UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
Economics 101B: Economic Theory Macroeconomics
Instructor: Raymond J. Hawkins ([email protected])
This course is an intermediate honors course in macroeconomics. We will cover the theory
and analytical tools used to understand the evolution of the macroeconomy in response to
economic shocks as well as the design and implementation of scal and monetary policy.
Honors macroeconomics is both a quantitative and qualitative subject. Calculus, statis-
tics, and microeconomics are prerequisites. We will use these prerequisites as needed as well
as analytical tools developed during the course. Use of a spreadsheet package like Excel will
be important for the homework assignments.
Requirements
The course requirements are (i) ten graded problem sets, (ii) two midterm exams, and
(iii) a nal exam. Some of the problem sets will involve data work. Your course grade will
be determined as follows:
Problem Sets 20%
Midterms 40% (20% each)
Final 40%
The rst midterm will be in class on Tuesday October 2; the second midterm will be
in class on Tuesday November 4. The nal exam will be from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on Friday
December 19 at a location yet to be determined.
Meeting Times, Discussion Sections and GSIs
Class will meet for lectures on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:305:00 in 102 Mott. In
addition, sections will meet twice a week for one hour. The GSI for this course is Lei Cheng
([email protected]). Sections will review background material, explain computational
& analytical techniques, and extend & amplify concepts introduced in the lectures. Your
GSI will also hold weekly oce hours. Your rst point of contact for questions regarding
course material is your GSI. If the sections or meetings with your GSI do not resolve your
questions, you are welcome to stop by my oce (675 Evans) during oce hours (Wednesday
1:303:30) or at other times by appointment.
Texts and Other Reading
The textbook for the course is
Macroeconomics: Institutions, Instability and the Financial System by Wendy Carlin
and David Soskice.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
The textbook is available at Copy Central on Bancroft Avenue. In addition to the text,
papers will be assigned for some of the material covered in the course.
Lecture slides will be posted on the bCourses course website.
Learning Goals
As part of Berkeleys Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative (USLI), the Economics
Department has developed learning goals for the Economics major. The learning goals for
this course include
Critical Thinking Skills: CT1: Apply economic analysis to evaluate everyday prob-
lems; CT2: Apply economic analysis to evaluate specic policy proposals; CT3: Com-
pare two or more arguments that have dierent conclusions to a specic issue or prob-
lem; CT4: Understand the role of assumptions in arguments.
Quantitative Skills: QT1: Understand how to use empirical evidence to evaluate
an economic argument; QT2: Interpret statistical results; QT3: Conduct appropriate
statistical analysis of data, and explain the statistical problems involved.
Problem Solving Skills: PS1: Solve problems that have clear solutions; PS2: Pro-
pose solutions for problems that do not have clear answers, and indicate under what
conditions they may be viable solutions.
Specialized Knowledge in elds: SP1: In specic content areas (elds) of eco-
nomics, develop deeper critical and quantitative thinking skills and apply problem-
solving skills to complex problems.
Communication Skills: CS1: Communicate eectively in written, spoken, and
graphical form about specic economic issues; CS2: Formulate a well-organized written
argument that states assumptions and hypotheses, which are supported by evidence.
Lifelong Learning Skills: LL2: Know how to locate and use primary data sources
(e.g., FRED website). LL3: Understand and evaluate current economic events and
new economic ideas.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
Course Outline
Date Lecture Topic Reading
28-Aug 1 Overview Preface
2-Sep 2 Measurement: GDP 1
4-Sep 3 Measurement: Unemployment, Ination & Rates 1
9-Sep 4 GDP decomposition and business cycles 1
11-Sep 5 The demand side (the IS curve) 1
16-Sep 6 Aggregate production and productivity Papers
18-Sep 7 The supply side (Phillips curve & aggregate supply) 2
23-Sep 8 The IS/MR/PC model I 3
25-Sep 9 The IS/MR/PC model II 3
30-Sep 10 Midterm Exam #1 Review to date
2-Oct Midterm Exam # 1
7-Oct 11 Expectations 4
9-Oct 12 Money and Bankng I 5
14-Oct 13 Money and Banking II 5
16-Oct 14 The Financial Sector and Crisis 6
21-Oct 15 The Global Financial Crisis 7
23-Oct 16 Growth I 8
28-Oct 17 Growth II 8
30-Oct 18 Midterm Exam #2 Review to date
4-Nov Midterm Exam # 2
6-Nov 19 Policies and Institutions Papers
11-Nov Academic Holiday
13-Nov 20 Open Economy I 9
18-Nov 21 Open Economy II 10
20-Nov 22 Monetary Policy I 13
25-Nov 23 Monetary Policy II 13
27-Nov Happy Thanksgiving!
