UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS ECONOMICS 305
Fall Semester, 2017 Dr. John Neri Room: HJP 0226 Office: Morrill Hall-1102B Lecture: M, W and F 12:00pm - 12:50pm Campus Tel: (301) 405-9405 O.H.: M and W 10:30am - 11:30am [email protected] (Use this e-mail, do not use ELMS)
REQUIRED: Mankiw, N. Gregory: Macroeconomics, Worth Publishers, Ninth edition. ISBN: 9781464182907. Eighth edition should be fine - More about this in class.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Economics 305 is a course in intermediate macroeconomic theory. Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole and is concerned with some of the most important questions in economics. Why is there unemployment? What are the sources of rapid inflation? What causes recessions? We will develop several macroeconomic models to explain the behavior of key macroeconomic variables such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, and the interest rate. These models will help to develop the student's analytical and deductive reasoning skills. Finally, the role of monetary and fiscal policy will be examined within the context of each model. The goal of this course is to address these questions using the various models developed by macroeconomists and to understand the strengths and limitations of each model.
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in ECON201 and ECON200. And 1 course with a minimum grade of C- from (MATH120, MATH140, MATH130); or must have completed MATH220 with a minimum grade of C-
EXAMINATIONS AND GRADES Your grade will be determined as follows:
Three (3) midterm exams 200 points (67 each) Comprehensive Final Exam 140 points Eight (8) Graded Problem Sets 80 points (10 each) Six (6) Graded in class Quizzes 50 points (8.33 each) Ten (10) Graded on-line Pre Lecture Prep (PLP) 30 points (3 each) Total 500 points
Examinations: There will be three mid-term exams and a final exam. The final exam is cumulative. PLEASE NOTE: THE EXAMS ARE ON FRIDAY. If you plan to skip Friday classes, you should drop this course now because I will not give a make-up exam without a valid University excuse. “I have to work on Fridays” is not a valid excuse. I do not consider “I have a job interview” a valid excuse. You are a student in my class – this class is your job. The exam dates are listed below so you know your obligation. You must take all three mid-term exams and the final exam. In addition to the 3 exams, you will have 8 graded problem sets. You must do all 8 problem sets. Answers to problem sets are provided only in lecture on Friday. We will also have 8 graded quizzes given on Fridays. I will drop the 2 lowest quiz grades to accommodate students that miss a quiz. Please do not ask for a make-up for a quiz. Additionally, I will assign 10 on-line pre lecture prep quizzes (PLP) that require you to read ahead or do independent research. There will no extensions or make-up for in class quizzes, problem sets and on line PLPS.
ALL questions about grading must be presented to me or a TA in person within one week of the assignment grade being posted on ELMS. You will receive an e-mail when grades are posted. I will not consider any grading questions after the one week period. Written portion of your exam and graded problem set will be placed on the shelf out-side room MOR 1106D for you to retrieve. These items will be disposed of 2 weeks after grades are posted. I may take random attendance for extra credit.
Make-up Policy: Makeup exams and extended deadlines for assignments will only be given in cases of excused absences, and official documentation is required. Exams and ALL assignments are deemed Major Scheduled Graded Events, and therefore according to the new University excused absence policy, student- signed honor statements attesting to illness do not apply. Excused absences are: illness, death in the immediate family, religious observances, required school activities, and required court appearances. Again, official documentation is required for all excused absences, including religious observances which are part of the new policy. I will not accept a Health Center honor statement to verify an illness. If you go to the Health Center and a doctor will not write you a note that means they consider you well enough to continue with academic activities.
CALCULATORS
You may not use a programmable calculator for exams. A good calculator for this course and many other courses is a TI-30X scientific calculator (cost about $15.00). I am not able to provide calculators for exams.
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows: A : 92.5% and above; A- : 89.5 - 92.49%; B: 79.5 - 89.49% (+/- determined at the end of the term); C: 69.5 - 79.49% (+/- determined at the end of the term); D: 59.5 - 69.49%; F: below 59.5%.
