Economics 202: Introduction to Macroeconomics, Fall 2022
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Economics 202: Introduction to Macroeconomics, Fall 2022
Course Overview
Should the United States impose a steel tariff on China? How can we prevent another Great Depression? What are the effects of an income tax increase? What is the purpose of the Federal Reserve?
These questions significantly impact people throughout the United States and around the world. This semester, we will investigate all of them, and many more. The topics we study will generally fall into two groups:
1) Understanding various terms you hear on the news that reflect the overall health of the economy, such as GDP, unemployment, and inflation.
2) Understanding theories of macroeconomics and how these theories lead to predictions about how we expect economies to function and how government intervention can help or hurt a nation’s economy.
Instructors
This course actually has two instructors. Joshua Brownstein is the course administrator. He will be in charge of most aspects of the course. He will write exams, hold office hours, and determine grades. Dr. Ackermann is the head professor for the course, the lecturer in the course videos, and author of this syllabus. I am happy to discuss course material, but all other questions should go to Joshua. He will reach out to me if your question requires my attention.
Lectures
The lectures were recorded by Dr. Ackermann during 2020 and 2021. The video lectures and
corresponding slide shows are available on D2L.
Textbook
The textbook required for this course is a bit different than textbooks you have probably used in the past. You are required to purchase online access to McGraw-Hill’s Connect Master product, where you will access homework, instructional videos, and an eBook version of a textbook. Your purchase also includes a workbook. It contains an outline of what we cover in lecture each day and leaves some blanks for you to fill in during class. The workbook is not graded, but most students find that it helps them stay engaged with the video lectures. PDF files of the workbook pages are also posted to D2L.
You have two options for purchasing the book:
1. You can use this link to purchase access to the eBook as well as a hard copy of the EC 202 workbook, and it will be shipped to your address:
https://www.mheducation.com/highered/custom/product/1266491309.html
2. You can purchase the eBook at the bookstore. It will include the workbook.
If you have trouble accessing Connect Master or submitting the homework modules, please follow the following steps:
1) Check the obvious issues – ensure you have WiFi, refresh your screen, restart your computer, switch browsers
2) Call McGraw-Hill tech support at (800) 331-5094. They are available 24 hours per day Monday through Thursday and also have weekend hours.
Almost every case can be resolved this way. If not, the tech support person will provide you with a case number. Please do not contact me about tech issues until you have a case number.
Graded Components
Item |
Percentage |
Two highest exam scores (equally weighted) |
75% |
Homework assignments |
20% |
Research Experiment Participation |
5% |
Exams
There will be a total of three exams – two midterm exams and a final exam. The midterm exams are on October 20 and December 9. Each exam will start at 7 :00 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) and last for 50 minutes. The date and time of the final exam will be determined by the university. Only your two highest exam scores will count toward your course grade. This formulation is intended to address issues such as illnesses or other emergencies, as well as if you just have a bad test day. Moreover, this allows students who are satisfied with their grade after taking three midterms to skip the final exam. If you opt to do this, you do not need to let me know – when you skip the final exam, it will be scored as a zero and automatically dropped.
If you must miss an exam for reasons that can be anticipated (university-sponsored activities, religious observances, and other valid issues), an alternative exam time will be offered for the days before an exam. No make-up exams will be given after an exam. If you do not take an exam, that will be the exam that is dropped when I calculate your final course grade. If you believe you have had issues with multiple exams that require special consideration, you must fully document the multiple issues and schedule an appointment with me to discuss. Unless there were legitimate and documented excuses that have kept you from multiple exams (a situation that will be rare), further accommodations will not be provided.
All exams will be administered via D2L using a lockdown browser and remote proctoring service.
Students must have access to a webcam and microphone. The system is compatible with Windows (10, 8, 7), Mac (MacOS 10.15 to 10.12, OS X 10.11, OSX 10.10), and iPad (iOS 11.0+). The system is not compatible with Chromebooks. Alternate arrangements must be approved by the instructor within the first week of the course. The exams are closed-book, closed-note, closed-Internet. You are permitted to
use one side of an 8.5x11” sheet of paper with anything written or printed on it visible to the naked eye. Time Policy: To ensure each student has the same amount of time, all exam time cutoffs are strict.
