MGEA06 – LEC 01, LEC 02, & LEC 60

Introduction to Macroeconomics: A Mathematical Approach

Instructor Contact Information:

Name: Iris Au
Office: IC 282
Office hours: Monday, 11:00am – 12:00noon
Wednesday, 10:00am – 12:00noon
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 416 – 287 – 5650
Class day/time: LEC 01 – Monday & Wednesday 2:00pm – 3:30pm IC 130
LEC 02 – Monday & Wednesday 3:30pm – 5:00pm IC 130
LEC 60 – Online

Teaching Assistants:

Office: IC 225
Office hours: See posted schedule on Quercus

• We have 14 TAs and 12 of them will hold weekly office hours; they are happy to answer your
questions. Office hours start on Monday, January 14.
• In general, detailed questions about the material should be discussed with the teaching
assistants because they are the “first line of defense”. Of course, I am happy to offer my help
if this is not enough, but the time I can spend individually with each student is limited because
of the size of the class (I have about 1200 students this term). You are unlikely to get lots of
individual time from me, especially right before the exams.

Course Coordinator:

Course Coordinator: Bobbi McFarlane

Email: [email protected]

• She will handle issues about grade entries and WebOptions.

• Please contact her if you have any questions about the administrative part of the course such
as technical difficulties in viewing online materials, TAs’ office hours, submitting your
medical documentation for missed midterm, and etc.

1
Course Description:

Macroeconomics is the study of the structure and performance of national economies and of the
policies that policy makers use to affect the economy. Topics to be covered include:
• Measuring national product and income
• Unemployment and inflation
• Macroeconomics of closed economy and open economy
• Economic fluctuations in both short run and long run
• Determination of money supply

Required Text:

Paul Krugman, Robin Wells, Iris Au, and Jack Parkinson, Macroeconomics, 3rd Canadian edition,
Worth, 2018.

* The (new) course text package in the bookstore includes the SaplingPlus assignment access
code. Although it is not mandatory, the study guide is strongly recommended as it provides
additional practice questions.

Lecture Notes and Other Announcements:

• Lecture notes, review questions, tutorial questions, and other course related matters will be
posted on Quercus; students are expected to check the course page on a regular basis.
• We will be introducing extra mathematical material in class. Problem-solving concepts will
also be introduced and discussed in your tutorials. That being the case, you should plan on
attending all classes and watching the online tutorials, concentrating in class, and taking proper
notes.
• You are responsible for what is discussed in class, and other assigned materials posted on
Quercus.
• PLEASE DO NOT TALK IN CLASS. If you want to talk to your neighbour, the class and
the professor would appreciate if you both left the class and watched the lecture at home.

Tutorials on WebOption:

• All the tutorials for the course had been taped and will be available on WebOption on a weekly
basis. You are responsible for the materials covered in the tutorials.
• The link to the taped tutorials: http://weboption.utsc.utoronto.ca/

MGEA06 Outline (Winter 2019) 2

Evaluation and Grading:

Assignments:
• There will be have 6 mandatory online assignments assigned throughout the term, and you
need a code to have access to the assignments.
• If you get a new course text package from the bookstore, the assignment access code is already
included.
• The assignment is, normally, due on the Saturday of the week at 11:00pm.
• If you have any technical questions about on how to use SaplingPlus or need technical support
by filling out their webform:
https://macmillan.force.com/macmillanlearning/s/contactsupport.
• Other concerns about the assignments should be directed to Professor Au.

Grading Scheme:
Online assignments, best 5 out of 6 15%
Midterm (mandatory) 35%
Final Exam 50%

• See the document, Online Assignment - Sign-up Instructions & Grading Policies.pdf, posted
on Quercus for sing-up instructions. Also, be sure to include your UTSC ID# in your Sapling
account profile.
• For those who have attempted the midterm, improvement will be taken into
consideration when assigning the overall course grade. If you write the final exam and your
mark on the final is higher than on the midterm, the lower midterm mark will replaced by the
mark you received on the final exam.
• The mid-term test will be 1 hour 30 minutes long. Check Quercus for information on where
to write these tests. The dates and times will also be announced in class.
 If you MISS the midterm, please see the section on “Policy on Missed Assignments and/or
Examinations” on what needs to be done in order to transfer your midterm weight to the
final exam. If proper documentation is NOT submitted within one week the midterm is
written, you will receive a grade of ZERO for the midterm and the midterm weight will
NOT be transferred to the final exam.
• The final exam will be a three-hour exam and will take place in the final exam period. Do
not plan to leave Toronto before the end of the exam period (personal circumstances are not
an acceptable excuse for missing the exam).

Calculators:
• Non-programmable calculators are allowed for this course.
• You should avoid any calculator that has considerable storage capacity for text such as a
graphical calculator, because these calculators will be confiscated during an exam. Also
possessing unauthorized electronic devices (including cell phone or smartphone) during
exam is is a VIOLATION of the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters, there will be
serious academic consequences and it will be reported to the Dean’s Office.

