Introduction

Nazmul Ahsan

Department of Economics
Concordia University
mdnazmul.ahsan@concordia.ca

Economics 203: Introduction to Macroeconomics

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ECON 203: INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS
Instructor: Nazmul Ahsan
Course coordinator: Moshe Lander
Coordination:
ECON 203 is coordinated across all sections in terms of course content, pace of coverage,
labs and exams.
Course Description:
An introductory analysis of aggregate economic activity. The focus is on the principles of
determination of the level of employment, national income, real output, inflation and
international balance of payments.
The course also analyses the principles that govern trade relations among countries.
These topics are integrated by a discussion of monetary and fiscal policies to stabilise
economic activity.
Course Prerequisite:
None.

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Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:

Course Objectives:
This objective of this course is to give students insight into the dynamics of the modern
macroeconomy, making them better-informed citizens and allowing them to follow the
media’s coverage of economic policy debates and issues.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students should understand the various measures of a
macroeconomy’s wellbeing (eg, GDP, and unemployment, inflation, interest and exchange
rates), monetary and fiscal policies, and the modern fractional reserve banking system.

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Required Online Text and Labs:

Curtis, D. and I. Irvine. Principles of Macroeconomics. Version 2020, Revision A. Lyryx

Advanced Learning.
This is an open-license e-text that can be downloaded, printed and distributed freely for
noncommercial use. To access it and to complete lab assignments, use the “Lyryx” link
on Moodle.

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Course Assessment:

Course Assessment:

COMPONENT WEIGHT DESCRIPTION

Labs (10) 20 percent Due Sundays before 11:59pm starting January 31
Midterm 1 20 percent Chapters 4 – 7 (Sunday, March 14, 8am – 10am)
Midterm 2 20 percent Chapters 8 – 10 (Sunday, April 11, 8am – 10am)
Final Exam 40 percent Chapters 4 – 13 (Date To Be Determined)

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Grading Policy:

Grade Criterion:

Grade Distribution:
— It is the policy of the Department of Economics that courses at the 200-level should
not have more than half of the class receiving grades of A’s and B’s without “serious
reflection”.
— In the event that the actual distribution differs from department policy, department
policy takes priority and adjusting the thresholds listed in Grade Criterion may be
necessary to ensure compliance. This adjustment (up or down) will not be considered as
grounds for appealing a final grade.

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Lectures:

The international nature of the student body makes it nearly impossible to find a
three-hour timeframe in which all students can gather online to attend a live lecture.
For that reason, lectures are pre-recorded and posted on Moodle according to a
traditional in-class semester schedule (see Tentative Lecture Schedule and Assigned
Readings on page 6).
Lectures last 2 – 3 hours and, with the e-text, contain all the information needed to
complete the course.
Once posted, each lecture is always available (as long as Moodle is working) except
during exams.

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Office Hours:

Office hours are not recorded, optional and take place online — during the scheduled
lecture hours.
As with traditional on-campus office hours, you are received on a first-come, first-served
basis and not by appointment. You sit in a virtual waiting room until the instructor is
ready to admit you.
If you use the opportunity, you are expected to “arrive” prepared (ie, with the questions
ready) and to be efficient so that the maximum number of students can make use of the
available time.
If you cannot attend office hours because of scheduling conflicts, you can email questions
with attached audio, video and/or pictures. The more precise your question, the faster
and more precise the response.

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Labs:

There are ten Lyryx labs, one for each chapter and each worth two percent. These labs are very similar to
more traditional, hardcopy assignments that students would submit to instructors. The purposes of the
labs are to:
1 reinforce material covered in class;
2 teach material for which there is insufficient time in class;
3 keep students on track with course learning objectives; and,
4 provide students with immediate evaluation and feedback.
You can access the labs at all times, except during exams, by clicking on the Lyryx icon on Moodle after
you purchase the access code and register in the appropriate section.
The grade on your FIRST attempt for each question (if it is before the deadline) is the one that is
recorded. After that, each question is still available but grades from those attempts do not count.

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Labs (Cont.):

Labs are due Sundays at 11:59pm Eastern (see Tentative Lecture Schedule and Assigned Readings on
page 6). The time is based on Lyryx’s clock. The best way to avoid missing deadlines is to do the labs
ahead of time, not just prior to the deadline.
You may ask for a 48-hour extension for any ONE of the ten labs. No documentation and no reason are
required, but you should use the extension opportunity judiciously and not use it without legitimate reason
because a second extension will not be provided.
Each lab consists of some multiple-choice, graphical, numerical and conceptual questions.
Evaluation and feedback is provided immediately after submitting your answers.
Some Lyryx questions are based on computer algorithms. This means that every time a lab is attempted,
some parameters (eg, numbers, wording) of the questions may differ.
Labs do not have a preset amount of time to finish, but inactivity for extended periods could result in
Lyryx and/or Moodle automatically logging you out.
Address technical problems and questions directly to Lyryx (tech-support@lyryx.com).

