WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY
Williams School of
Commerce, Economics, and Politics
ECONOMICS 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics
Professor Jim Casey
Rm. 104, Ext. 8102
Email: Caseyj
Office Hours: MWF; 8:30-9:30 and 3:00-4:00
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 and there are three broad questions we will look at throughout the semester.First, how should we measure economy-wide economic performance?Second, what causes fluctuations in inflation, unemployment, and economic growth?Finally, can government policies help reduce these fluctuations and stimulate growth in the economy?
Text:
Baumol, William J., and Alan S. Blinder. Economics: Principles and Policy.9th Edition. New York: The Dryden Press, 1998
Selected Readings from:
www.csmonitor.com,
http://www.wsj.com,
http://www.nytimes.com/
Grading:
Class participation 10%
Homework 10%
Exam 1 30%
Exam 2 30%
Quizzes 20%
You will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the day’s topics (do the reading!) and to actively participate in class discussions. We will have 4 random quizzes throughout the semester to provide extra incentive to prepare for class. If economists know anything, we know people respond to incentives!!
Outline for the course
Section 1. The Macroeconomy, Chapters 21-26, (roughly 4 weeks)
Exam 1
Section 2. Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Chapters 27-32, (roughly 4 weeks)
Where the Money Comes From--and Where it Goes
FRB: Federal Open Market Committee
Exam 2
Section 3. The International Economy, Chapters 33-35, (roughly 4 weeks)
Each of these articles must be purchased from the NYTimes. We will discuss them the last week of the semester.
For Richer... Poverty and Inequality.ppt
Useful Links
interactive
Macro Models
data
on the U.S. Economy
Macroeconomics and the Environment:
www.tufts.edu/gdae