ECON 352: Macroeconomics Fall 2016 Professor: Nir Jaimovich Phone: (213) 821-4148 Office: HOH 722 Office hours: T/Tu 2:00-3:00 or by app. Email: [email protected] 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: Goal Description Course Emphasis 1 Our graduates will understand types of markets and key business areas and their interaction to effectively manage different types of enterprises High 2 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 High 3 Our graduates will demonstrate critical thinking skills so as to become future-oriented decision makers, problem solvers and innovators High 4 Our graduates will develop people and leadership skills to promote their effectiveness as business managers and leaders. Medium 5 Our graduates will demonstrate ethical reasoning skills, understand social, civic, and professional responsibilities and aspire to add value to society Low 6 Our graduates will be effective communicators to facilitate information flow in organizational, social, and intercultural contexts. Medium3. 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 sessionsare 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 [email protected]. • 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-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are