2-Dec 24 Fiscal Policy 14
4-Dec 25 Final Review to date
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
Important Class Policies
1. Attendance is taken in Section during the rst two weeks. Failure to attend Section
without an approved absence during this time will result in your being dropped from
the course. Attendance will generally not be taken in class. You need not contact me
or your GSI if you will miss class. There will be no unannounced quizzes. However,
much of the mid-term and nal exam material will be based on lectures and
discussions in class.
2. Personal electronics:
Laptops should not be open in class. They are distracting to those around you.
Cell phones should be silenced or in vibrate mode: preferably o.
Texting during the lecture should be kept to an absolute minimum.
3. Email. Your rst point of contact for questions regarding course material is your GSI.
I am available to answer questions about course policy and course material. Please put
Econ 101B somewhere in the subject line so your email is routed correctly. I will try
to respond within 48 hours of receiving your email.
4. Code of Ethics. You are expected to know the Berkeley Campus Code of Conduct
and to conduct yourself in this class accordingly. In particular, all forms of academic
misconduct including but not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating
academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Please review the denitions of cheating
posted at The Center for Student Conduct.
Any evidence of cheating will result in a score of zero (0) on that assignment or exam.
Cheating on the nal exam will result in an F for the course. Incidences of cheating
will also be reported to Student Judicial Aairs.
5. Honor Code. The student community at UC Berkeley has adopted the following
Honor Code: As a member of the UC Berkeley community, I act with hon-
esty, integrity, and respect for others. The Honor Code, as distinct from the
Student Code of Conduct, is intended to provide a vehicle for campus-wide awareness
and discussion of issues of academic integrity. In the coming months you will notice
mention of the Honor Code in a number of contexts, including student orientation
and signage in classrooms. You can nd more information on the Honor Code website
created by the ASUC, complete with FAQs.
6. Problem sets are due no later than the beginning of class on the due date. You must
submit your own work. Copied problem sets will receive a score of zero (0). Graded
problem set will be returned in your discussion sections.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
7. DSP exam accommodation. If you are entitled to special accommodation on exams
let me know as soon as possible; preferably no later than the end of the second week
of the semester.
8. Missed Exams. There are no make-up exams. If you miss a midterm you must
contact me before the exam with an excuse that meets University standards.
1
Please
be prepared to provide documentation to support your excuse. If you do not have an
appropriate, documented excuse for an exam you will receive a zero (0) for that exam.
If you miss the nal with an excuse that meets University standards you will receive
an incomplete for the course and will be required to take the nal for the course during
the spring of 2015 in order to get credit for the class. Please take the necessary steps
to ensure that you do not have travel plans that conict with the nal as this will not
be considered an acceptable excuse for missing the nal.
9. Exam regrade requests. Your GSI takes great care in grading exams. If you believe
there was an error in adding up the point on your exam, simply point this out to your
GSI at the end of section when you receive your exam back. If you believe there to be
an error in the grading of your exam, here are the steps you must follow:
(a) Within 7 days of the time that the exams are rst returned, give your GSI your
exam and a written (i.e. word processed) request listing the question(s) you think
should be regraded and an explanation of why.
(b) Your GSI reserves the right to regrade your entire exam, not just the question(s)
mentioned in your regrade request. Scores on any question can be changed (in-
creased or decreased). It is possible for you to end up with fewer points at the
end of the regrade than you had originally.
(c) I have advised your GSI to reject any regrade request that is for fewer than 3
points per question.
10. Course Grading. Your course letter grade will be determined solely from the weighted-
average percentage of your graded assignments & exams using a curve. Your nal exam
will be held by the economics department for 12 months. Final exams cannot be re-
evaluated once grades are submitted to the Registrars Oce. You can look at your
graded exam in 508-1 Evans Hall, generally beginning about 3 weeks after the end of
the semester.
