Principles of Macroeconomics

Economics  202

Yakima Valley College

Spring Quarter 2020 – Line Item #3175

 

Instructor: Timothy Jeske, Ph.D.                                        

Office: Glenn-Anthon 167

Telephone: Contact instructor by Canvas e-mail                                     

 E-mail: tjeske@yvcc.edu or through Canvas     

Office Hours: Contact Instructor via Canvas Class 

Course Description

This course examines the organization of and issues surrounding the modern U.S. macro economy.  Students will capture a glimpse of the development of fiscal and monetary policy, and the impact of economic policy on the business cycle, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.    

This course fulfills five credits towards the social science distribution requirement towards completion of the Associate of Arts degree at Yakima Valley College.  

The social sciences are a collection of academic disciplines that use a variety of methods to investigate human behavior and culture. These methods share a commitment to explanations derived from observable, measurable, and verifiable phenomena. Claims of knowledge require such empirical evidence to be considered valid.  The social sciences generally are committed to employing knowledge for the improvement of the human condition.  In the context of American democracy, social scientists typically share a commitment to influencing public discussions and policies regarding individual liberty, social responsibility, and what constitutes a more just society.

Institutional Assessment: In addition to the content of each discipline, YVC emphasizes the development of the following three outcomes: Communication (C), Computation/Analytical Reasoning (C/AR), and Human Relations (HR). As a student, your abilities may be assessed in one or more of these outcome areas. For further information, refer to general education outcomes in the catalog.

Course Prerequisites

Students enrolled in Economics 202 must be eligible for ENGL 101 or successful completion of BA 138 and MATH 084/085 or successful completion of BA 115.

Course Outcomes 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Students will analyze and apply current economic information in reference to unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and the money supply.
• Students will apply fiscal policy levers used by the government to achieve different macro economic outcomes.
• Students will analyze monetary policy changes and how the Federal Reserve Banking System influences the economy.

 Course Objectives and Abilities Practiced

Students will have the opportunity to practice Analytical Reasoning (AR). 

To reach the designated Outcomes of this course, students will:

• interpret relevant language and acronyms used in the study of macro economics,
• identify the causes and implication of business cycles and their influence on income, unemployment, and inflation,
• develop a systematic approach to accounting for GDP, GNP, NDP, NNP, and NI,
• solve the consumption function for aggregate expenditure, define aggregate supply and aggregate demand, recognize destabilizing factors related to aggregate supply and aggregate demand, and apply fiscal policy to stabilize the economy, 

• compare current macro economic principles with historical macro economic principles,

• solve the consumption function for aggregate expenditure, define aggregate supply and aggregate demand, recognize destabilizing factors related to aggregate supply and aggregate demand, and apply fiscal policy to stabilize the economy,
• apply deficit spending and identify the positive and negative aspects of public debts,
• apply supply-side and demand-side fiscal policy to correct any instabilities, and,
• identify the significance of money and banking and the role of the Federal Reserve System, calculate money multipliers, and use appropriate methods to expand and contract the money supply.

Required Texts:

Lucky you! Your e-textbook is free and a print version is available at very low cost! The book is available in a wide variety of free online formats via the website listed below. You can use the book in whichever format(s) you want; we recommend that you download the entire .pdf so that you always have access to your book.

Principles of Macroeconomics, from OpenStax College, ISBN 1938168259, https://cnx.org/contents/J_WQZJkO@9.2:3ZlSW1C7@6/Introduction

Printed copies at a significantly reduced textbook rate are also for sale via the YVC college bookstore or www.openstaxcollege.org

Video Lectures: In each module are several video lectures that are required viewing.  You should treat these video lectures with the same importance as you would an in-class lecture from your instructor.  I have selected a variety of video sources but the primary series of video lectures are lectures from  PBS (Public Broadcasting Corporation) Crash Course: American Government.   There are also several miscellaneous video lectures that are assigned.  Take notes as you watch and listen to the lecture.  You are expected to cite/acknowledge information and ideas taken from these lectures into your homework assignments.  Citation is by lecture author and title  (e.g. Khan Academy - Markets) or  by series (e.g. Crash Course - Economics #4), or by lecture title (e.g. Gateways to Democracy) and if you directly quote or closely paraphrase from a video lecture you must provide the time from the lecture where the quotation/paraphrased words was taken (e.g. 2:37 - 2:55).  

