Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory I (ECON 282 B1) Summer 2019 Course Outline University of Alberta - Department of Economics
Instructor: Alexander Gainer
Class Schedule: Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 10:00-11:50 Lecture Room: Tory 1 91
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 12 to 1, and Wednesdays, 9 to 9:50, or by appointment.
Office: Tory 7-14
Email: [email protected] (Please have “ECON 282” in the subject line)
Course Websites: this course makes extensive use of eclass. The following course materials will be posted on the e-class course website: past exams, marks, lecture notes, and links to the MyEconLab assignments.
Course Description: Models of the labor market, goods market and asset market; general equilibrium models; fiscal and monetary policies; open economy macroeconomics with fixed and flexible exchange rates, as well as international capital mobility.
Course Objectives: The purpose of ECON 282 is to familiarize students with the basic
structure and manipulation of macroeconomic models. By the end of the course, it is hoped that students should be able to understand, as well as explain and manipulate (algebraically and/or graphically) a macroeconomic model that endogenizes prices, output, employment and, in an open economy variant, the exchange rate.
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102. Note that the department strictly enforces the prerequisites.
This course is more advanced and theoretical than ECON 101 and 102 and the lectures will assume some understanding of the terminology and concepts that were covered in ECON 101 and 102. The lecture will also assume a basic understanding of algebra.
Required Textbook: Macroeconomics, Hubbard, O’Brien, Rafferty and Konieczny (Custom Edition for University of Alberta). You may also use the “Canadian Edition.”
Other resources:
Poll Everywhere: this software is how students will answer questions in class for bonus marks.
Packback: this platform will be used for online discussion about class topics.
MyEconLab: this is where students can complete practice
assignments. The MyEconLab assignments are not for grades.Instructions on how to sign-up and use Poll Everywhere, Packback, and MyEconLab are at the end of this document. Make sure you sign up for Poll Everywhere and Packback with your
“@ualberta.ca” email. Please contact me if you are interested in the no-cost alternative for the Packback discussions.
Outline of Topics and Required Readings
Topics Textbook Chapters Tentative Class Schedule
Introduction Chapter 1 July 9 & 10
Chapter 2 July 10 & 11
Understanding the Financial System
Chapter 3 July 11 & 16
Chapter 4 July 17 & 23
Chapter 5 July 23, 24 & 25 Using a macroeconomic
model to understand short-run economic fluctuations
Chapter 9 July 25 & 30
Chapter 10 August 31, 6 & 7 Chapter 11 August 7, 8 & 13
Exams and Assignments
Date and Time Location Weight First midterm exam
(Chapters 1 to 3)
Thurs., July 18, 10 to 11
TBD 22.5%
Second midterm exam (Chapters 4, 5, and 9)
Thurs., August 1, 10 to 11
TBD 22.5%
Final exam
(Chapter 1 to 5 and 9 to 11)
Thurs., August 15, 11:30 to 1:30
TBD 45%
Poll Everywhere questions N/A Completed during class 4% (bonus) Packback discussions (weekly) Mondays, 10pm Completed online 10%
The five students with the highest average curiosity points on Packback at the end of the semester receive 2% bonus
Completed online 2% (bonus)
Missed Exams: If a student misses a midterm exam they must email me immediately to notify me and to apply to write the deferred midterm exam. The deferred midterm exam will be cumulative and will be held on August 6. If you miss a midterm and do not contact me you will
receive a mark of zero on that exam. You will not be able to have the percentage weight of your missed exam added to the percentage weight allotted to the final exam
A student who has missed a final exam because of incapacitating illness, severe domestic affliction or other compelling reasons (including religious conviction) may apply for a deferred exam. The application is to be submitted to the undergraduate office of the applicant’s own faculty. The instructor does not have the authority to approve such applications. More information is available at this link. The deferred final is tentatively scheduled for August 20.
Assignments: The assignments are done online with MyEconLab which can be accessed through eclass. These assignments are not graded and are available for practice.
Packback online discussions: participation is a requirement for this course, and the Packback Questions platform will be used for online discussion about class topics. Half of your mark (5%) will be based on participation and the other half (5%) will be based on the quality of your posts that week. In order to receive your participation mark each week, you must post two questions and four answers per week relevant to our class subject matter per week. To get full marks for the quality grade your six posts must add up to 360, or more, curiosity points each week; in other words your posts must average 60 curiosity points or higher that week. At the end of the semester I will drop your lowest week and use your four best weeks.
Before you start posting, be sure to read the Community Guidelines found in the tutorial on Packback. If your post doesn’t follow the Packback Community Guidelines, there is a chance it will be removed and you will not receive points for that post.
There will be a Monday, 10 PM, deadline for submissions in your community each week.
Note: it takes 24 hours for the Packback team to moderate a post and send a coaching email. If by any reason your post is moderated because it does NOT meet the Community Guidelines, you will need to edit and re-publish your post to receive credit for the week. This is why it is important that you complete your Packback questions and responses far before the deadline in case your post is moderated
Poll Everywhere questions: you will use the Poll Everywhere platform to answer questions in class using an internet connected device, e.x., smartphone, tablet, laptop. When you answer a question, half the grade will be participation and half will be for correctness.
Grading: Students will be ranked according to the weighted sum of their assignments and exams. When assigning letter grades I look for breaks between pools of students.
From Section 23.4(4) of the University Calendar, “Grades reflect judgements of student achievement made by instructors. These judgements are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.”
