Eco 201: Intro. to Macroeconomics

Larry Angel
Dept: Economics Department

Email: langel@u.washington.edu
Office Hours: 12 to 1 daily, Robert Smith Building Faculty Offices: RS190 or by appt.

 

Announcements

Ok, to use 3rd edition. I've double-checked the text and its seemed to be a fairly reasonable substitute. If you notice any glaring issues, please email me at langel@u.washington.edu


Syllabus

Course Description:

This course in macroeconomics is an introduction to understanding the aggregate measures in the economy, such as GDP, unemployment and inflation. Our analysis will include examination of monetary and fiscal policies and their effects on the interest rate, inflation, investment, economic activity and the employment of resources.

Textbook:

Mankiw, N.Gregory. Principle of Macroeconomics, 4th edition. A copy will be put on reserve at the library (4th Edition).

Tentative Schedule

Dates

Chap & Topic

Group Act

HW

Tests

Week 1 (Sept 24-28)

1, 2, 3

1

-

-

Week 2 (Oct 1-5)

4

2

1

-

Week 3 (Oct 8-12)

5, 6

-

2

-

Week 4 (Oct 15-19)

Rev & 10

-

-

Test 1

Week 5 (Oct 22-26)

3

3

-

Week 6 (Oct 29-Nov 2)

13,14,15

-

-

-

Week 7 (Nov 5-9)

Rev

4

4

Test 2

Week 8 (Nov 12-16)1

-

-

-

Week 9 (Nov 19-23)1

18 & 20

5

5

-

Week 10 (Nov 26-30)

21 & Ind. Pap. & Rev

6

6

-

Week 11 (Dec 3-7)

Review

-
-

Test 3

 

 

-

-

-

  1No Class: Nov 12, 22, 23

 

-

-

 

*If necessary, schedule will be adjusted*

Final: Last day of class, Tuesday, Dec. 4th from 6pm to 715 pm.

Grading Policy:

Test 1, 2, 3 (Final): 25% each

Individual Project: 15%

HW & Participation 10%

90% 3.7 (A-)

80% 3.0 (B)

70% 2.0 (C)

60% 1.0 (D)

*Grade adjustments will be made accordingly.

Homework: Homework will cover lecture material and chapter readings.  Each homework will consist of roughly 4-5 problems.  On the homework due date, a number of students, selected at random, will present their answers on the board.  I will grade each student on his or her answer and presentation style from a 0 to 5 point scale.  There are NO make-ups, NO exception, which is the reason why I drop your lowest HW grade.  It is highly recommended to exchange emails and work in groups for the homework.  Solutions will be posted online right after we review them.

Group Activities (Wednesday): Groups of 4 or 5 will work on questions and present those questions to the class. You are required to present to the class at least once over the quarter.

Group Project or Individual Paper

1. Each student will be assigned to a group of three or four, where students will use select an article and present that article to the class.  At the end of the quarter, the group will submit a two-page paper on the selected topic and prepare a 5 to 10 minute Powerpoint presentation to the class.  Half of the grade will be based on the paper while the remaining will be based on the overall presentation of the work.  All papers must be approved before you begin your work.  More to come…

2. The the Individual Paper, search for an article relevant to Microeconomics and write a 4-page paper. The article "should" be approved before you write to make sure you are on the right track and to avoid duplicate articles with other students. The paper "should" include a summary of the article (1 page or less), the purpose & how it is relevant to Microeconomics (1-2 pages), three or more questions in which you give answers to those questions (1 page), and a conclusion (1 page). The main idea of this paper: Show me what you have learned. More to come...

Evening class: Due Thursday, Nov 29th at the end of the class period.

Test 1 & 2 & 3(Final): Most of the material will come from the homework, group activities, old tests and problem solving.

Participation: Everyone starts with 5%. However, cell phone use, being disruptive, missing class will decrease your score, especially talking in class. Don’t come to my office hours about points unless it’s an obvious mistake.

My teaching style: Remember, I’m a student like everyone else in this class, so I understand a lot the issues of being a student. All I ask are the basics: Golden Rule. I treat everyone with respect and I expect the same in return. Everything that I go over in class will be available through my website, so homework and tests will not be a mystery. Students who fail my class or get below a 3.0: miss class, don’t turn in homework, or are disruptive. If you come to class, participate, turn in the homework, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get a reasonable grade.

Any corrections or questions regarding my syllabus please email me.


Homework Keys

Homework 1 Key

Homework 2 Key

Homework 2a Key

Homework 3 Key

Homework 4 Key

Homework 5 Key

Homework 6 Key


Group Activity

Group Activity 1 Key

Group Activity 2 Key

Group Activity 2a Key

Group Activity 3 Key

Group Activity 4 Key

Group Activity 5 Key

Group Activity 6 Key


Handouts

Syllabus


Miscellaneous

Individual Paper

Hockey website

Test 1 Review

Test 1 Sum07 Key

Test 1 Fall07 Key

Test 2 Review

Test 2 Sum07 w/o Solutions

Test 2 Sum07 Key

Test 2 Fall07 w/o Solutions

Test 2 Fall 07 Key

Zimbawe Article

Test 3 (Final) Review

Test 3 (Final) Spr 07 Key

Test 3 (Final) Spr07 w/o Solutions

Test 3 (Final) Sum07 Key

Test 3 (Final) Sum07 w/o Solutions

Grades before Final