Intermediate Macroeconomics

(ECON 302, Spring 2009)

Instructor: Joydeep Bhattacharya

Office: 277 Heady

Phone: 4-5886

E-mail: joydeep@iastate.edu

Course Time: TR 2:10-3:25 p.m., East 111

Instructor office hours: TR 1 pm -2 pm or stop by

TA: Wang Min; 180A Heady, 4-6292

E-mail: wangmin@iastate.edu

TA office hours: MWF 12-1

· Objective: This is an intermediate-level course in macroeconomics. Its purpose is to provide the theoretical foundations necessary to understand current macroeconomic policy issues such as growth, income distribution, inflation, unemployment etc. Hopefully, after taking this course, you will be able to think like an economist and understand many macroeconomics-related articles in, say, The Wall Street Journal.

· Prerequisites: I expect you to have taken an undergraduate course or two in microeconomics and macroeconomics. The course makes significant use of simple mathematics. It is math-problem oriented; it makes extensive use of high-school algebra, one-variable calculus, and geometry. If you don’t have the necessary background preparation, or if math scares you, you may consider not taking this course. One more thing: come to class ready to stay awake and pay attention.

· Readings: There are no required texts. A recommended text is Macroeconomics, 6^th edition, by A. Abel and B. Bernanke (A&B). The Wall Street Journal and The Economist are also suggested reading. I post copies of the slides I use in advance of the class. Take good lecture notes on the slide printout themselves. If you do not follow something in the lecture notes, talk to the TA or me and, if relevant, read the corresponding section from the A&B book.

· Assignments: There are two kinds of problem sets, in-class and take-home. We go over the in-class problems during lecture. The problem sets will not be collected or graded but solutions will be provided. All examinations follow my lectures and the problem sets very closely. If you pay attention in class, read and understand the lecture notes, and do the problem sets, you are assured of scoring very high on my exams. One piece of advice: try to solve the problems without relying on the solutions.

· Course format: About 90% of class time will be devoted to lectures. The remainder of the time will be spent more interactively especially during the presentation of the projects (see below). Graded evaluation will be based on projects (25%), and three exams (75%) equally weighted.

· Exams: All three exams will be held during class time. The dates will be announced well in advance and on the class webpage. All exams are of the closed-book, no-notes variety; use of programmable calculators during an exam is prohibited. There is no final for this class. I am loath to write makeup exams and so, requests to make up a exam should be made well before the exam date. I will need to see sufficient evidence to justify my extra effort.

· Academic Integrity: All violations of academic integrity (as defined in the University handbook for students) are taken very seriously, and will be reported to the appropriate committee.

· Disability Statement: If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you will need to go to the Disability Resource (DR) Office for coordination of your academic accommodations. The DR is located in the Student Services Building, Room 1076. Their phone number is 515-294-7220, TDD 515-294-6335.

· Projects: The purpose of the projects is to provide you with a hands-on experience in tackling some real world macro issues. About 10-15 topics (research questions) will be handed out by mid Feb. The organizational and logistical details will be fully explained in class at an appropriate date. The entire class will get split up into groups, of a size to be determined by me. You get to choose the members of your own group but which group gets which project is randomly decided.

Each group will be expected to make a 12-minute in-class presentation on the topic on a scheduled date (starting late April) and turn in a term paper on that topic (on the day of your presentation). You are required to use Powerpoint or something similar for your presentation. I will provide helpful guidelines on every topic if asked. Most of the work will involve library-based research. Projects will comprise 25% of your grade. I will pay close attention to the content and presentation when assigning the grade for a group. These projects require your time and effort. Budget time for them well in advance. In the past, people have failed the course solely because they slacked off on the projects.

· Attendance: Attendance in lectures is very strongly recommended especially since all exams closely follow the lectures (and because much of the material covered in lectures is not to be found in the A&B book). It is your responsibility to find out what was covered if you do miss a lecture. I will not go over the missed material in office hours. Attendance during the presentation of the projects is compulsory. I will take attendance on every day of the presentations. If you miss any of the presentations without prior clearance from me, I will subtract 50% from your individual project grade.

· Contact information: If you need to get in touch with me, your best bet is to send me an e-mail. Avoid leaving telephonic messages.