Request for Accommodations: If you are eligible for an accommodation, please contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) as soon as possible. Once RCPD has certified that you are eligible for an accommodation, please e-mail your VISA to the course inbox.
Topics Covered on Each Exam
Midterm 1:
Fundamentals |
Demand |
Supply |
Equilibrium |
Public Finance |
Measuring Output & Income |
Economic Growth |
Unemployment and Inflation |
Aggregate Expenditures |
|
|
|
Midterm 2:
Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply |
Money |
Monetary Policy |
Fiscal Policy |
Competing Views |
International Finance |
International Trade |
|
Final Exam:
The final exam will cover all material discussed this semester.
Homework
This semester we will cover approximately 17 “modules” (similar to textbook chapters). There will be one homework assignment for each module. Each assignment will be weighted equally.
Assignments will be completed online using McGraw-Hill Connect Master. Connect Master is a product that is interactive and adaptive. These assignments are graded for completion, not accuracy.
Homework assignments will be due on 11:59 p.m. (EST) on the night before the exam first testing that material. For example, “Demand” will be covered on the first exam. The first exam is October 20, so the homework assignment for the “Demand” chapter is due October 19.
Participation in Research Experiment
I have chosen to participate in an interdisciplinary research effort with the college to identify the most effective ways to help students think about complex problems. This semester you will complete two surveys, one at the start of the semester and one at the end. Each survey is worth 2.5% of your grade. Your participation in the research component is completely voluntary. If you choose not to participate in a survey, the weight of your exam scores will be increased accordingly. So, if you do not complete either survey, your homework score will equal 25% of your grade.
Course Grade
Course grade cutoffs are shown below:
Transcript Grade |
Minimum Course Grade |
4.0 |
89.00 |
3.5 |
82.00 |
3 0 |
74 00 |
2.5 |
67.00 |
2.0 |
58.00 |
1 5 |
55 00 |
1.0 |
52.00 |
Please note that these cutoffs are strict. If you have a score of 81.99, you will receive a grade of 3.0. Because this course is so large, no matter what cutoff I use, there will be people who missed out on a higher grade by a fraction of a percentage point.
While the exams are not curved, you have two things working in your favor when it comes to your course grade. First, I expect the homework grades to have a median score of 100%. Second, course grade cutoffs are likely lower (more generous) than you see in other classes.
Grading Issues
All grading issues must be raised within one week of when your grade is provided to you. However, no grade changes will be made more than 24 hours after your final course grade is posted. Because all grading is done by computer, mistakes are very rare, and it is unlikely that your grade will be adjusted.
Honor Code
Your behavior is governed by the Spartan Code of Honor. If you do not yet understand your responsibilities under this code, I urge you to go to the university webpage here to learn more. I will do my best to discourage cheating by actively proctoring exams, but there is a limit to what I can do.
Ultimately, you should recognize that nothing we do in this course is worth jeopardizing your integrity over.
Course Policies
I will strictly follow course policies, simply because it is not fair to deviate from these policies for some while applying them to others. If you believe you have circumstances that warrant special consideration, I will listen to your circumstances. However, I have designed the course to cover most situations (e.g., all students will have one exam score dropped), so I anticipate needing to accommodate very few special requests.
I am always happy to explain the reasoning behind any course policy. Most of these policies are rooted in the fact that I have about 2,000 students this semester. I strive to be objective and treat everyone fairly.
Administrative Matters
Joshua and I occasionally will tell you information related to course administration. For example, I may extend the deadline of a homework assignment. You are responsible for any material which is (a) in the syllabus, (b) sent to you via e-mail, or (c) included in class slides. I will typically convey this sort of information multiple times.
There is a folder on D2L called “Administrative”. It contains the course syllabus, a help room schedule, and other administrative materials.
Please do not ask me or a teaching assistant an administrative question that could be answered by looking at the syllabus, an e-mail, the class slides, or the “Administrative” folder on D2L.