Disability Support Services - YVC is committed to providing access for all students wishing to attend its campuses and complies with Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As part of this commitment, the college’s Disability Support Services (DSS) program works on an individual basis with qualifying students by providing appropriate classroom accommodations, access to adaptive equipment, and barrier-free facilities. http://catalog.yvcc.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=322

Student Rights and Responsibilities

The YVC student handbook states that the following is a violation of college rules: buying, copying, or borrowing or otherwise plagiarizing another’s images, ideas, evidence, examples, opinions, or other original products or documents from published, unpublished, or electronic sources for the purpose of deceiving an instructor as to the product’s origination.  If the student is found plagiarizing or in otherwise being academically dishonest, s/he may receive an immediate failure and disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with the code procedures.  The 2019-20 YVC catalog and the most current copy of Students Rights and Responsibilities reviews your rights and responsibilities as a student. http://catalog.yvcc.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=317

Class Attendance: Requirement and Policy

While this course is instructed on-line, my expectations for attendance are related to the student completing all of the assigned readings from your textbook, watching and taking notes of the assigned video lectures, completing quizzes and homework assignments on time, or before, the completion deadline, and, completing the examinations when scheduled.  I will not accept late work or allow students to complete assignments after they are due. 

Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from the course. The instructor can administratively withdraw students who fail to attend class on a regular basis.  The last day to withdraw from the course is Friday, May 15, 2020. The instructor will not give administrative withdrawals or an incomplete grade after May 15 unless there is a bona fide medical or family emergency and the student is currently passing the course.

Faith & Conscience

Washington state law SB 5166 requires that YVC provide accommodation for student absences or significant hardships due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The YVC procedure, including a form that you may use to request leave day under SB 5166, is available at this link:https://www.cognitoforms.com/YakimaValleyCollege1/AbsenceForReasonsOfFaithOrConscience .  Student leave for reasons of faith or conscience must be requested by the use of this form, within the first two weeks of the quarter.

Graded Assignments: Subject to Change at Instructor's Discretion

Your final course grade will be determined from the satisfactory completion of the following graded assignments:

• 4 examinations; @ 75 points each = 300 points
• 14 Multiple-Choice quizzes; @ 20 points - 280 points. 
• 14 Homework assignments related to readings and video lectures;  14 @ 35 points = 490 points      
• Insurance - in the event you experience a technology problem that prevents your submission of an assignment/quiz/exam I have incorporated insurance points - 70 points - Your final course grade is based on the percent of 1000 rather than the possible 1070 points.  Please do not request second chances for completing assignments - that is why I have added these insurance points.  Keep in mind, the presence of insurance points means that your canvas grade is an approximate grade and will be somewhat lower than your actual grade. 

About the examinations and quizzes: The fourteen quizzes are to be completed by the due date/time.  They are timed, and available for the student to attempt only one time.  Do not open the quiz until you are ready to take and complete the quiz.  Be sure when you take your quiz that the technology you are using is reliable and take it when you won't be interrupted. If you are taking the quiz on your own computer I will not allow another attempt should your technology fail or you were interrupted during the quiz time.  I recommend that you take the quiz in a YVC computer lab if the YVC computer labs or library are open this quarter.  The four examinations are presently scheduled to be delivered on-line.  Like the quizzes they will be timed but consist of questions requiring written free response or essay answers.  

You will need to download the Respondus Lockdown Browser for your device in order to take the quizzes and examination.  Here is the link - https://www.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=786140826

The following percentage scale based on 1000 points (note there are 70 insurance points included in this course) determines your final grade:

100% - 94% = A  

93.9% - 90% = A-

89.9% - 87% = B+        

86.9% - 83% = B 

82.9% - 80% = B-

79.9% - 77% = C+        

76.9% - 73% = C 

72.9% - 70% = C-

69.9% - 67% = D+        

66.9% - 60% = D 

59.9% - 0%   = F