Intermediate Macroeconomics
BEH 110
MW 10:00 – 11:15 am
Office: BEH 502 Phone: 895 –
3294 Fax: 895 – 1354
Office Hours: MW 11:30 – 12:30
pm; 2:30 – 3:30
pm; and by appointment.
e-mail: bernard.malamud@unlv.edu Website: www.unlv.edu/faculty/bmalamud
Please communicate with me via your Rebelmail account, by phone, or stop by my office.
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This course considers the
determination of income, output, employment, and the price level in a market
economy. The roles of fiscal and
monetary policies in promoting stability and growth are examined. Prerequisite:
Admission to a business major/junior
standing, ECON 103. 3 credits.
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The theory and facts of macroeconomics will be used and useful to you in your career as an economist. You should already be familiar with various principles of macroeconomics. You will now master and build on these principles, learn their roots in the literature of the discipline, explore the positions of contending schools of thought, examine recent evidence testing these positions, and understand the policy implications of these positions. We will regularly discuss macro-fluctuations and policy debates as they occur during the semester. Upon completion of the course, you should be able to use appropriate models—models of aggregate supply and aggregate demand, animal spirits and financial fragility, and the Solow growth model—to explain macroeconomic fluctuations and growth and to understand the impacts of monetary and fiscal policies on financial markets and the real economy. Special attention will be paid to understanding the current global slump and efforts to combat it. __________________________________________________________
Text and Supplementary
Readings
· Olivier Blanchard, Macroeconomics, 5th edition. Prentice-Hall, 2009. Earlier editions can serve as well. Access the textbook’s website at http://www.pearsonhighered.com/blanchard/
· George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, Animal Spirits, Princeton U. Press, 2009
· Joseph Stiglitz, Freefall. Norton, 2010.
Supplements
· Hyman Minsky, John Maynard Keynes. Columbia University Press, 1975.
· Economic Report of the President www.access.gpo.gov/eop/index.html
· The Economist http://www.economist.com
Examinations and Grading
Your grade will be based on
a 40-point Principles of Macro “Final,” two 150-point classroom exams, a third
100 point classroom exam, and a 200-point comprehensive final examination. You will be able to re-do one question on
each classroom exam at home; your score for that question will be the average
of your classroom and take home scores.
Attendance
and class participation will affect your grade.
Sep
26 Principles of Macro (ECON 103) Takehome “Final” due 40 points
Oct 3 Classroom Exam, Chapters 1 – 5 150
Nov 2 Classroom Exam, Chapters 6 – 9 150
Nov28
Classroom Exam, Chapters 10 – 13 100
Pop quizzes ???
Dec
12 Final Examination, 10:10 am – 12:10 pm 200
Maximum Total Points 640+ points
Approximate Grade Distribution
Average
Score (out of 640+ points) Final Grade
90 percent Borderline A-
80 percent Borderline B-
70 percent Borderline C-
60 percent Borderline
D-
Makeup Policy
Makeup exams may be arranged
at mutual convenience if you have a
compelling reason to miss a scheduled classroom exam. A makeup exam must be taken before the missed
exam is returned to the class. There
will be no makeup final exam. However, a
student missing a class because of observance of a religious holiday and students
who represent UNLV at any official extracurricular activity shall also have the
opportunity to make up assignments. Such
students must provide official written notification no less than one week prior
to the missed class(es).
Class Conduct
Your
instructor and classmates deserve courtesy.
If you must arrive late or leave early, do so quietly. Inform me beforehand if you must leave a
class early. Smoking and eating in class
are prohibited. Talking to your
neighbors in class, reading newspapers and magazines, and texting on a cellphone is rude, disruptive, and unacceptable. While this probably need not be said, anyone found engaging in any act of academic
dishonesty will be punished in accordance with UNLV policies.
Other Information
The
Disability Resource Center (DRC)
coordinates all academic accommodations for students with documented
disabilities. The DRC is the official office to review and house disability
documentation for students, and to provide them with an official Academic
Accommodation Plan to present to the faculty if an accommodation is warranted.
Faculty should not provide students accommodations without being in receipt of
this plan.
UNLV complies with the provisions set forth in Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990, offering reasonable accommodations to qualified students with
documented disabilities. If you have a documented disability that may require
accommodations, you will need to contact the DRC for the coordination of
services. The DRC is located in the Student Services Complex (SSC), Room 137,
and the contact numbers are: VOICE (702) 895-0866, TTY (702) 895-0652, FAX
(702) 895-0651. For additional
information, please visit: <http://studentlife.unlv.edu/disability/>.
Course Outline
|
Dates |
Topic, Discussion
Problems (End of Chapter) Do each “discussion
problem” shown in parenthesis (Chapter – Problem Number(s)) before
class. Treat it like homework. While it will not be collected, you will be
expected to participate in its discussion. |
In Texts |
|
Aug
29,31 Sep 5 Sep
7,12 Sep
14,19 Sep
21,26 Sep 26 Sep
28 Oct 3 Oct
5,10 Oct
12,17 Oct
19 Oct
24,26 Oct 31 Nov 2 |
Course
Organization Tour
of the World: What’s Up? What’s Not?
(1 – 1,6) Tour
of the Book: Macro-Talk (2 – 4,5,6,9) Principles
of Macro Redux Labor Day Recess The Core: Short-run The
Goods Market: Z = C + I + G + X – Q (3
– 2,3,5,6) Problems:
Chapters 1,2,3 Financial
Markets: Md, Ms, i (4 – 2,6) Problems:
Chapter 4 Goods
and Financial Markets: IS - LM ·
Policy Exercises and Dynamics (5 – 4) Problems
Chapter 5 Principles of
Macroeconomics Takehome “Final” Due Catch-up
and Review Classroom Examination,
Chapters 1 – 5 (150 pts) The Core: Medium-run The
Labor Market: Wages, Prices, and the “Natural Rate” (6 – 3) Problem:
Chapter 6 Putting
It Together: AS – AD and Policy (7 –
3, 5,6) Problems:
Chapter 7 The
Phillips Curve: Incarnations and Elaboration (8
– 3, 5) Problems:
Chapter 8 Inflation,
Activity, and Money Growth Okun/Lucas/Volcker (9
– 3,6) Problems:
Chapter 9 Catch-up
and Review Classroom Examination,
Chapters 6 – 9,22 (150 pts) |
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Review your Principles text Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 |
Course Outline (continued)
|
Dates |
Topic, Discussion
Problems (End of Chapter) |
In Text |
|
Nov 7 Nov 9 Nov 14,16 Nov
21 Nov
23 Nov 28 Nov
30 Dec 5 Dec
7 Dec 12 |
The
Story of Macroeconomics The Core: Long-run The
Facts of Growth Saving,
Accumulation, and Output (11 – 5,8) Technological
Progress and Growth (12 – 7) Progress,
Wages, and Unemployment (13 –2) Catch-up
and review Classroom Examination, Chapters10
– 13,27 (100 pts) Macro-Instability: Expectations/Bubbles Macro
Pathologies: Depressions and Slumps Theory
of Investment Financial
Instability Hypothesis and Implications Freefall Animal Spirits Catch-up
and Review Final Examination 10:10 am
– 12:10 pm (200 pts) |
Chapter 27 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 pp.248-254 Chapter 13 pp.271-276 Chapter 22 Minsky Ch. 5 Minsky Ch 6,7 Stiglitz Akerlof & Shiller |