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Syllabus: Economics 411W Money & Banking Fall 2017Professor Sheila Tschinkelstschin@emory.eduClass Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10:00 to 10:50AMOffice Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00AM to 12:30PM and by appointment.This is a great time to take Econ 411W. We now need to understand “shadow banks” as well as banks. If you think of all the ways you can “pay” for something, you know it is hard to figure out what money is. Monetary policy has been using new tools in the US and globally. In the US, massive amounts of stimulus are being reduced. Elsewhere, the European Central Bank, the Danish, Swedish and Swiss central banks and the Bank of Japan have negative monetary policy interest rates, even though no one is sure how and if they work. Financial regulation is also evolving. The US Congress is likely to respond to claims of “too much regulation” by removing some of the reforms adopted after the financial crisis of 2007-2009. This could put the US out of sync with many other countries that are keeping tighter restrictions. In Econ 411W, you will also think about how control over economic resources is transferred over time. This means you will need to understand interest rates, risk and financial markets—all subjects we will spend time on.Textbook: Money, Banking and Financial Markets, Fourth Edition by Cecchetti and Schoenholtz. ISBN 978-0-07-802174-9You are strongly encouraged to use the text online. It will be linked through Canvas. There will be practice exercises you can work on until you get them right. These are not graded.Here is the link for the text: text is to help you learn and to use as a reliable reference to institutional facts and material that will not be covered in depth in class. In a one-semester course it is not possible to cover all chapters. But you can work on some by yourself to get ideas and sources for your written work.Readings: Articles from newspapers, magazines, central banks, the IMF and other sources will be assigned and posted on Canvas. News: You should follow financial market news regularly. Even though some commentators have no idea what they are talking about, you will learn how to decide this for yourself. You can access the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications through the library. Initiatives: The W means this is a 4-credit course and you must work on your writing skills while you learn the subject. You will write three short papers, a proposal for a long paper and a well researched long paper. You may present the long paper proposal in class.There will be one midterm exam and a comprehensive final. Attendance Policy Attendance is mandatory. Individual review sessions are not an alternative. I do not repeat textbooks and introduce other material. It is much harder to do well in the course if you miss classes.Your attendance record counts for 5% of your grade. You can be excused in advance if you have an excellent reason or afterwards with a note from the infirmary.Grading Policy Your writing assignments will count for 50% of your grade. The short papers will count for a total of 15%. (Paper 1=2%, Paper 2=3% and papers 3 and 4 = 5%. The long paper will count for 35% (10% for the first draft and another 25% for the final paper).The mid-term counts for 15 % and the comprehensive final for 30% percent. Attendance will count for 5%. Make-Up Exams will only be given under extraordinary circumstances and with a written request from your dean.Please see policy information from the Office for Undergraduate Education.Writing Assignments Your short papers and long paper proposal (paper 3) should be about three typewritten pages at 1.5 spacing, before bibliography and other documentation. Your well-researched term paper should be about 20 pages before bibliography and other documentation. Use a 12-point font and normal margins. Tables, charts or visual documentation do not usually count as writing. Your papers should refer to course material. Do not quote at length. You need to show you understand what you have been studying. If you want to write a highly quantitative paper we can discuss requirements for this.Do not worry if English is not your first language. I am not expecting poetry or fiction. The first paper will be about Bitcoins. You should read about Bitcoins in articles and news sources. I will post a few articles, but you should look further and learn to do this without relying on Wikipedia. You should discuss why you believe Bitcoins are or are not money or why you cannot answer this question. It is due by 5PM on September 4, 2017The second paper should be about a regulatory issue relating to a financial market or financial institution. It is due by 5PM on September 26, 2017The third paper should be a rough proposal for your long paper. Discussion will help you revise it. You should take advantage of my office hours when you are working on this. If there is time, we will schedule class discussion of proposals. This paper is due by 5PM on October 12, 2017. The fourth paper is about Federal Reserve policy. The policy making body of the US central bank will meet on September 19-20. There will be many news articles leading up to and after this. Chair Yellen will hold a press conference right afterward (which can be seen later on You Tube). You should evaluate the decisions made at this meeting based on what was known at the time. You should be working on this in September and October and changing your draft as you learn more. It is due by 5PM on November 10, 2017.The first draft of your long paper is due by 5PM on November 6, 2017 The final draft of your long paper is due on by 5PM on December 5, 2017 When submissions are late I reduce grades by 0.1 per day. Three days makes a B+ a B. I am always willing to discuss subjects and proposals for papers with you. Discussion with other students is a great idea. Still, each submission must be your own writing and not a joint product. Note: We will not start work on central banks and their policies until your proposal for the long paper is due. Even so, you can choose a topic in this area. You can look in the text and the readings (and the footnotes and references). Work on the assignment for paper 4 will help you with this. From the beginning, I will show how the topics under discussion relate to the monetary and regulatory policy questions we consider later. Papers should be in Microsoft Word and not in Adobe pdf. You can submit Excel files with papers. You should submit files in the following format: “Last name, First name, Paper 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5” when you save and name them. Send them to stschin@emory.edu.Please see me if you do not have a computer.You can consult the Emory Writing Center at information on