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EC201 (EX16) OB - Macroeconomics

This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class. Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

Textbooks

Access to the Aplia web site for the course, payable at the Cengage Aplia web site. This includes access to an electronic version of the textbook for the course:

Mankiw, N. Gregory. Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 7th ed. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

The student may purchase a hard copy of the textbook from the Aplia web site if desired, or students may buy a used copy of the book. Students using a book voucher may purchase Aplia access from MBS using ISBN 13: 978-1-285-85455-7. Students who are not using textbook vouchers may purchase Aplia access directly from Cengage Brain. The instructor will post instructions for how to do this. However, access to Aplia is critically important, as the Aplia exercises account for 25% of the course grade

Course Description

Following an initial introduction to important general economic concepts, including demand and supply, the course examines the U.S. economy from a macroeconomic perspective. It includes an analysis of (1) how unemployment, inflation, and Gross Domestic Product are measured (2) different theories of why the economy goes through cyclical fluctuations (recessions and booms) in the short-run (3) long-run economic growth, and (4) the use of monetary and fiscal policies to stabilize the economy. Prerequisite: MA103 (or ACT Math subscore ≥22).

Course Objectives

1. To introduce students with the basic economic approach to analyzing the world, including the supply and demand model.

2. To familiarize students with the basic measures of macroeconomic performance, including Gross Domestic Product, the aggregate price level, the unemployment and inflation rates, labor productivity, and economic growth.

3. To help students understand the different models that have been developed for explaining the behavior of the American economy in both the long-run and in the short-run.

4. To analyze different public policies that have been proposed or adopted for influencing the behavior of the economy in both the short-run and the long-run.

5. To help students learn to think like economists.