E-mails
If you are uncertain of a matter related to course administration (for example, if you do not know when a homework assignment is due), please take the following steps
1) Check the syllabus
2) Check the syllabus again, just in case
3) Check your e-mails from me and the teaching assistants
4) Review the class slides that have been posted and your notes on slides that have not yet been posted
5) Ask a friend
6) Email Joshua at [email protected]
If you send an e-mail that asks a question which has been answered in class, in the syllabus, or in an e-mail, you may not receive a prompt reply. We try to answer all e-mails in a timely manner, but these administrative-type e-mails definitely fall lower on our priority list.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten through that unpleasant bit, I want to make it clear that we love receiving e-mails from students! Below are just a few of the many reasons when it would be great for you to e-mail Joshua or Dr. Ackermann:
● You did not understand something in a video lecture
● You are having trouble solving a practice problem
● You want to talk about something you saw in the news
● You want to talk about something generally related to economics but outside the scope of this course
● You want help preparing for the next exam
● You want general advice pertaining to this course, taking additional economics courses, or college in general
● You have an idea for a research project
● You just want to introduce yourself
● You have a good joke to tell.
These are also great reasons to schedule a meeting during office hours.
Please include your section number in all e-mail correspondence.
Help Rooms
The Economics Help Rooms offer academic support to students enrolled in this course. In Help Rooms, students may receive assistance in a number of areas, including completing homework and practice problems, reviewing course concepts, and preparing for exams. A link to the Help Room Schedule can be found in the “Administrative” folder on D2L.
Office Hours
Joshua and Dr. Ackermann will both have office hours. I will have both virtual and in-person office hours. Joshua will only have virtual office hours. In-person office hours are drop-in, while virtual office hours are done by appointment. For virtual office hours, you will need to reserve a time for our meeting on Calendly. The table below gives the times and locations of our office hours, as well as links to schedule an appointment on Calendly.
|
In-Person Time |
In-Person Location |
Online Time |
Online Scheduling |
Dr. Ackermann |
Tuesdays: 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
25B Marshall-Adams Hall |
Tuesdays: 4 :00 p.m. - 5 :00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. - 9:15 p.m. |
|
Joshua |
None |
None |
Thursdays: 3:00 p.m. - 5 :00 p.m. |
Additional Comments and Advice
1) I understand that some of the policies may seem harsh. For example, an assignment submitted one minute past the deadline receives a score of zero. Because this class is so large, I believe it is important to set and enforce strict guidelines. Regarding the homework deadlines, if I accept an assignment that is 5 minutes late, it becomes more difficult for me to justify rejecting an assignment that is an hour late, and if I accept an assignment that is an hour late, it becomes more difficult for me to justify rejecting an assignment that is a day late, and so on. To treat everyone fairly, I use the same rules for everyone.
2) Do lots of problems. This is, without question, the best way to prepare for exams. I will post practice problems before each midterm exam and the final. I recommend you do them by yourself, review the solutions, and come to office hours or the Economics Help Room if you have any questions.
3) It is easy to watch the videos, write down what you see on the slides, click through the homework assignments, and read through your notes before exams. This “bare-minimum” approach will not serve you well on the exams. Instead, be assertive and take ownership of your experience in this class! Which of the examples that we covered in class interest you? Go read some more about them! Is there something you don’t understand? Come ask me or ask the teaching assistant! Disappointed with your last exam score? Come ask me for advice! Not sure where to start studying? Do some practice problems!
4) Please do not wait until the last minute to come looking for help. Typically, my office hours are nearly empty at the beginning of the semester and extremely busy in the days before your final exam. However, that late in the semester, a substantial portion of your grade has already been determined, and it is difficult to learn a semester’s worth of material in a short period.
5) Please do not ask me for a grade change or extra credit opportunity at the end of the semester. I am happy to work with you during the semester to improve your grade.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Economics provides a set of tools, using cost-benefit analyses, that helps us understand decision making in every part of life. Diversity is not only desirable but essential for economics. Without it, cost-benefit analyses will likely suffer from biases and blind spots. We can make better decisions, big and small, by embracing and learning from diverse experiences and perspectives. In this class I intend to create a learning environment that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and honors your identities (including race, color, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, political persuasion, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, height, weight, veteran status, age or familial status). I am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities and will strive to create an inclusive environment and expect you to do the same
I encourage you to get involved and seek out the many resources supporting diversity, equity and inclusion we have in our department [Info.Econ (series of short videos that highlight breadth of economics),Women and Minorities in Economics (WAMIE) (RSO in the economics department) or Stacy Dickert-Conlin (Director of Diversity Matters)]; and on campus [Academic Support and Students Services for Underrepresented Populations,MSU Inclusive ResourcesOffice for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance].
2022-09-16