EUBA Masters Macroeconomics

Fall 2015 --- Jeffrey Parker

Course Description

This course covers macroeconomic analysis at an intermediate level, moving beyond the basic material taught in introductory courses but emphasizing algebraic and graphical analysis rather than relying heavily on calculus and more advanced mathematics. It will be taught in English.

Instructor and Office Hours

The instructor is Jeffrey Parker, a visiting Fulbright scholar from Reed College in the United States. He will hold office hours in room 5B-12 on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11:30 and on Wednesdays from 13:30 to 14:30. You may arrange an appointment for another time or ask questions directly at any time via email at parker@reed.edu.

Assignments

There will be two kinds of written assignments for this course. Both are to be handed in at the beginning of the lecture session each Wednesday at 17:00. Any assignment, but especially the short questions, may be submitted by email to parker@reed.edu. The email message containing the assignment (in text or as an attachment) must be sent before the Wednesday 17:00 deadline to receive full credit.

Short Questions are basic questions based on the reading. These questions cover material that students should have read but that has not yet been covered in lecture. Each answer should be no more than a sentence or two in length and it should take no more than about 15 minutes to write your answers to these sets of questions. If you submit your answer on time and it shows that you have done the reading and thought about the questions, you will get full credit (even if some parts of the answers are not correct). Most students who submit answers get full credit. If you submit answers that are inadequate, you will get half credit. If you do not submit an answer (or if your answer is extremely weak) you will get no credit.

Homework Assignments are more detailed and cover the subject of the previous week's lecture. They will be discussed during the seminar session, with students being asked to present parts of their answers to the questions. These assignments will be graded in a more traditional way, with points awarded based on whether the answers are correct. Partial credit will be given for students who show that they understand the theories that they need to use, even if there is an error in the answer.

Students often learn best by working in groups. I fully support collaboration among students on assignments, but it is essential that all students in the group fully understand the group's answer to the question. If you are called on to answer a question in class, you must be able to explain what is on the paper that you submitted.

Exams

There will be a midterm exam near the midpoint of the course and a final exam (covering the entire course) at the end. The questions on the exams will consist of short written questions and analytical problems applying the methods learned in the course. You will not be allowed access to textbooks, class notes, or any online resources during the exams, but you may prepare and use during the exams one single-sided A4 page with equations or other notes to help you remember details.

Evaluation

Grades will be based on class participation and short questions (10%), homework assignments and presentations (15%), midterm exam (15%), and final exam (60%).

Textbook and Readings

The main textbook for the course will be N. Gregory Mankiw’s Macroeconomics. The second European edition (2014, co-authored with Mark P. Taylor) is the preferred version, but students with access to the ninth U.S. edition (2015), the seventh international edition (2010) or earlier editions of any version will find most of the material to be similar. The U.S. and international editions seem to be nearly identical (except for price). The European edition differs from the U.S. and international editions by the presence of a chapter on currency union (Chapter 17 in the European edition), the absence of a dynamic model of business cycles (Chapter 15 in the U.S. edition), and differences in the choice of examples and the coverage of economic institutions (European vs. U.S.).

There will be some readings assigned from other sources. These will be available through JSTOR resources or from the instructor. Additional readings may be added as the course progresses. They will be announced in class, but you should check the class Web site regularly to assure that you are up to date.

Important note about access to readings: If you have difficulty obtaining access to a reading, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor by email early enough that he can provide a copy for you. Normally, he can provide you with a pdf copy of any reading on the list by return email within 24 hours of your request. So please be aware that lack of access is not a valid excuse for failing to complete the reading or assignments.

Background Preparation

Students are expected to have studied the principles of macroeconomics at a basic level. Much of the material from introductory macroeconomics will be repeated here, but at a faster pace and higher level of analytical rigor.

Some of the models developed in class will be analyzed in terms of basic algebra; students will be expected to be comfortable with mathematics at this level.