this is on the last page.Outline of Classes:The following is a rough outline and shows the material we will cover. A good forecast is that I am usually too optimistic about the material that can be covered in each class. And, I will adjust the curriculum based on your interests. Also, because monetary policy will be important in Econ411W, the materials covered after the midterm will also be affected by unfolding news. August 24, 25 and 29Chapter 1Introduction and OverviewIssues considered over the semesterMeasurement of Policy TargetsUsing FREDAugust 31 and September 1 Chapter 2Your old macroeconomics text bookWhat is money? Can we measure it? The payments system and the central bank. Why liquidity is important.Reconsidering the money multiplier and the money-inflation relationshipBrief macroeconomics review. Central banks and “money”.September 5 and 7Chapter 3Paper 1 due by 5PM September 4Financial Intermediation, the Functions of Financial Markets, Information Asymmetry, Financial fragility. Liquidity again.September 8, 12 and 14Chapter 4 Present and future values and how we calculate them. How values of debt instruments are affected by changes in nominal interest rates. How values of debt instruments are affected by risk. Nominal and real interest rates; how inflation affects nominal interest rates.September 15 Chapter 5Understanding risk and how it can and cannot be reduced. Idiosyncratic, systematic and a little bit on systemic risk.September 19, 21 and 22Chapter 6Bonds, prices of bonds and how interest rates are determined in bond markets. The types of risk that affect bond prices. Bond ratings. Bond markets and liquidity. The financial crisis of 2007-2009 and bond ratings. Start thinking about expectations. September 26, 28 and 29Chapter 7 Paper 2 due by 5PM September 26The term structure of interest rates. Alternative explanations of how short and long-term interest rates on government (riskless) securities are related. This is very important in understanding monetary policy in many countries in recent years.October 3Chapter 8Stocks and the stock market. This is not a deep review of stocks. We use it to consider Market Efficiency and Information Asymmetry-and relate it to financial intermediaries and markets.Review Session and possible topics for long papersAsset price bubbles and efficient markets—Can we believe in both?October 5,6Chapter 11Financial intermediaries and how they reduce the cost of information asymmetry. T accounts for financial intermediaries.October 12,13 and 17Chapter 12Proposal for long paper due by 5PM October 12 This is paper 3Banks and a short history of regulation and supervision in the US. The question of regulation by institutional form versus regulation by functionOctober 19 and 20Chapter 13Financial industry structure. How non-banks or shadow banks became and continue to be relatively more important. October 24 and 26Chapter 14Regulating the financial system. Panics and the safety net. October 27ReviewPrepare for MidtermOctober 31ReviewMidtermNovember 2Review resultsMidterm and preview of remaining weeksNovember 2 and 3Chapter 15Draft of Long Paper due by 5PM November 6Central bank balance sheets compared to private intermediary balance sheetsWhat is special about bank reserves?November 7 and 9Chapter 16Federal Reserve Structure and operations. If time, the European Central Bank structure and operations. November 10Chapter 17 only until page 463Paper 4 due by 5PMFederal Reserve Open Market Operations and how they Affect Bank Reserves. A critique of the money multiplierNovember 14, 16 Chapter 18 and short readingsMonetary policy directed at economic stabilization. Linking policy to goals. Can policy guidelines used in the past work now? The Taylor rule. Unconventional policy tools. November 17Chapter 18 continuedRules versus discretion. November 21, 28, 30Chapters 21-23 in part. Short readingsAlternative models of the economy. The Lucas critique and a little on DSGE modelsDecember 1 and 5Long Paper due by 5PM December 5Semester ReviewDecember 133PM-5: 30PMFINAL EXAMPower-Point presentations are used in class. Many are new for this semester. I make them available on a timely basis. Often I revise them and tell you newer versions are available. Please comment on these presentations so that I can improve them.In a 4 credit W class you need to research and write papers. Emory has a writing center where its tutors can provide a lot of help. You should also use my office hours to discuss ideas for your papers. This means before the end of the semesterHONOR CODEThe honor code is in effect throughout the semester. By taking this course, you affirm that it is a violation of the code to cheat on exams, to plagiarize, to deviate from the teacher’s instructions about collaboration on work that is submitted for grades, to give false information to a faculty member, and to undertake any other form of academic misconduct. You agree that the teacher is entitled to move you to another seat during examinations, without explanation. You also affirm that if you witness others violating the code you have a duty to report them to the honor council. Office for Undergraduate Education The Office for Undergraduate Education (OUE) central office is located in White Hall 300Please visit or call 404.727.6069 with questions about academic affairs, concerns or policies. All Emory College of Arts and Sciences policies may be found in the College Catalog: a full list of Religious Holidays can be found here: Emory Writing Center:Peer Tutoring Writing Support offered by the CenterTutors in the Emory Writing Center and the ESL Program are available to support Emory College students as they work on any type of writing assignment, at any stage of the composing process. Tutors can assist with a range of projects, from traditional papers and presentations to websites and other multimedia projects. Writing Center and ESL tutors take a similar approach as they work with students on concerns including idea development, structure, the use of sources, grammar, and word choice. They do not proofread for students. Instead, they discuss strategies and resources students can use as they write, revise, and edit their own work. Students who are currently enrolled in an ESL-supported section of English 101, English 123, or English 221 or who plan to take one of those courses next semester should see ESL tutors, as they are specifically trained to support students in ESL Program courses. To learn more about ESL tutoring or to make an appointment, go to eslemory.?All other students in the college should see Writing Center tutors who are trained to work with this broader population. Learn more and make an appointment at?writingcenter.emory.edu. Please review-tutoring policies before your visit. ................
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