GeneralInformation:

口 Instructor:  Dr. Zuzana Janko

口 Course:      Econ 302

口 Location:   online

口 Office Hours: via Zoom appointment only

口 Contact Information:

o E-mail: [email protected]

Course Objective:

口     In this course we develop theoretical macroeconomic models that have microeconomic underpinning that can be used to understand how the economy operates, at full potential, in the  short run  and  over  long periods  of time.   This General Equilibrium (multi- market) macroeconomic framework is used to evaluate macroeconomic shocks and to discuss  common macroeconomic  issues.  Shocks,  such  as  oil  shocks,  demand  shocks, changes to regulation etc and their impacts are examined. Along the way, students are exposed to economic data analysed within alternate theoretical models.  One of our main goals is to know fiscal and monetary policy and their impact and to specifically know how these two types of policies differ along many dimensions (such as how these are implemented, the institutions that enact each, how they are expected to work, under what circumstances are they most effective, etc.).   Moreover, we use theoretical models to assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on the economy as a whole, evaluating the benefits vs. costs of macroeconomic stabilization management.

口 While the focus of the course is on theoretical models, we spent time discussing relevant macroeconomic  data  and  students  are  required  to work  with  macroeconomic  data  (to  a limited extend) and provide descriptive analysis of the data.

Summer Courses:

口    As an accelerated Summer course, we cover approximately 15 weeks of material within 5 weeks.  In a non-exam week, we have up to 7 and 40 minutes of lecture per week, as

per CSU policy.

口 It is very important that you give yourself time to study for the course, as we cover a lot of material in a short period of time. You are responsible for learning the material

required as if it was a regular semester.

Online requirements:

口 Internet and computer access: Since this is an online course, it is essential that you have online access and that you have access to a computer or equivalent. You will be required to watch videos of lectures, conduct assignments and exams online, view documents, upload files online, etc.

口 You also need to be able to submit work, includingfigures, online. This can be done via scanner or by taking photos of you work. Hence, either a phone or scanner or some otherform of technology (iPad with apple pencil, a tablet, etc.) is needed.

RequiredReading:

口 Textbook: Macroeconomics, by Abel/Bernanke/Croushore, edited by Pearson.

o Consider getting an e-text online

o   OLD editions are acceptable and should be used to reduce costs. 7th  and 8th  are better as these were written after the financial crisis of 2008.  6th  edition is from

2007 hence will be lacking that discussion.

口 Articles: Additional reading will be provided by me; they will be posted on iLearn.

口 You will be tested on the assigned reading whether it is discussed in class or not.

Course Prerequisites:

口 Math 226, Econ 102, and Econ 101 are prerequisites for the course.

Econ Majors:

口 Econ 302 is a core course requirement for the Economics major at SFSU. Students must

pass the course with a grade of C- or better.

Course Outline:(chapters may be done out of order)

口 Part I: Introduction & Review

口 Part II: Long-Run Economic Performance

口 Part III: Business Cycles and Policy

ch. 1, ch.2, and readings

ch.3, ch.4, ch.6, ch.7, and readings    ch.8, ch.9, ch. 10, ch. 11, and readings

口 Other Topics – additional topics not discussed in the text will be covered during lecture. These topics will be required; readings and notes will be provided by me.

口 NOTE: Chapters 1 and 2 are introduction/review – It is assumed that students are familiar with the terms provided in those 2 chapters.   Students should review all terms on their own as they are from Econ 102.

口    Also note that we do not always discuss a chapter in its entirety. It is essential that students watch the videos to be aware of what topics/material is being covered during the course.

Zoom Office Hours

口     I encourage you to set up an appointment over zoom to discuss any issue you may have or to discuss any questions you have.

口    To set up a Zoom appointment, email me a date and time of availability.  It is best if you give me a few options, so we can set up a time as soon as possible. If you email me in the morning, we may be able to schedule an appointment for the same day.

口 I will email you the link to the Zoom meeting once we agree on a time.

VIDEO LECTURES

口 I will post all videos with the lecture material on iLearn.

口    Videos will be posted 2x a week: by 9am on Monday, and by 9am on Thursday each week.  (Pacific Standard time). -- I will follow this schedule even if there is a holiday on that day.

