Professor: Rahsan Akbulut



UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Marshall School of Business

Department of Finance and Business Economics

ECON 252x: Macroeconomics for Business

Spring 2012

Location: THH 210

Day & Time: MW 4:00-5:50pm Section Number: 26058R

________________________________________________________________________

Professor: Rahşan Akbulut

Office: ACC 301 K

Office hours: MW 2:00pm - 3:30pm, or by appointment

Department Phone: 213-740-6515

E-mail: rahsan@marshall.usc.edu

________________________________________________________________________

Course Description:

Making sound business decisions requires knowing the economic environment in which firms operate. It requires an understanding of key economic indicators, the relationship among economic variables, the mechanics of how the economy works as a whole, and the role of economic institutions. The topics we cover in this course in macroeconomics will help you understand how economies function, both in the national and international contexts. 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.

In this course 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, and how various disturbances affect the economy. At the end of this course, in addition to understanding how economies function and how to think about economic issues, you should be able to critically evaluate macroeconomic arguments in the financial press.

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.

Prerequisites:

I will assume that you have had an introductory course in economics. I will also assume that you are familiar with basic algebra and calculus. You should expect exam questions requiring calculations.

Required Course Material:

The required textbook for this course is Macroeconomics by Andrew Abel, Ben Bernanke, and Dean Croushore, 7th Edition, Addison-Wesley. [ISBN-10: 1256405760]

The textbook is bundled with the MyEconLab Student Access Code Card and a study guide.

MyEconLab (MEL) is a study tool provided by the publisher designed to complement the textbook. It has online practice tests, exercises, an interactive graphing tool, and other resources. You can also create your own study plan. We will use MEL for Homework assignments. Each topic has a homework assignment associated with it. These assignments are set up to help you understand and become comfortable with the material. You get automatic feedback as you do the problems, and your efforts are graded automatically. To be able to use these features you need to register at using the Student Access Code. You will also need to register to your specific section. Your section specific Course ID for MEL is:

akbulut19672 (For detailed information, see end of syllabus.)

Throughout the semester, we will also watch parts of the Commanding Heights video. Expect direct questions from that material in your exams. You can stream the video directly from the PBS website for free at the following address:



Power point slides of the lectures and other course material (notes, articles, etc.) will be available on Blackboard. I will also use the site for announcements. You will receive an email notification each time an announcement is posted.

You will be responsible for all the material covered during lectures, including the articles we will discuss. It is important that you attend all classes.

Class Etiquette:

This is a large class and I need your cooperation in ensuring orderly conduct of the lectures.

• You may use a laptop during class only to take notes. I reserve the right to ask you to shut down your laptop.

• Please turn your cellular phones off before entering the class.

• Please arrive on time. If you are going to be late on a particular day, for a valid reason, please let me know in advance.

• If you have to leave early on a particular day, for a valid reason, please let me know in advance; also, try to find a seat near an aisle.

• You are expected to attend the section you are registered in. If you need to attend another session for a valid reason please let me know ahead of time.

Course Grading:

Article Responses / other work 5 %

MyEconLab Assignments 20 %

Midterm 1 & 2 40 %

Final 35 %

Article Responses / other work: Articles from the economic and financial press will be posted on Blackboard. They are intended to provide an applied perspective to the concepts that will be covered in this course. We will discuss these articles in class. I will post them in advance and expect you to hand in a 1 paragraph (typed) article response on the day it is assigned. In each article response, you will be asked to discuss the main ideas in the article and what your opinion on the subject is. They will be due in class only. No exceptions will be made. I will not return your article responses to you. You will get credit (1) or no credit (0) for it. I will record your grades on Blackboard. Note that there might be direct question from these articles in exams.

I will also assign other work throughout the semester that will require the use of Microsoft Excel.

MyEconLab - Assignments: You will have to do these assignments online. There will be assignments for every chapter. Some of them will be “Practice Assignments” and some “Graded Assignments”. All of them will have due dates, but only the graded ones will count towards your course grade. You get instant feedback on your answers. If your answer is wrong, you can reattempt the question. There is a limit of 3 attempts per question. Late work will not be graded, no matter what the excuse is. But I will drop your lowest score on the graded assignments.

Midterm Exams: The first midterm exam will be on Wednesday, February 15, during scheduled class time. It will test material covered up to the exam. The second midterm exam will be on Wednesday, March 28, during scheduled class time. It will test material covered after the first midterm. No midterm makeup will be given, except for proven medical emergencies. The weight of your midterm with the higher score will be 25% and that of the other one 15%.

Final Exam: The final exam will be on Wednesday, May 2, at 4:30-6:30 pm. No makeup final exams will be given, except for proven medical emergencies. The Final exam will be comprehensive.

All exams will be closed book and notes.

Grade Appeals: 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.

Academic Integrity:

The use of unauthorized material, communication with fellow students during an examination, attempting to benefit from the work of another student, and similar behavior that defeats the intent of an examination, or other class work is unacceptable to the University.  It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and inadvertent behavior resulting from the nervous tensions accompanying examinations.  Where a clear violation has occurred, however, the instructor may disqualify the student’s work as unacceptable and assign a failing mark on the paper.

All students at the University of Southern California have an inherent responsibility to uphold the principles of academic integrity and to support each other and the faculty in maintaining a classroom atmosphere that is conducive to orderly and honest conduct.  Students must understand and uphold the rules printed in the Student Conduct Code in the USC SCampus handbook, regarding examination behavior, fabrication, plagiarism, and other types of academic dishonesty.  Violations will result in a failing course grade and referral to the University’s judicial system.