Eating and Drinking in Class: Eating and drinking are prohibited in classrooms as a university policy.
Laptop Use Policy: You can use your laptop during my lectures for course-related uses such as taking notes or looking at my slides only. You cannot use it for messaging, checking email, browsing the web, even if you may also have my slides open. If I determine this policy is being abused and/or people with laptops disturb those without, I will withdraw this privilege and no laptops will be allowed during lectures.
Other Electronic Devices: No other devices, including but not limited to phones (iPhones, Blackberries included), music players (with or without headphones) can be used during lectures. Tablets such as iPads will be subject to the laptop use policy above. I will ask anyone violating this policy to leave the classroom.
Teaching Assistants: There are 3 graduate teaching assistants for this course. I will update with office hours on the course web site at: www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~jneri/Econ305.
Page 2 Problem Sets: The following procedures must be followed:
1. Students must turn in their problem sets in at the beginning of lecture on the due date or during their TA’s office hours before the due date. I will not accept a problem set after I give the solution in class. 2. E-mail submissions of problem sets will NOT be accepted. Problem sets slid under my office door or placed in my mail box will NOT be accepted. Late problem sets will be penalized.
APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE . I may add, drop or change the order of topics and chapters. Exam dates, problem set dates and quiz dates may change. I will post additional required reading on the course webpage.
Class Dates: Part I: Introduction (8/28-9/1) Chapter 1, Introduction to course, Chapter 1 (9/4-9/8) Finish Chapter 1 and start Chap. 2, Macro Data (Quiz 1, Problem Set No. 1 due Friday 9/8) Answers to problem sets are provided only in lecture.
Part II: Classical Theory: The Economy in the Long Run
(9/11-9/15) Chapter 2 and start Chapter 3, The Long-Run Model (Quiz 2, PS No.2 due Friday 9/15) (9/18-9/22) Chapter 3, Long-run Model (Quiz 3, PS No. 3 due on 9/22)
Exam 1 – Tentatively Sept. 25, Location to be announced (yes, this is a Monday)
(9/25-9/29) Chapter 5, Money and Inflation (10/2-10/6) Chapter 7, Unemployment
Part III: Business Cycle Theory: The Economy in the Short Run
(10/9-10/13) Chapter 10, (selected pages) Introduction to Economic Fluctuations (Quiz 4, PS No. 4 10/13) (10/16-10/20) Chapter 11, Basic Short-run Model
Exam 2 – Tentatively Friday, October 20, Location to be announced
(10/23-10/27) Chapter 11 and Chapter 12, Basic Short-run Model (Quiz 5, PS No. 5 Friday 10/27) (10/30-11/3) Chapters 12 (11/6-11/10) Chapter 14 Aggregate Supply, the Phillips Curve (Quiz 6, PS No. 6 Thursday 11/10)
Exam 3 – Tentatively Friday, November 17, Location to be announced
Part IV: (11/13-11/17) Chapter 14 Aggregate Supply, the Phillips Curve and 16 (Chapter 17 in the 7th edition) Consumption (11/20-11/24) No Class on Nov. 22 and 24, Thanksgiving recess. (11/27-12/1) Chapter 16 Consumption (Quiz 7, PS No. 7 Friday 12/1) (12/4-12/8) TBA (Quiz 8, Problem Set No. 8 on Thursday 12/8) (12/11) Last Class
Final Examination – Monday December 18 from 8:00- 10:00 a.m. Location to be
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PLP Due Dates – All PLPs due at 11:59PM PLP 1 – 9/3 PLP 6 – 10/22 PLP 2 – 9/10 PLP 7 – 10/29 PLP 3 – 9/17 PLP 8 – 11/5 PLP 4 – 10/1 PLP 9 – 11/12 PLP 5 – 10/15 PLP 10 – 11/26
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