口    Videos range in length; up to 7 hours and 40 minutes of material is discussed per week (except during the week when exams are given); this is consistent with the lecture length during a typical in-person accelerated summer course.

口 Lecture Material will be posted during the week of the midterm exam and the final exam; this is also consistent with a summer in person course.

口    Note that the # of videos posted can differ each week, however the total length of the videos does not exceed 7 hours and 40 minutes (during midterms and finals, the total length is reduced).

口 Some videos go over the slides and provide additional information along the way that you will be tested on (in this case, the Videos have the slide #s in the title).  Videos that do not go over slides are done in the same style as lecturing on a white board; these typically involve analysis and graphing as well.  For some chapters both styles of videos are used.

口 I strongly recommend that you watch all videos. You can keep track of the videos you have watched by marking them on Canvas.  Note that this feature is turned on for your benefit; I do not check whether you have watched the videos or not.

口 IMPORTANT INFO: For most chapters, power point slides are available whether I use them in the Video Lecture or not; these are posted on iLearn. There are topics at the end of the course where no power point slides are available (Business  Cycle Analysis); in this case reading the text and going over handouts, along with watching the videos will be helpful.

Canvas

口 The course uses Canvas.

口    I post all lecture videos, supporting documents – such as slides, handouts, additional readings,  etc.,  assignments,  midterm/final  info,  answer  keys  to  assignments,  and participation questions on Canvas.   It is the student’s responsibility to check Canvas regularly and be aware of new posted material/announcements.

口 I also regularly send emails with announcements and reminders to your email (the email address that you have on file with Canvas).  Make sure to check these emails so you are aware of what is happening in the course.

口 Grades will be posted on Canvas. Contact me ASAP to correct any errors.

口    Final course grades will be posted on Canvas when they become available along with the letter grade.

Course Requirements:

Participation Questions (PQs) – 10%

口     There are 7 PQs throughout the sessions; they are due 2x a week: Wednesdays by 11pm & Saturday by 11pm.

口 The objective of the Participation Questions is for you to have a chance to review your understanding  of the  material  as  it  is  posted.  Answer  keys  will  be  posted  after  the submission deadline.

口    PQs are posted Mondays and Thursdays. Each PQ has 5 questions; some questions have multiple parts; some questions require reading an article or using FRED, some require calculations.  Most  questions  are “multiple  answer”  type  of questions,  that  resemble multiple choice questions, but there is more than one correct answer.

口 Each PQ activity is worth 10 points, with a total of 70 points possible.

The following table is used to convert the PQs points to a 100 point scale:

(part marks of 0.5 or above will be rounded up; those below 0.5 will be rounded down)

口 The due dates for all activities are set and will not be extended.  Once the due date passes, you will not have access to the activities. There are no exceptions.

口 Due dates: PQ1 – Wed, July 12th ; PQ2 – Sat, July 15th ; PQ3 – Wed, July 19th ; PQ4 – Sat, July 22nd ; PQ5 – Sat, July 29th ; PQ6 – Wed, Aug 2nd; PQ7 – Sat, Aug 5th .

Assignments – 30%

口 There  will  be  4  assignments;  all  assignments  are  required  (no  assignments  will  be dropped).  Assignments are posted at the beginning of each week (there is no assignment in week 5).

口 All assignments are due on Canvas on Sunday by 11pm (Pacific Standard Time).  I urge you to submit your work a few hours earlier than the deadlines, to plan for possible internet/Wi-Fi issues or any other unexpected events that may transpire.

口 Canvas has a set deadline, that cannot be changed.   No late work is accepted. NO EXCEPTIONS!! It is essential that you plan ahead and make every effort to do your work in advance so that you do not miss the deadlines; the assignments will take time so it is not a good idea to leave them until the last day.

口 Answer keys to assignments will be posted.  Given the fast pace of the course, the answer key will be posted shortly after the Assignment is due.  This is also why no late work will be accepted; once the answer key is posted it is not possible to accept late work. If you have a serious PERSONAL emergency, you must provide documentation and communicate with me ASAP.

o Note that I do not provide answer keys to questions that are based on articles.

口 GRADING: I will do my best to grade your submissions within a few days so that you can use it to study.  I will provide feedback on Canvas next to your submission, and I will post grades in the gradebook.  If you see errors, please let me know ASAP.

