HONORS
SECTION
ECO
2013
PRINCIPLES
OF MACROECONOMICS
FALL
2010
Prof. Mark Isaac
644-7081
265 Bellamy Building
misaac@mailer.fsu.edu
(see 2nd class listed)
Office Hours: 2-3:15 M,W
and by appointment.
GENERAL: This is the honors
section of Econ 2013, our Principles of Macroeconomics course. The goal of this
course is to introduce students (who have signaled a desire to approach the
subject at both a rigorous level and at an extended depth of interest) the
concepts of aggregate economic activity and the core theories of real business
and monetary fluctuations (recessions, booms, inflation, deflation, and so
forth). The course is not in any way restricted to economics major; in fact, in
incorporates several assignments that inquire into the reflection of
macroeconomic policy in culture, literature, even film. The same book will be
used by other sections, but we will cover some material that is more
sophisticated. Most importantly, the course will have an honors pace, an honors
sense of maturity, an honors level of classroom etiquette, an honors sense of
interest in the topic, and honors expectations of performance. If you are
expecting a traditional principles of economics course but augmented by a
faster pace, harder questions, or more math, then this course may not be for
you. I will lecture as though students have read the assigned material and are
familiar with the basic framework of the chapter. Regular attendance will be
especially critical, but as you are adults in an honors section, I will not
take roll and you do not owe me an explanation if you are absent. Finally, an honors course such as this thrives on active student
participation and evidence of curiosity, both abstract and about how the world
really operates.
TEXTBOOK: Macroeconomics:
Private and Public Choice by Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, MacPherson. You should be
purchasing the “combined” package with Aplia and the
on-line version of the text, with the dead-tree version as an option. Class
code is D3XB-AEYS-24C6 . The login to begin the process is to go to http://login.cengagebrain.com .If you must buy your books through the
bookstore for scholarship reasons, purchase the Aplia
macro-split-pack for Gwartney, et al.
COURSE GRADE WEIGHTING:
3 EXAMS x 100 pts.
each = 300 pts. total
QUIZZES = 100 pts. total
MISC. LAB SESSIONS, PUZZLES, PROJECTS, INTERNET
INVESTIGATIONS, etc. = minimum of 100 pts. total (more
points may be offered). Some will be announced well in advance. Others will
not. You may do as many as you want, or not (see below). One of the projects
will be late in the course and you will have a choice (you may not do both).
One of the options will be to face a supplemental “CRAM” set of questions on
the final exam (CRAM was a game show on GSN where “I give you the material and
you stay up all night studying”). The basis for the CRAM questions will be all
of the special topic chapters at the end of the textbook. Your second option
will be a final term paper (about 10 pages double-spaced) on a macroeconomic
policy issue or problem in another country, due on the last day of class
(including review sessions, if applicable).
COURSE GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
These are my tentative grade distributions:
A
= 450-500 pts.
B
= 385-449 pts.
C
= 300-384 pts.
D
= 250-299 pts.
E
= <250 pts.
FINAL EXAMINATION:
We will not participate in the block
final. My reading of the
schedule is that means that our scheduled time is Monday 5:30-7:30 (under Main
Campus MWF classes at 3:35). Please double check this for yourself and let me
know if I’ve gotten this wrong.
COURSE EXAM POLICIES:
I do not give make-up mid-term exams or make-up quizzes. If you miss a midterm exam, you must contact me as soon as feasible and
provide me with a written, signed explanation of your absence. Reasons of
illness, family emergencies, and similar unavoidable problems are almost
always acceptable and you do NOT need to provide me with documentation. Your
exam grade will be reweighted between the other
midterm and the final. You may not be exempted from both midterms.
There are no exemptions from the final exam.
Make-ups will be given only in cases of dire personal emergency: death,
emergency heart transplants, jail terms, etc., or for students who fully meet
the university’s “overload” requirement.
"Supersaver" airline reservations do not fall into this category.
Reread this paragraph.
I have scheduled seven quizzes, but we might end
up with six or eight. In any event, your quiz score will consist of your five
highest quiz grades. There are no exemptions or make-ups on quizzes. If you
miss a quiz, you may simply count it as one of your "dropped"
quizzes. Along this line, quizzes will typically be announced with only one
class days notice, and I reserve the right to have a pop quiz or two (or none).
EXAM GRADES: On either
quizzes or exams, I have a priority system for students to seek correction of
a grade. First, I am ALWAYS prepared to discuss your answers during office
hours. If I have done incorrect addition to your detriment, PLEASE bring this
to my attention. If you believe that I have overlooked an obviously correct
answer, please ask me to look at the disputed segment. I discourage quibbling
over partial credit. On average, I believe I make as many stretches favoring
students as penalizing them. Therefore, if someone insists on pressing such an
issue, I reserve the right to regrade the entire
exam. The net result may be a grade that goes down instead of up.