The following table will give a rough idea of how the grading system works in this class; the actual percentage cut-offs may be higher or lower
.Letter Grade Percentage Grade Point Value
A+ 95-100 4.0
A 90-95 4.0
A- 86-90 3.7
B+ 81-86 3.3
B 76-81 3.0
B- 71-76 2.7
C+ 67-71 2.3
C 63-67 2.0
C- 59-63 1.7
D+ 55-59 1.3
D 50-55 1.0
F 0-50 0.0
Students with special needs (University Calendar §25.2): Students with disabilities or special needs that might interfere with their performance should contact the professor at the beginning of the course with the appropriate documentation. Every effort will be made to accommodate such students, but in all cases prior arrangements must be made to ensure that any special needs can be met in a timely fashion and in such a way that the rest of the class is not put at an unfair disadvantage. Exam arrangements: Accessibility Resources (AR), formerly known as Student Accessibility Services, and the student, with the approval of the course instructor, determine exam accommodations. Assessments and/or documentation of the need for
accommodation are required. At the beginning of each term, the student meets with instructors to review the exam arrangements which will be used. The student provides a “Letter of
Introduction” from AR verifying the nature of the accommodations required due to the disability.
A few weeks before each exam, the student completes an “Exam Schedule” form, for AR, outlining scheduled exam dates, times, etc. The student then takes an “Exam Instructions and Authorization” form to the instructor. The instructor is asked to complete the form and enclose it with the exam and arrange to have it delivered or mailed to AR. In administering exams, AR
follows university protocol and only makes accommodations as required due to the disability.
Exams are usually set to overlap with the time the professor has set the in-class exams.
Academic Integrity
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at
https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students/academic-resources/academic-integrity) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in the suspicions of cheating, plagiarism,
misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (General Faculties Council, 29 SEP 2003)
During exams you will NOT be permitted to communicate with your colleagues.
Note 1: Policy about course outlines can be found in §23.4(2) of the University Calendar. Note 2: The Code of Student Behaviour is published in the Calendar. Note 3: Check out Section 30.3.2 in the General Faculties Council Policy Manual (is posted on the course WebCT site).
Lecture Recording
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Territorial Statement
“The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages, and cultures of the First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.”
(from the beginning of the Calendar).
Learning and working environment: The Faculty of Arts is committed to ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are able to work and study in an environment that is safe and free from discrimination and harassment. It does not tolerate behaviour that undermines that environment.
Resources for Students
The University of Alberta offers many resources to help students with academic and
non-academic challenges. The best all-purpose website for student services on campus is here:
https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students.
Instructions for using Poll Everywhere, Packback, and the MyEconLab practice homework
Make sure you sign up for Poll Everywhere and Packback with
your “@ualberta.ca” email.1. Poll Everywhere: This software is used to answer questions in class for bonus marks using your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or through text message. You do not have to pay for this resource (it is provided for free). To register for this software visit the website that your instructor emailed you or click on this link (my presenter username is:
“alexandergai236”)
https://www.polleverywhere.com/support/articles/audience-registration/registration If you have any questions about registering or using Poll Everywhere visit this help website: https://www.polleverywhere.com/guides/student/getting-started or contact their support team: https://www.polleverywhere.com/contact
2. Packback: The Packback Questions platform will be used for online discussion about class topics. Before you start posting, be sure to read the Community Guidelines found in the tutorial on Packback. If your post doesn’t follow the Packback Community
Guidelines, there is a chance it will be removed and you won’t receive points for that post. For a brief introduction to Packback Questions and why we are using it in class, watch this video.
How to get started on Packback:
You will receive a welcome email from[email protected] prompting you to finish registration and payment. Packback has already created an account for you with your school email, all you need to do is reset your password. This email may be directed to spam or filtered out, so make sure you do a thorough scan of your inbox if you can't find the email.
Backup Registration Instructions:
If you search your inbox and still can't find thewelcome email, or if you are new to the course, you may manually register by following the instructions below:
1. Navigate to https://questions.packback.co/sign-up/create-account and click
“Register as a new student”. Note: If you already have an account on Packback you can login with your credentials.
2. Make sure to register with your @ualberta.ca email address and real first name and last name.
3. Enter our class community’s Community Lookup Key into the “Join a new Community” module on your dashboard. Please note, the following Community Lookup Key is only for locating the community; it is NOT a coupon code or access code.
Our Community Lookup Code: 0fd0d512-a7f6-49d5-a753-c423651b5b49 4. Follow the instructions on your screen to finish your registration.
If you have ANY questions or concerns regarding Packback throughout the semester, please contact the customer support team at [email protected]!
MyEconLab (online homework)
The MyEconlab homework software is integrated into our eClass page. This homework is optional practice and does not count towards your grade. Follow the steps below to access your MyEconLab:
1. Log-in to your eclass account (https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/portal/) using your CCID username and password.
2. Select our ECON 282 course from the list.
3. Clicking on one of the Pearson links in the MyEconLab section (see below image) will take you to their website.
4. The first time you visit the MyEconLab website you will be prompted to read the End-User License and Privacy Agreement. Click the “I Accept” button once you have read and agree with the terms of use.
5. You will now be prompted to enter your access code or pay for MyEconLab.
A. If you have already bought your access code from the bookstore (either bundled with the textbook or ebook), click the access code option.
B. Otherwise select the “Buy Now” option. The $90 option includes the e-text and the
$50 option does not include the e-text.