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Exams:

There are two midterms written outside of class time (Sunday, March 14 and Sunday, April 11) that cover
the first- and second-thirds of the course, respectively, and a cumulative final written during the final
exam period. (See Course Assessment on page 1 and Tentative Lecture Schedule and Assigned Readings
on page 6 for more details about the contents and weights.)
While the instructor will announce the date, time and location of the final exam, you are ultimately
responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information.
The format, content and delivery of the midterm and final exams are identical across all sections.
If you miss a midterm for any reason (eg, illness, technical, religious, work obligation, exam scheduling
conflict, etc.), the weight of that midterm is shifted automatically to the final. There are NO MAKEUP,
ALTERNATE OR DEFERRED MIDTERMS under any circumstances, nor may they be written early.
If you miss, or cannot write, the final, you must request a deferred exam according to the university
regulation. Final exam accommodations are almost never approved for reasons relating to personal/family
travel/events.

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Exams:

Once you begin an exam, you are committed to completing it, just as if you were in a live classroom and
showed up to an exam.
All exams are closed book, non-proctored, multiple-choice exams to be completed on Moodle.
You may use a non-programmable calculator and scrap paper to assist you, but you may NOT use any
other additional materials, including but not limited to notes, slides, online or offline materials, external
websites, formula sheets, previous exams, dictionaries, your phone/tablet or anything else that would
normally fall within the GENERALLY-ACCEPTED definition of cheating. Furthermore, you are to do this
exam ON YOUR OWN, without discussing the materials with anybody inside or outside of the class. If
you fail to follow any of these instructions, you will receive a grade of zero for the exam and will face
academic misconduct proceedings in accordance with Concordia’s policies on academic integrity. If you are
aware of somebody else violating this policy and do not report them, then you are in violation of this
policy. If you are unsure if what you are doing is acceptable, ask first.
The appropriate statistical tables will be provided along with the exam.
Do NOT underestimate the difficulty of the exams. The style of the exams is to ensure timely feedback;
you should not interpret that the exam is easy because it is multiple choice.

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Exams:

Questions involve algebra, definitions, interpretations and multi-part questions where the answer to one
multiple-choice question may lead to another.
Midterms are available on Moodle 8am – 10am Eastern. You may begin them at a time of your choosing
in that range, but once you begin, you have 90 minutes to complete the exam and must finish before
10am Eastern.
If you require university-approved special accommodations (eg, 30 min/hr extra writing time), you must
secure the necessary approval from the Concordia Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD)
and notify the instructor at least one week prior to the exam to receive it. You must factor these
accommodations into your decision when to begin the exams.
To access the exam, you will be prompted to accept and agree to behave in accordance with the
university’s policies and procedures on academic integrity.
After that, you see one multiple-choice question at a time. Questions are randomised so different students
will be writing different exams, although the basic coverage is the same for all students.
During the exams, you are not told whether you have answered the question (in)correctly and you do not
see your grade for a few days after the exams close. When the exam grades are ready, they are posted on
Moodle.

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Other Resources:
Drop-In Centre: In place of the traditional in-class tutorials, graduate students in the
department of economics will provide a “drop-in centre” on Zoom, where students can
seek clarification on course-related materials. These drop-in centre hours will not be
recorded and are optional.
The centre will begin in week 3 and will continue until the final exam. Hours may change
week to week with extra hours provided before the midterms and final. Information will
be posted on Moodle.
Graduate students will also manage the chat and forum features on Moodle for those
looking to post course-related questions. Students can expect responses within 24 – 48
hours depending on the day of the week and the volume of questions posted. This, rather
than the instructor, should be used as a point of first contact for course-related questions,
comments and issues.
Correspondence:
If you need to email the instructor, it must originate from your Concordia email address.
Any email from any other address will be treated as spam and will be neither read nor
answered. If you have not activated your address already, follow the instructions at
www.concordia.ca/it/services/email-forstudents-office-365.html.
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Student Responsibilities
1. Copyright of Lectures:

Content belonging to instructors shared in online courses, including, but not limited to,
online lectures, course notes, and video recordings of classes remain the intellectual
property of the faculty member. It may not be distributed, published or broadcast, in
whole or in part, without the express permission of the faculty member.
Students are also forbidden to use their own means of recording any elements of an online
class or lecture without express permission of the instructor.
Any unauthorized sharing of course content may constitute a breach of the Academic
Code of Conduct and/or the Code of Rights and Responsibilities.
All university members retain copyright over their work.

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Student Responsibilities
2. Private Tutors:

Students are advised that the Department of Economics does not support and cannot
guarantee the quality of any private tutoring service offered by outside institutions.
Students are encouraged to use caution and should be aware that they enrol in such
services at their own risk.

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Student Responsibilities
3. Academic Code of Rights and Responsibilities:

Students are expected to be aware of their academic responsibilities as outlined in the

Code of Rights and Responsibilities
www.concordia.ca/students/rights.html

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Student Responsibilities
4. Third-Party Software:

Students are advised that an external website is used in the course and students will be
asked to submit or consent to the submission of personal information (eg, name and
email) to register and to the submission of their work for evaluation.
Students are responsible for reading and deciding whether to agree to any applicable
terms of use. Use of this external website is voluntary.
Students who do not give their consent should identify themselves to the course instructor
as soon as possible, and in all cases before the DNE deadline, to discuss alternate modes
of participation.

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