READING LISTECONOMICS 102 INTRODUCTORY MACROECONOMICS SPRING 2010 Instructor: Elizabeth Sawyer Kelly Office: 7416 Social Science Office Phone: 608-262-8829 Office Hours: Before and after class and by appointment E-mail: [email protected] Webpage: www.ssc.wisc.edu/~ekelly/econ102 TEXT: Macroeconomics by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Worth Publishers, 2005. It is also highly recommended that you read current event publications which cover economic events: among these recommended publications are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Financial Times, Barron’s, and The Economist. OVERVIEW: Economics is the study of the production, allocation, and distribution of goods and services in a world where resources are scarce. In this course we will explore some basic concepts: the macroeconomic problems of unemployment, inflation, and sluggish economic growth. We will also consider the monetary and fiscal policies available to the government to alter the prevailing economic situation. The course will also examine the role of government, government expenditures and revenues, the Federal Reserve System, and the creation of money. COURSE STRUCTURE AND GRADING POLICY: Lectures: There are two lectures and a discussion section each week. Students are expected to have completed the reading prior to lecture. Attendance is not mandatory at the lectures, but exams will focus primarily on material presented in lecture. A second reading of the textbook after the lecture will greatly enhance your understanding of the ideas being presented. Discussion Sections: 1Attendance at discussion sections is highly recommended. Your Teaching Assistants will take attendance at each meeting. Discussion sections provide an opportunity to ask questions, go over problems from the web page, and generally reinforce material that has been presented in lecture. Your T.A. will be available during the discussion section and during office hours to answer your questions. In addition to attending the discussion section that you are enrolled in, you are also welcome to attend other discussion sections. We will make available a list of all T.A.s, their discussion sections, and the times and locations for these discussion sections. Study Guide: There is a study guide available to accompany the textbook. This study guide reviews and reinforces the basic material presented in each chapter. It provides a sound base to build upon for the lecture material. Students that need reinforcement for this material will find it helpful to do the problems in the study guide. Website: There is a course website at www.ssc.wisc.edu/~ekelly/econ102. This website provides a wealth of material: e.g., information about exams, announcements about the class, old practice questions and homeworks (with answers), old exams, and information about TAs. Please take advantage of this website as a study guide. GRADES: There will be two midterms, five homeworks and a comprehensive final. The midterms will be on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Monday, April 12, 2010 The midterms will be held in class: students should plan to arrive fifteen minutes early on these dates to their assigned classroom in order that the full class hour is available to them for the exam. Students arriving late will not receive compensating time: all exams must be turned in to the proctor at the end of the class hour. Midterms are mandatory: students missing midterms will receive a grade of zero for that exam unless they provide documentation of illness. The midterm exam format will be announced in class prior to the exam. There will be a mandatory comprehensive final exam on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 7:45 a.m. The final exam format will be announced in class prior to the exam. 2The weight of the exams will be First Midterm 30% Second Midterm 30% Final 30% Homeworks 10% All exams are required. Students can anticipate that grades will fall roughly along the following distribution: A: 15% of the class AB: 18% of the class B: 20% of the class BC: 20% of the class C: 18% of the class D and F: 9% of the class LOW GRADES ON MIDTERMS WILL NOT BE DROPPED; ONCE YOU TAKE A TEST THE GRADE YOU RECEIVED STAYS ON YOUR RECORD. THERE IS NO EXTRA CREDIT IN THIS COURSE. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS TO REPLACE MIDTERMS THAT HAVE BEEN MISSED. IMPORTANT DATES: 2/3/10 Homework #1 Due in Class 2/17/10 Homework #2 Due in Class 2/24/10 FIRST MIDTERM IN CLASS 3/17/10 Homework #3 Due in Class 4/7/10 Homework #4 Due in Class 4/12/10 SECOND MIDTERM IN CLASS 34/28/10 Homework #5 Due in Class 5/13/10 FINAL EXAM AT 7:45 a.m. PROFESSOR KELLY'S EXPECTATIONS FOR HER STUDENTS: 1. Attend all lectures, take notes, and stay awake and alert. 2. Attend discussion section each week. Prior to going to discussion identify any problem areas from the lecture and be prepared with questions for your TA. 3.Do practice questions and problems as they are made available. Seek help from fellow students or your TA if you are having trouble. Realize that an inability to do these practice questions and problems with facility suggests you do not understand the material and if you do not remedy the situation your grade on the midterm will suffer. 4. Do reading before the lecture. Take reading notes (notetaking is superior to highlighting). 5. Do reading again after the lecture. Take reading notes (yes, again). 6. Do study guide questions and for those that are troublesome to you, seek help from your TA during discussion section. 7. Students failing to achieve an average of 50% for all graded material should not expect to pass this class. 8. There are no graduating seniors. There are seniors who take the class, but they are graduating seniors only after they successfully complete all their required coursework at the University. 9. Students should keep a datebook and have all test dates and review
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