GRAND VIEW COLLEGESYLLABUS

Department and Course #:ECON 101Course Title:PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICSAcademic Term:FALL 2009, SESSION IClass Time:TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, 5:45p-8:00pAcademic Division:SOCIAL SCIENCESInstructor:TOM SCHENK Telephone Number:515-481-0774Email:tomschenkjr@gmail.comWebsite:www.tomschenkjr.netACADEMIC MAJOR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

1.Demostrate abilities to conduct research to access relevant information and then communicate theresults of the research to others in written and oral format.2.Demonstrate abilities to work in a team environment, as a leader and as a follower, to generate solutionsto specific situations.3.Develop skills in analyzing business situations and recommend courses of action that show a thoroughunderstanding of the internal and external envorments.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES*Learning as KnowledgeThe student will:

Identify the definition(s) of economics and macroeconomics2.Identify the basic principles of the law of supply, law of demand, and market equilibrium.

Identify and understand the principles of unemployment, interest rates, fiscal, andmonetary policy.4.Understand the economy as a system.

*Learning as Process or BehaviorThe student will:

Relate political economy systems to the U.S. and other economies.2.Study how the market system allocates products and services to consumers.3.Apply economic theory in real-world applications

Learn how policy affects all the elements of the economy.

*Learning as AttitudeThe student will:

1.Appreciate the basic underlying dilemma of economics.2.Develop an awareness of how economics impacts their daily lives.3.Appreciate the complex interactions in an economy.

CONTENT OUTLINE

•

Elements of economics: political economy, science, and moral philosophy

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Economic institutions

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Trade-offs (opportunity cost) and the formation of an economy

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Supply and Demand: individual choice to market equilibrium

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Economic Growth and Decline – recessions and booms

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Inflation and Unemployment

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Measuring economic activity

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Building a model of economic activity

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Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Time permitting

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Loan defaults and the financial crisis

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Current economic policy and the potential effects

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES

Instructional procedures for this course will include lectures, class discussions, “company” (group) exercises,case analysis, and individual assignments. Students will successfully pass the class if they aforementionedactivities.

INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES

Textbook: Economics by David Colander, 7

Edition, McGraw-Hill, Irwin: 2006ISBN: 0-07-340286-9

Periodicals:

The Economist

The Wall Street Journal

The Des Moines Register, New York Times

Blogs: See Homework #1

Course website:www.tomschenkjr.net

ASSESSMENT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

C P A F E E Y

•+•+•+•+•+•=

03.007.02.03.02.02.0

Y = total score;E

= Exam 1E

= Exam 2F = FinalA = AssignmentsP = ParticipationC = Company Score

Exams:

Two exams will be administered throughout the semester. The exams will consist of a multiple choice,argument, and long problems. Multiple choice questions will test basic economic vocabulary and elementaryrelationships. Argument questions will ask the student to reply to a normative statement using economicreasoning taught in class. I may use quotes from recent periodicals and/or blog posts. Finally, long problems will be multi-part and will test whether the student can work through an economic model. Each exam will implicitly be cumulative insofar as the principles of economics are tightly intertwined, but the emphasis will be on thecontemporary lesson.

Final:

The final will explicitly be cumulative, although the emphasis will be slightly more on the latter third of the class. The format will be similar to exams: multiple choice, essay, and long problems. The test is worthslightly more and, thus, will be slightly longer than exams.

Assignments:

Assignments will be given throughout the semester through the course website. Homework will be distributed on Tuesday and will be due at the beginning of the following Tuesday. Assignments will be gradedusing the following metric: 0 = did not turn in; 1-2 = tried without serious effort; 3-4 = tried with effort;5=(nearly) perfect Assignments are not meant to be taxing, but to help the student prepare for exams and thefinal. Most assignments will involve a question that will resemble an exam’s ‘long problem.’

Participation:

Students are expected to regularly participate in classes and, if not in class, in out-of-classcommunication with the professor. Lack of participation and irregular attendance will be especially noticed if thestudent is struggling in class. The professor will warmly reward struggling students who seek help through emailand questions.

Company Score:

Students will be randomly assigned to companies of 3 to 4 individuals, depending on the finalclass size. Companies will accumulate points throughout the semester based on exams, assignments, participation, and any other metric the professor feels is appropriate. These activities are meant to be fun andintrospective, while being educational. At the end of the semester, points will be assigned as the inverse of

company rank multiplied by 100, e.g., first place: (1/1)*100 = 100, second: (½)*100 = 50, etc. The companyscore is especially helpful toward boarderline students.

Final Grade:

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

A = 90-100%B = 80-89%C = 70-79%D = 60-69%F = < 60%MISSED EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments will be due at the beginning of class every Tuesday and tests will be given on the days denoted below. Late assignments will be penalized 40 percent. Students must notify the professor of an upcomingabsence. Students will be allowed to make up exams

ONLY

when the professor received prior notification for the inability to complete the exams. In extreme cases where prior notification is impossible, the student must provide written documentation—not by the student—explaining the absence. Students who miss a test for anunexcused absence will receive a zero.

ATTENDANCE

Students will be expected to attend every class. Attendance in the first week is mandatory. Irregular attendancewill be reflected in participation and company exercise scores. Those who already anticipate missing two or more classes are encouraged to enroll at another time. Those who are dropped from class due to absences maylose financial aid.

WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING

Modern economics is intensely mathematics, but few people possess the training to grasp a mathematical model.As such, economics is typically communicated in written periodicals so it is no coincidence that well-knowneconomists tend to be good writers—e.g., Paul Krugman, Herny James, John Gailbraith, and Milton Friedman.Employers often lament and seek those with sharp writing ability. Although writing ability is hard to noticeduring an application procedure, employers will often quickly promote those who effectively communicate.This class will challenge student to reply to assertions during an examination. Students will need to synthesizeeconomic theory and writing to convince the professor the original argument was either fallacious or correct.This experience will be different from writing an essay or research paper. Argument portions of the exam willgive the student little room to wonder or “add fluff”.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE & READINGS

Economics is truly an interdisciplinary subject involving political theory, moral philosophy, mathematics, andelements of all social sciences. This course will be based around the cold logical and mathematical aspects oftensatirized in TV and movies. However, this class will also overtly emphasis applications of economic theory and briefly highlight the moral philosophy and political philosophy elements.Readings are divided into three tiers: mandatory (***), suggested (**), and voluntary (*). Mandatory readingsshould be completed prior to the beginning of class, with the exception of the first week. Suggested readings arenot mandatory, but will help the student understand the mandatory content if needed. The suggested readings willoften re-explain the material from a slightly different perspective, much like the function of this sentence to theformer sentence. Lastly, voluntary readings are tangential to the topic—interesting, but not necessary knowledgefor the class. These readings will delve into political theory, philosophy, and other classical writings that will addto the student’s comprehensive knowledge. Students will not be tested over the material and absolutely shouldcomplete other assignments first. I hope this syllabus will be a resource for the student after the class has beencompleted.