University of Hawaii-Hilo

College of Business and Economics

Syllabus for ECON 131- Interim Session

(Summer I)

Note: this is an online course

Introduction to Macroeconomics Tam Vu

Summer 2009, May 18-June 12 Office: PB9-2

Online Course Telephone: 808-974-7462

E-mail: tamv@hawaii.edu Office hours by appointments

Course Website: https://laulima.hawaii.edu

Course Description:

ECON 131 aims to provide students with knowledge of the introductory-level macroeconomics. Basic economic principles will be introduced. The functioning of economic systems with emphasis on the forces determining levels of, and changes in, national outputs, employment, and the price level will be discussed.

Prerequisite: ECON 130 or consent of instructor. Students are urged to

review high school algebra and geometry. Students should have access to Internet

and basic knowledge of surfing the web. Please go to the below address to

download the Quick Time Player (the free version). You need it to see the

PowerPoint Lectures

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download

The lectures will be posted on the “Modules” or the “Resouces” sites of the

Laulima Course Website. Whenever the “Module” site has technical problem,

the lectures will be posted on “Resources.” In “Resources, you have to click on

the PowerPoint icon (the one in red and blue colors) to listen to the lectures.

Student Learning Outcomes: upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

(1) Explain the aggregate measures of macroeconomics and the behavior of the economy as a whole.

(2) Understand the basic theory and terminology of economics in general and macroeconomics in particular.

(3) Be able to use publicly available information to analyze changes in macroeconomic variables over time.

(4) Apply the theoretical concepts into problem-solving skills, including algebraic and geometrical skills.

(5) Develop skills in analyzing aggregate demand-supply models and the interactions of economic sectors in these models.

(6) Analyze the impacts of government policies on the behavior of the economy

(7) Analyze the effects of national policies on the world economy and vice versa.

Course Materials:

Required Textbook: McEachern, William, 2009, Macro ECON, South-Western Cengage Learning, OH, USA. The text is available in the UHH bookstore or for sale at http://www.amazon.com. Online access is provided via Cengage Learning Website address on the first page of the textbook.

Course Requirements:

Grades will be determined by two quizzes, a final exam, three homework sets, and class participation. The grading will utilize plus and minus signs.

Exams: they are all open-textbook, open-notebook exams

Two quizzes, each is 50-minute long, but I will allow up to one hour to adjust for submission time. Each quiz includes 25 multiple-choice questions and one essay question of 150-200 words. Quiz 1 covers Chapters 5, 6, and 7. Quiz 2 covers Chapters 8, 9, and 10.

Final Exam is two-hour long, includes 60 multiple-choice questions and one essay question of 150-200 words. The Final Exam covers Chapters 11, 12, 15 and 16.

The quizzes and exam are given on “Assignments.” You should manage to login to Laulima 5 minutes before the tests waiting for them to appear in “Assignments” site.

No make-up exam is offered unless a student is in an emergency and is able to provide a written document from a relevant authority.

Unless for the case of emergency as mentioned above, you will need to inform me at least one day before each quiz or exam to reschedule on a different day or time. You still need a reasonable explanation of your absence on the exam day. Deadline to take each quiz is three days before the next quiz or exam.

Homework:

Homework assignments will have similar forms to the exams. You receive full credits for homework by just make attempt on all questions and submit to the Laulima’s Assignments on time, which is 11 pm, Hawaii Time, on the due date. However, partial credits are awarded for late submission up to the night before each exam at 11 pm. I do NOT allow submissions via my email or the CoBE office.

Course tools:

Lectures for a whole week will be posted on Laulima website in advance by Sunday afternoon, at 3 pm, Hawaii Time. It is your responsibility to adjust according to your local time. I will share sections of the Test Bank that the text-book company provided me and call them drills with extra questions for self-study. You should also go to the student website listed in your student textbook and work on the materials there.

Please read the “Welcome to Course Website” message in the Laulima Home Page for detailed instruction on Laulima tools. Read the instruction in each tool carefully, especially “Assignments,” so that you follow every step correctly. The most important is to make sure that you go to the bottom of each page and click “send” or “submit’ so that you messages, homework, quizzes or exam go to me. Once an assignment, quiz, or exam is returned to you, I will post an announcement on the home page. You then go to “Assignments” and click on its title to see my comments and you grade.

Class participation

Credits for class participation are through discussions held at the Laulima’s “Discussion Board,” which is designed for students to communicate with each others. I will only check on your discussions for participation credits, which count toward quizzes or exam and only valuable up to one hour before each quiz and exam. I will post topics for discussions and evaluate your discussions according to both quantity and quality of your posts.

If you cannot agree with each others, you should send me a message via Laulima’s “Messages.” I will answer questions according to “first comes first serves principle,” so please expect two working days before you receive my response. If you send questions to my email address, be prepared that it will take longer, as I have no way to know of your sending time, so I will answer them according to my receiving time.

Evaluation:

Homework: 15% of the grade

Class Participation: 10% of the grade

Quiz 1: 20% of the grade

Quiz 2: 20% of the grade

Final exam: 40% of the grade

You earn one point each time you post a question or answer to the discussion board, up to a maximum of 10 points before each quiz, and a maximum of 20 points before the final exam. (Laulima has a tool for timing your submission). The combination of homework and class discussions will form your "back-up" grade, which is 25% of your total grade. Hence, your performance in each exam is still the most important factor to improve your grade.

Students with Disabilities:

Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodations should contact the University Disability Services Office, Hale Kauanoe A Wing Lounge, 933-0816(V), 933-3334 (TTY), or email Ms. Susan Shirachi at shirachi@hawaii.edu, as early in the semester as possible.

Advising:

Students should consult with their own adviser to decide on courses, check progress toward graduation, and discuss other educational services provided by the UH-Hilo.

Reading Requirements and Schedule (Tentative)

Chapters 1 through 4 are dealing with Microeconomics and so are for your self-study only. The lectures start from Chapter 5.

May 18-22: Chapter 5, 6 and 7

Homework 1 given on May 18

May 21: Homework 1 due

May 22: Homework 1 return and extra drills with detailed analyses.

May 25: Memorial Day, no lecture

May 26: Quiz 1, from 1-2PM, Hawaii Time.

May 27-June 2: Chapters 8, 9 and 10

Homework 2 given on May 27

May 31: Homework 2 due, Quiz 1 return

June 1: Homework 2 return and extra drills with detailed analyses

June 2: Quiz 2, from 1-2 PM, Hawaii Time.

June 3-10: Chapter 11, 12, 15, and 16

Homework 3 given on June 3

June 8: Homework 3 due, Quiz 2 return

June 10: Homework 3 return and extra drills with detailed analyses

June 11: King Kamehameha Day, no lecture

June 12: Final Exam, from 1-3 PM, Hawaii Time.