ECO-3203.U01

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Prof. Alan Gummerson

Spring 2017

Texts:

Blanchard, Olivier. Macroeconomics. 7^th edition, loose-leaf. Pearson. 2017. ISBN: 9780134472669. Shrink-wrapped with the text and included in the price is an access code card which will give you access to MyEconLab, Pearson’s website, where you will do homework online for course credit and also have access to an electronic version of the text. Bookstore price: about $221.

Buying access to MyEconLab online with access to the etext costs $148. An access code card should also be available for purchase from the bookstore. Paying a $70 more to get hard copies of the chapters you will need to master is a best buy. Be careful: paperback copies available online are the international edition, which is not the same as the one we will be using. Since the 7^th edition is new, used copies are probably hard to come by.

Course Prerequisites:

Principles of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics, plus competence in high school algebra and geometry.

Course Goals:

Intermediate Macroeconomics is one of two basic theory courses for students majoring or minoring in economics. It is designed to familiarize the student with:

· The basic facts about the macroeconomy

· The methods of analysis used by economists

· The fundamental theories of how the values of the main macroeconomic variables are determined

· The basic controversies about the trade-offs involved in policy interventions.

Course Requirements and Grading

Scores on four equally-weighted exams will determine 80% of the grade in this course. Scores on the online homework will determine the other 20% of the course grade.

Each exam combines multiple choice questions with essay/analysis questions. At the end of the semester, grades will be assigned on a curve based on the total number of points earned on the four exams and the homework, properly weighted. There will be no extra credits available.

Every student should have at least one “buddy” to contact to get notes from classes missed or for questions about assignments, times of exams, etc.

Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of Academic Misconduct:

Students should become aware of FIU’s definitions of and polices toward academic misconduct. The University’s policies may be found on the FIU website at: Academic Misconduct and Code of Academic Integrity.

Office: DM-315B

Email: gummerso@fiu.edu

Phone: 305-348-2381

Website: faculty.fiu.edu/~gummerso

Office hours: Thursdays 1:00 – 3:30 pm in VH-136, and by appointment