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Religious holidays not recognized by the University must accompanied by a letter from a religious leader.
Schedules for ocial team events must be provided to me by the end of the second full week of the semester.
A death in the family must be documented. Illness or injury must be accompanied by a note from a physician
or clinic, on their letterhead. The Tang Center can provide you with documentation.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
11. P/NP Option. Students taking the course under the P/NP option must earn at least
a C to pass the course.
12. Fire Alarm Policy A truly annoying bad habit at UCB is the pulling of re alarms by
ill-prepared and selsh students who labor under the illusion that their entire future
rests on a single exam grade. This crime is a felony, punishable by a ne and jail
time. Anyone caught pulling an alarm in the absence of a re emergency will fail the
course and is subject to expulsion from the University. If there is a re alarm during
an exam, the class will move outside and nish the exam in the allotted time. In this
event, follow the instructions of the GSIs.
Important Campus Policies and Guidelines
1. ACCOMMODATION OF RELIGIOUS CREED
In compliance with Education code, Section 92640(a), it is the ocial policy of the Uni-
versity of California at Berkeley to permit any student to undergo a test or examination,
without penalty, at a time when that activity would not violate the students religious
creed, unless administering the examination at an alternative time would impose an
undue hardship that could not reasonably have been avoided. Requests to accommo-
date a students religious creed by scheduling tests or examinations at alternative times
should be submitted directly to the faculty member responsible for administering the
examination by the second week of the semester.
Reasonable common sense, judgment and the pursuit of mutual goodwill should result
in the positive resolution of scheduling conicts. The regular campus appeals process
applies if a mutually satisfactory arrangement cannot be achieved.
The link to this policy is available in the Religious Creed section of the Academic
Calendar webpage.
2. CONFLICTS BETWEEN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ACADEMIC
REQUIREMENTS
The Academic Senate has established Guidelines Concerning Scheduling Conicts with
Academic Requirements to address the issue of conicts that arise between extracur-
ricular activities and academic requirements. They specically concern the schedules
of student athletes, student musicians, those with out-of-town interviews, and other
students with activities (e.g., classes missed as the result of religious holy days) that
compete with academic obligations. The guidelines assign responsibilities as follows:
It is the instructors responsibility to give students a schedule, available on the
syllabus in the rst week of instruction, of all class sessions, exams, tests, project
deadlines, eld trips, and any other required class activities.
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Department of Economics
Econ 101B Course Outline
Fall 2014
It is the students responsibility to notify the instructor(s) in writing by the second
week of the semester of any potential conict(s) and to recommend a solution, with
the understanding that an earlier deadline or date of examination may be the most
practicable solution.
It is the students responsibility to inform him/herself about material missed be-
cause of an absence, whether or not he/she has been formally excused.
3. READING, REVIEW, RECITATION (RRR) WEEK
The Reading, Review, Recitation (RRR) period before nal exams provides students
time to prepare for exams, to work on papers and projects, and to participate in
optional review sessions and meetings with instructors. For the coming semesters,
please keep these dates in mind:
In Fall 2014, classes end on Friday, December 5, 2014. RRR week will take place
between the last day classes (December 5) and the rst day of the nal exam
period (Monday, December 15, 2014).
In Spring 2015, classes end on Friday, May 1, 2015. RRR Week will take place
between the last day of classes (May 2) and the rst day of the nal exam period
(Monday, May 11, 2014).
4. COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES AND FINAL EXAMS
Campus policy stipulates that graduation ceremonies must take place after the conclu-
sion of nal examinations, with the exception of professional school ceremonies with
graduate students only.
For Fall 2014, nal exams end at 10 pm on Friday, December 19, 2013.
For Spring 2015, nal exams end at 10 pm on Friday, May 15, 2014.
The Spring 2015 Graduates Convocation will be held Saturday May 16, 2015.
Disclaimer
This syllabus is a living document and subject to revision. Whenever the syllabus is revised
it will be posted to bSpace and an email will be sent to all class participants informing
them of the posting and indicating what has been revised. This version of the syllabus was
generated on August 18, 2014.
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