口 PLAGIARISM ON ASSIGNMENTS is not allowed. Students must provide answers in their own words, not in the words provided in videos, from online sources, handouts, textbook or any other answer keys provided by the instructor; students must submit their own calculations and figures/graphs (copies from the slides/texts/etc. are not acceptable). While you can work together, each student must submit work that is their own.

Midterm Exam – 30%

口     There is one midterm exam scheduled for Wednesday June 22nd. You will have at most 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete the exam that day.

口     There are two parts to the exam: Part 1 is 45 minutes long and Part 2 is TBD (usually 1 hour and 30 minutes).

口     The exam will be accessible to you from 6am to  11pm, PST. This means that you can start the exam at 6am and complete it by 11:45 (latest), or begin it any time before 11pm: since it takes almost 3 hours to complete, you should start around 6pm latest to have enough time to finish the exam.

o Notice that you are NOT given 12 hours to complete the exam; you are provided with a time of 12 hours during which you have access to the exam.

o For the exam itself, you only have 45 minutes for Part 1 and about 1 hour and 30 minutes for Part 2.   This is consistent with in-person courses & semester long

courses.

口 Specific instructions for the Midterm exam will be provided prior to the exam

(likely the weekend before).

口    As part of the midterm exam, you will be required to submit work on iLearn (such as graphs or derivations).  It is important that what you submit is legible, so I can clearly assess your work.

口 The exam is not a homework assignments.  It is not designed as a “take home” exam with lots of time to figure out the answers. Instead, you have limited time to answers a wide range of questions, and you will likely need the whole time to answer all questions well. Be aware that while you are taking the exam at home, nevertheless you must prepare for the exam as if it were an in-class exam.

口 Unfortunately, since this course has moved online in Spring 2020, many students have failed the exam and the course due to plagiarism. Any form of plagiarism on the exam  is not allowed. This  includes:  figures,  calculations,  or  any  other  responses. Plagiarism on the exam will result in a ZERO.  Students must provide answers in their own words, not  in the words provided in videos, handouts,  online  sources,  articles, textbook or any other answer keys provided by the instructor.    Also, copying answers directly from your homework is not acceptable, and will result in zero points for the question.  You must also submit your own figures; do not submit copies of figures from other sources.

Final Exam – 30%

口    The final exam is scheduled in week 5, however note that new material is also presented during that week (posted on Monday).

口 The exam will be accessible from Wed Aug. 9th from 6am to Thursday Aug. 10th at 5pm.

口    The material  covered  on the Final  Exam will be whatever was not  included  on the Midterm Exam.   The final exam is not cumulative in the usual sense, however some material in the course naturally overlaps and hence you will still need to be familiar with it in a general sense.

口 The  structure  of the  final  exam  is  similar to the midterm  exam,  although  given the material that it covers, the level of difficulty is higher.

口    Note that due to the structure of the course, new material will be posted on the week of the final exam.

口    The exam time accessibility and time needed to complete the exam will be similar to that of the Midterm Exam.  More information will be posted on iLearn prior to the exam.

口 Same rules regarding plagiarism as written above for midterm apply.

Make-ups:

Make-ups for Midterm Exam or for the Final Exam will only be given in cases of extreme personal emergencies,  in  which  case  the  student  MUST  contact  me  ASAP  to  make arrangements for a make-up and must provide me with documentation. Students that do not take an exam, will receive a zero on that component of the grade.

ImportantDue Dates

* Please note that HW 3 is in the same week as the Midterm Exam.  Plan accordingly.

Grade Determination:

口 The weights of the course requirements in the course grade are given above.

口    All course requirements are marked on a numerical (percentage) basis.  The final course grade is then calculated using the weights indicated above.  The final course grade is out of 100. The grade distribution used to convert numerical values  (of the final  course grade) to letter grades is given below:

口 In determining the letter grade the Final Course Grade is used: part marks of 0.5 or above

will be rounded up; those below 0.5 will be rounded down.  Hence, 92.5 is an A, while 92.49 is an A-.

口 All grades below 60 will result in an F.

Remarks regardingGrades:

口 Econ 302 is a core course in the Econ Major. Students majoring in Econ at SFSU must receive a C- or better to pass the course. A lower grade will require that students repeat the course.

口 I do not curve the