HOMEWORK: I will frequently
assign homework either from the questions in the book or on handouts from me.
Homework is voluntary, but I will always set aside time in class to go over
the more difficult problems.
YOUR
ATTENDANCE:
I do not take attendance. You are adults and are capable of making your own
decision about attending class. I realize that people get sick and have job
interviews; you are not required to engage in documentation. Having said this, the most important components
of this course take place in the classroom, and that is reflected on all exams.
In addition, one thing that really ticks me off is wandering in and out of
class. If you must be late, please cause as little disruption as possible. If
you have an early appointment, please inform me and sit near the door.
MY
ATTENDANCE: You
deserve the same respect from me. Part of my responsibility as a Professor at
Florida State University involves occasional attendance at academic conferences
which overlap with the normal class schedule. I attempt to make these overlaps
as harmless as possible to the course (using guest lectures or additionally
provided review times). I will provide you shortly with my anticipated schedule
for the semester. If I should ever be so sick as to not be able to teach, I
will do everything possible to have that posted in class before the class
begins.
HONOR
CODE: Students
are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in the Florida
State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook.
SPECIAL NOTE: Students entitled to
special academic accommodations are encouraged to come to my office and present
a letter from the Student Disability Resource Center describing the nature of
the accommodations required.
FINAL
NOTE: Anyone
who answers or places a (non-emergency) cell phone call, or sends or reads any
text message, picture, stock report, fantasy football update, or anything
similar in the classroom during class will lose two points on the next
subsequent exam. If you are expecting a “life
or death” page or phone call, please let me know before class starts and try to
sit as close to the doors as possible. In addition, my default rule is that
laptops are not to be active during class. If you have a certified
accommodation requirement for a laptop, please see me.
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
FALL 2010 **SP8/30 [CRAM or Paper]
M. Aug. 23: Welcome and administrative details **SP1/10 [Macro Matters]
W. Aug. 25: Chapter 1 (The Economic Approach)
and Chapter 2 (Tools)
M. August 30: Chapter 2 Cont’d (Quiz #1/1 & 2) (Special Project 1 due)
W Sept. 1:
Special Project 2 (whole class)/5 [Markets]
M. Sept. 6: Labor Day, No Classes
W. Sept. 8: Chapter 3 (Market Supply and Demand)
M. Sept. 13: Chapter 4 (Consumer Demand) & Chapter
5 (Role of Government) (Quiz #2/ 3 &
4)
W. Sept. 15: Chapter 6 (Collective Decisionmaking)
M. Sept. 20: Spillover and Review for First Exam
**SP3/15 [Micro Clip]
W. Sept. 22: FIRST MIDTERM EXAM
M. Sept. 27 : SPECIAL PROJECT 4 SET-UP/10 [Second Market]
W. Sept. 29: Chapter 7 (Measuring a Nation’s
Economic Well Being) (Special Project 3
due)
M. Oct. 4:
Chapter 8 (Economic Fluctuations, Unemployment, and Inflation)
W. Oct. 6: Chapter 9 Basic Macroeconomic
Aggregates) (Quiz # 3/7 & 8 )
M. Oct. 11: Chapter 9 (Cont’d) & Chapter 10
(Macro Models)
W. Oct 13: Chapter 10 (Macro Models) (Quiz #4/9 & Models) **SP5/10 [Famous Economists]
M Oct. 18: Spillover and Review for Second
Midterm (Special Project 5 due)
W. Oct. 20: SECOND MIDTERM EXAM (Chapters 7-10
and related)
M. Oct. 25: Chapter 11 (The Great Depression,
Classical Theories and Keynes) (Special
Project 4 due)
W. Oct 27: Chapter 12 (Keynes and Fiscal Policy)
M. Nov. 1: Chapter 13 (Money & Banking) (Quiz #5/ 11 & 12)
W. Nov. 3: Chapter 13 Monetary Policy & Monetarism
M. Nov. 8: Chapter 14 A Brief Review of the
Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis
W. Nov. 10: Chapter 15 (Stabilization Policy & Model
Comparison) (Quiz #6/ 13 & 14) **SP6/10 [Money
Matters]
M. Nov. 15: Chapter 16 (Economic Growth) **SP7/15 [Macro Clip] (Special Project 6
due)
W. Nov. 17: Chapter 17 (International Trade)
M.
Nov 22 : Movie About the Great Depression
W. Nov. 24:
Movie About the
Great Depression, Help on Projects, Review
M. Nov. 29 : Chapter 18 (International Monetary Policy) (Quiz #7/15 & 16) (Special Project 7
due)
W. Dec.1:
Chapter 18 (Balance of Payments) + catch-up/review for final.
FINAL EXAM: Will cover chapters 11-18 (Special Project 8 due).