ECON 352 Macroeconomics Professor Phone Office Office hours Email Fall 2016 Nir Jaimovich 213 821 4148 HOH 722 T Tu 2 00 3 00 or by app Nir Jaimovich marshall usc edu 1 Course Description This course in macroeconomics will help you understand how economies function both in the national and international contexts Such an understanding should allow you to make sound and informed business decisions Economics is one of the foundations for other functional areas within business such as Finance and Marketing and understanding economic concepts will help you understand the issues involved in these more specialized fields We will focus on the fundamental issues of macroeconomics such as long run economic growth inequality inflation unemployment monetary and fiscal policy short run fluctuations of the economy savings and investment in the open economy and exchange rate determination We will use macroeconomic tools to analyze how government policy affects the economy how various disturbances affect the economy and how economic news affects interest rates and asset prices Note that we will spend a considerable amount of time learning macroeconomic theories since those tools are very important in analyzing the real world events in a sensible way 2 Course Learning Objectives The primary goal of this course is to enable you to make informed judgments about whether the economic environment in a given country makes it a good place to do business At the end of the course you will be able to Apply graphical and algebraic tools to analyze various economic models and address questions in economics Apply the basic demand and supply model to calculate equilibrium wage rates employment interest rates and investment in an economy Use the neoclassical growth model to measure and forecast GDP in different economies Find sources of macroeconomic data manipulate them and understand how they have behaved historically and how they compare across countries Understand and critically evaluate the news about the macro economy in the financial press Evaluate the effects of government policy such as changes in tax rates or money supply on individuals firms and the economy Collaborate with others to judge news about the U S and world economy ALIGNMENT WITH MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS PROGRAM LEARNING GOALS Learning Goals In this class emphasis will be placed on the USC Marshall School of Business learning goals as follows Course Emphasis Goal Description 1 2 3 4 5 6 Our graduates will understand types of markets and key business areas and their interaction to effectively manage different types of enterprises Our graduates will develop a global business perspective They will understand how local regional and international markets and economic social and cultural issues impact business decisions so as to anticipate new opportunities in any marketplace Our graduates will demonstrate critical thinking skills so as to become future oriented decision makers problem solvers and innovators High High High Our graduates will develop people and leadership skills Medium to promote their effectiveness as business managers and leaders Our graduates will demonstrate ethical reasoning skills understand social civic and professional responsibilities and aspire to add value to society Our graduates will be effective communicators to facilitate information flow in organizational social and intercultural contexts Low Medium 3 Prerequisites ECON 351 Microeconomics for Business or equivalent I will assume that you are familiar with algebra and calculus I will also assume that you can use excel 4 Readings Text Andrew B Abel Ben S Bernanke and Dean Croushore Macroeconomics eighth edition Slides I will post my relevant slides ahead of each class 5 Attending Class You are in college You are grownups I will not take attendance However if you don t come to class then you will miss the key learning experience of this class And I will call your parents 6 Class Etiquette This is a large class and I need your cooperation in ensuring orderly conduct of the lectures Please turn your cellular phones off before entering the class 7 Course Grading There will be one final exam worth 100 No makeup exams will be given A grade of zero will be assigned for missing it if you are not satisfied with your grade on an exam you can appeal to me in writing within one week after the exam is handed out We will have two practice exams throughout the semester that will give you feedback on your understanding of the material way ahead of the actual final exam I will also give you practice homework every other week that will assure you get consistent feedback 8 Marshall Tutoring Program The Marshall Office of Undergraduate Advising offers Peer Tutoring as a supplement to classroom instruction Marshall Peer Tutors are able to assist students in understanding and clarifying difficult concepts but tutoring sessions are effective only if students regularly attend class and actively engage in the process of thinking critically about the course content Marshall Peer Tutoring services are available for core courses that are traditionally challenging including ECON 351x ECON 352x BUAD 310 and BUAD 306 Tutoring will begin on the fourth week of classes It is offered in a group format and is designed to review and discuss content covered in the previous week and or the current week Group tutoring sessions do not require an appointment Simply drop by the Experiential Learning Center ELC in the basement of Bridge Hall For the schedule and more information on tutoring see http students marshall usc edu undergrad advising or contact the Marshall Office of Undergraduate Advising in BRI 104 by phone 213 740 0690 or email undergrad advising marshall usc edu Academic Conduct Plagiarism presenting someone else s ideas as your own either verbatim or recast in your own words is a serious academic offense with serious consequences Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11 Behavior Violating University Standards https scampus usc edu 1100 behavior violating university standards andappropriate sanctions Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct http policy usc edu scientific misconduct Discrimination sexual assault and harassment are not tolerated by the university You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity