Queens College - CUNY
Professor
Ryan Edwards
(Last updated: 8/18/08)
Access Blackboard, where the full course website is located. Log in using your CUNY Portal ID and password. If you don't have them yet, register here.
Course Syllabus in PDF format. Key portions of the syllabus also appear on this webpage below.
You can access this course's Google calendar, which I have set up with key dates of class events and macroeconomic news releases.
Slides from Lecture:
See Blackboard.
Problem Sets:
See Blackboard.
Problem set answer keys are available via Blackboard or by emailing me
In the fall of 2008, the 300 millionth person was born into the United States. There are now twice as many as were living in this country in 1950. We study macroeconomics because we are concerned about the well-being of these many individuals and of the rest of the world's 6.5 billion people. While microeconomics provides us with tools to understand individual decision-making and welfare, we need concise but realistic frameworks to assess well-being and economic behavior among larger groups of individuals.
In this course, we will study the fundamental issues in macroeconomics in order to provide a basis for the studies you will later pursue in your field courses. For example, we will learn how economists measure living standards, and we will examine how they have changed in this country and around the world since 1950 and earlier, and why. We will also explore inequality in living standards among subgroups. Macroeconomists also study dynamics in unemployment, output, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates.
To do this, we will spend much of our time constructing and evaluating simple models designed to emulate the behavior of many people and firms. Your objective is to learn how to use these models to inform your understanding of macroeconomic phenomena.
Required Text
We will use Macroeconomics by Professor Charles I. Jones at the University of California, Berkeley. I recommend you purchase the textbook from the QC book store. It is also available on Amazon.
You will also find the textbook on reserve at the QC Library. There is a course reserve page with the details. Check Blackboard for the password. All the site says it to visit the reserve/circulation desk on level 3 of the library, and bring the call number: HB172.5 .J663 2008
Past versions of Econ 206 have utilized course readers. Some students may wish to purchase the cheaper used course readers used rather than the more expensive textbook. While I understand thriftiness, please know that you use these readers at your own risk. I am not responsible for any differences you may find between past versions of the reader and the textbook.
Course Requirements
There will be seven problem sets graded on a check-plus, check, check-minus basis. The problem sets will be handed out and then due in class on the dates listed in the course schedule in this syllabus. I will not accept late problem sets, but I will drop your lowest problem set grade in determining your overall course grade. Use this free pass on one problem set wisely, such as for when you may become sick or must travel. Outside of class participation, the problem sets are the most valuable tool you have for learning the course material. Feel free to form study groups in order to cover and learn the course material, but you must submit your own work. Copying answers will result in a zero for all students whose problem sets are identical.
After handing them out, I will also post the problem sets online at the course website. They will also be online on the course Blackboard site.
I will distribute problem set answer keys in class and on the course Blackboard site. To access Blackboard, navigate to http://www.cuny.edu and click on "Log-in" at the bottom on the left. If you encounter difficulty, see the help sheets available online.
There will be one midterm examination conducted in class as listed in the course schedule.
There will also be a final exam; exact dates and times for each section are listed at the top of the syllabus and in the course schedule below. The final exam will be in the same room as the class. Students must take the final exam in the section for which they are registered. Those with conflicts must first see the registrar first and then me.
Grading
I will determine your final grade based on your performance using the following weights on the course requirements:
- Problem sets (your best 6 out of the 7) 30%
- Midterm exam 30%
- Final exam 40%
Blackboard
Most course materials will appear both on the course website and on Blackboard. You can take your pick. But for answer keys to problem sets and midterms, you must use the Blackboard site. Or just pick up the answer keys in class.
The Blackboard website is available at http://www.cuny.edu through the Log-in link at the bottom on the left-hand side. You can also access Blackboard directly.
Once in, look for "Blackboard" under "SSO Applications" and click it. Then on the next screen, click on "Queens College." You should see ECON_206 listed under "My Courses" on the right. Click it.
Help for Blackboard is available online.