform me in writing in reasonable time.

 

Attendance: Any student who misses more than 25% of our class days will fail the course. This is Baylor's policy. If you are not present when I take attendance, you will be counted absent.

 

Honor Code: I expect you to follow the Baylor Honor Code at all times. I take cheating seriously. Any student caught in violation of the honor code will receive an F in the course and be referred to the Baylor Honor Council.