WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY
Williams School of Commerce,
Economics, and Politics
ECONOMICS 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics
10 – 10:55 MWF
Professor Jim Casey
Rm. 205A, Ext. 8102
Email: Caseyj
Office Hours: MWF; 11:00-11:45
Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to gain an understanding and appreciation for the basic principles of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is the study of economy-wide behavior. The framework for this course is based on five questions. First, how should we measure economy-wide economic performance? Second, what causes fluctuations in inflation, unemployment, and economic growth? Third, can government policies help reduce these fluctuations and stimulate growth in the economy? Fourth, how does the US economy fit into the global economy? And finally, what is the relationship between the economy and the environment?
Required Readings
Text: Baumol, William J., and Alan S. Blinder. Economics: Principles and Policy.10th Edition. New York: The Dryden Press, 2006.
Newspaper: Wall Street Journal (daily)
Other: GDAE readings
Grading:
(1) Class Participation: 10%
(2) Weekly Problem Sets (10): 20%
(3) Weekly Quizzes (10): 20%
(4) 5 Short Papers: 10%
(5) Exam 1: 10%
(6) Exam 2: 10%
(7) Final Exam: 20%
(1) You will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the day’s topics and to actively participate in class discussions. If you fall asleep in class you will be awakened and asked to leave the classroom AND this will count as an unexcused absence from class. Finally, I will be taking attendance this semester – you will have two unexcused absences – then each additional absence will cost you five points off your final grade.
(2) We will have a problem set assigned every Friday and it will be turned in Monday morning at the beginning of class.
(3) Each week that we do not have an hour exam, there will be a quiz on the readings – this will include all readings for the week, including anything covered on the front page of the WSJ. The quiz may occur on any of the three days we meet and will not be announced beforehand.
(4) Every second Friday you will be required to turn in a 2 page paper – this paper should summarize a theme covered in the WSJ (during the previous 2 weeks) and discuss/critique the context of the chosen WSJ articles using the tools we are developing in class.
(5) We will have an hour exam in class at the end of week 4 covering the material from section I.
(6) We will have an hour exam in class at the end of week 7 covering the material from section II.
(7) There will be a final exam during exam week covering all the material from the semester with an emphasis on (1) International Trade, and (2) The Environment.
Outline for the course
Section 1. The Macroeconomy, Chapters 22-27, (Weeks 1-4)
Week 1:
Wednesday: Introduction
Friday: No Class
Week 2:
Monday: ch. 22
Wednesday: ch. 23
Friday: ch.24
Week 3:
Monday: ch.25,
Problem Set 1 Due
Wednesday: Continue with ch. 25.
Friday: ch.26,
Paper 1 Due
Week 4:
Monday: ch27,
Problem Set 2 Due
Wednesday: TBA
Friday - Exam 1
Section 2. Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Chapters 28-33, (Weeks 5-7)
Week 5:
Monday: ch.27,
Problem Set 3 Due
Wednesday: 28
Friday: ch.28,
Paper 2 Due
Week 6:
Monday: ch.29,
Problem Set 4 Due
Wednesday: ch.30
Friday: ch.31
Week 7:
Monday: ch.32,
Problem Set 5 Due
Wednesday: 33
Friday - Exam 2
Section 3. The International Economy, Chapters 34-36, (Weeks 8-9)
Week 8:
Monday: ch.32,
Wednesday: ch. 33
Friday: ..\macro\fiscalreform.pdf
Week 9:
Monday: ch.34,
Problem Set Due
Wednesday: ch. 35
Friday: ch.36,
Section 4. Macroeconomics and the Environment (Weeks 10-12)
Week 10:
Monday: ch. 36
Wednesday: Macro_Measurement_Environmental_and_Social_Dimensions.pdf,
Friday: continue with Wednesday discussion
Paper 2 Due
Week 11:
Monday: Macroeconomics_and_the_Environment.pdf,
Problem Set Due
Wednesday: Trade_and_the_Environment.pdf,
Friday: TBA
Week 12:
Monday: The_Economics_of_Global_Climate_Change.pdf,
Problem Set Due
Wednesday: Review Day
Friday: Exam