Academic Accommodations Based on a Disability:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester.  A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP.  Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible and at least 2 weeks prior to any scheduled examinations.  DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Course Outline: [1]

|Lect. |Date |Topic |Chapter |

|1. |1/9 |Introduction |1 |

|2. |1/11 |Math Review | |

| | |Measurement of Economic Performance |2 |

| |1/16 |NO CLASS – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | |

|3. |1/18 |Measurement of Economic Performance cont. |2 |

|4. |1/23 |Measurement of Economic Performance cont. |2 |

| | |Productivity, Output, and Employment |3.1 – 3.5 |

|5. |1/25 |Commanding Heights | |

|6. |1/30 |Productivity, Output, and Employment cont. |3.1 – 3.5 |

|7. |2/1 |Productivity, Output, and Employment cont. |3.1 – 3.5 |

| | |Consumption Saving, and Investment |4 |

|8. |2/6 |Consumption Saving, and Investment cont. |4 |

|9. |2/8 |Consumption Saving, and Investment cont. |4 |

|10. |2/13 |Midterm Review | |

|11. |2/15 |Midterm 1 |1 – 4 |

| |2/20 |NO CLASS – Presidents Day | |

|12. |2/22 |Long-Run Economic Growth |6 |

|13. |2/27 |Long-Run Economic Growth cont. |6 |

|14. |2/29 |Business Cycles |8.1 – 8.3 |

|15. |3/5 |Classical Business Cycle Analysis |10.1 |

|16. |3/7 |The Asset Market, Money, and Prices |7 (except 7.2) |

| |3/12 |SPRING BREAK | |

| |3/14 |SPRING BREAK | |

|17. |3/19 |The Asset Market, Money, and Prices cont. |7 (except 7.2) |

|18. |3/21 |Unemployment and Inflation Trade-Off |12.1 |

|19. |3/26 |Midterm Review | |

|20. |3/28 |Midterm 2 |6, 8.1 – 8.3, 10.1, 7 (except |

| | | |7.2), 12.1 |

|21. |4/2 |Monetary Policy and the Fed cont. |14 |

|22. |4/4 |Monetary Policy and the Fed cont. |14 |

|23. |4/9 |Fiscal Policy |15.1 – 15.3 |

|24. |4/11 |Fiscal Policy cont. |15.1 – 15.3 |

|25. |4/16 |Balance of Payment |5.1 – 5.3, 5.5 |

|26. |4/18 |Balance of Payment cont. |5.1 – 5.3, 5.5 |

|27. |4/23 |Exchange Rates |13.1, 13.2, 13.5 |

|28. |4/25 |Final Review | |

| |5/2 |Final Exam 4:30-6:30 pm |Cumulative |

How to Register and Enroll in Your MyLab / Mastering Course:

Your instructor has set up a MyLab / Mastering course for you.

Textbook: Abel/Bernanke/Croushore: Macroeconomics 7e

Course Name: Econ 252x - Macro, Spring 2012 - MW 4:00 - Akbulut

Course ID: akbulut19672

To register you will go through the following steps:

1. From the MyLab / Mastering home page (), click Student under Register.

2. Enter the Course ID your instructor gave you, and click Continue.

Course ID: akbulut19672

3. Sign in or create an account:

o First, check the information on the right side of the page to ensure you are registering for the correct course. If not, click Enter a different course ID.

o Next, you will Sign In or Create an account.

▪ You already have a Pearson account if you have used one of our online products before. Enter your username and password and click Sign In.

▪ If you think you have a Pearson account, but can’t remember your sign in information, click Forgot your username and password. An email will be sent, so we suggest checking your account information before you begin your course registration.

▪ If you don’t have an account, click Create. You will create a username and password and add your contact information. Read and accept the license agreement; you can also choose to help improve Pearson products and learn about new offers.

Click Create an Account. You now have a Pearson account! The username and password you just created can be used for all your Pearson online programs.

4. Pay for access to your instructor’s online course.

o If you already bought your access code, either bundled with your textbook or as an access code kit sold individually, click Access Code. Enter your access code, one word in each box, and click Finish.

o To use a credit card or PayPal, instead of an access code, click the button for the access you want.

Note: Some courses provide the option to purchase with or without the eText.

Next, enter billing and payment information, then review and submit your order.

Note: If using a parent’s credit card be sure to use the correct billing address and put your name in the Your Name field, not the cardholder’s name.

o If you’re waiting for financial aid, click Get temporary access without payment for 17 days, which is near the bottom of the payment options page.

Click Yes when a message appears asking if you are sure you want temporary access. You will receive an email with payment instructions.

Note: To stay in your course, use an access code, credit card, or PayPal before the temporary access ends. If you don’t pay within 17 days, you lose access to your instructor’s online course and may miss deadlines or important notices from your instructor. Once you pay for full access, you are reconnected to coursework already completed.

o You will receive a confirmation page with your account and course information. Click Go to Your Course to start your work.

-----------------------

[1]!"jku…’“”žŸ ª­®±²¼ÀÁÂÅÆÇÈËÌéêëì6 @ &l[pic]

h~hô,Àh~hô,À5?

h/5h>l[pic]h/5h>l[pic]5?hô,À hFG\5?h#

¶hô,À5? h>l[pic]5?hÿ9hô,À5? hÔQË5? hô,À5?h_NŒhô,ÀCJ aJ h#

¶hô,À5?CJaJ All details in this schedule are subject to change with adequate notice.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download