MGEA06 Outline (Winter 2019) 3

Policy on Missed Assignments and/or Examinations:
• LATE assignments will NOT BE ACCEPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
• ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP MIDTERM EXAM. If you MISS THE MIDTERM with
LEGITIMATE reason, you can request to have the weight of the midterm transferred to the
final exam. YOUR REQUEST MUST BE SUPPORTED BY PROPER
DOCUMENTATION AND MUST BE SUBMITTED WITHIN ONE WEEK AFTER
THE MIDTERM IS WRITTEN. If you miss the midterm and fail to provide proper
documentation within the proper time frame, you will receive a grade of ZERO for the
midterm and the midterm weight will NOT be transferred to the final exam.
 DO NOT send your documentation to Professor Au. Your documentation MUST be sent
to our course coordinator, Bobbi McFarlane, at [email protected] for
record purpose and for us to transfer your midterm weight to the final exam.
 In your email to Bobbi McFarlane, make sure to mention your UofT registered name, your
student number, and the course code and lecture section.
• The university has created a new standardized form for students who are requesting special
academic consideration based on illness or injury. The form focuses upon the degree of
incapacitation that the illness or injury has upon the student’s academic functioning and the
timeline of that incapacitation, rather than on diagnosis and /or details of the problem. All
students must now have a health professional complete this new form:
http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca/index.php

Academic Support:
The Department of Management, in collaboration with the UTSC library, will be providing
academic research support in the IC Building. To refine your research skills or to learn more about
various scholarly resources, please contact the Librarian for Management and Economics students.
Mariana Jardim, Liaison Librarian
Office hours: by appointment
Email: [email protected]

The English Language Development Centre (ELDC) helps students develop the critical thinking,
vocabulary and academic communication skills essential for achieving academic and professional
success. Personalized support includes: RWE (for academic writing); Communication Cafés
(oral); Discussion Skill-Building Cafés; Vocabulary Cafés; seminars/workshops; personal ELD
consultations; drop-in sessions.
http://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/eld/

The Writing Centre (TWC) offers invaluable services to students (learn to become a better writer!)
and offers many different kinds of help: drop-in sessions, individual consultations, workshops,
clinics, and online writing handouts.
http://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/

MGEA06 Outline (Winter 2019) 4

Academic Misconduct:
Students should note that copying, plagiarizing, or other forms of academic misconduct will not
be tolerated. Any student caught engaging in such activities will be subject to academic discipline
ranging from a mark of zero on the assignment, test or examination to dismissal from the university
as outlined in the academic handbook. Any student abetting or otherwise assisting in such
misconduct will also be subject to academic penalties. For details you can refer to the following:
http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm

Important Dates:
January 20 Last day to add S courses.
February 16 – 22 Reading Week – No classes held.
March 24 Last day to drop S courses without academic penalty and have them
removed from the transcript.
April 5 Last day to drop UTSC S and Y courses on eService and have them
remain on the transcript with a grade of LWD indicating withdrawal
without academic penalty. After this date grades are recorded on
transcripts whether course work is completed or not (with a '0' assigned
for Incomplete work) and they are calculated into GPAs.
April 5 Last day of classes in S & Y courses and last day for submission of term
assignments in S & Y courses.
April 6 – April 9 Study Break. (Classes continue on other campuses.)
April 6 – April 27 2018 Fall deferred examinations.
April 10 – April 27 Final examinations in S and Y courses.
April 19 Good Friday – University closed.

Dropping Out of MGEA06:

• Dropping a course is unfortunate, but it is not a shameful act; under certain circumstances, it
is the wisest course of action (to protect your CGPA). The drop date is March 24. By that
time, if, at that stage, it is clear you cannot handle the material (given the rest of your academic
load), you are better to drop the course and take it again another term, rather than see it through
to the bitter end.

MGEA06 Outline (Winter 2019) 5

Tentative Schedule:

Week Week of Topics – Chapter(s) Assignment

1 January 7 Introduction & Measurement of GDP–
Chapters 6 & 7
2 January 14 Unemployment & Inflation – 1
Chapter 8 (Ch 6 & 7)
3 January 21 Long-run Economic Growth –
Chapter 9 (pages 263 – 285)
4 January 28 Savings, Investment Spending, and the Financial 2
System – Chapter 10 (pages 303 – 319) (Ch 8 & 9)
5 February 4 Income and Expenditure –
Chapter 11 & Appendix
6 February 11 AD and AS – 3
Chapter 12 (Ch 10 & 11)
February 16 – February 22 – Reading Week
7 February 25 AD and AS –
Chapter 12
8 March 4 Fiscal Policy – 4
Chapter 13 & Appendix (Ch 12)
9 March 11 Money, Banking, and the Central Banking System –
Chapter 14
10 March 18 Monetary Policy – 5
Chapter 15 (Ch 13 & 14)
11 March 25 Open-Economy Macroeconomics –
Chapter 19
12 April 1 Open-Economy Macroeconomics – 6
Chapter 19 (Ch 15 & 19
section 1)

Tutorial Schedule:
Week Week of Tutorial Week Week of Tutorial
1 January 7 #1 7 February 25 #7
2 January 14 #2 8 March 4 #8
3 January 21 #3 9 March 11 #9
4 January 28 #4 10 March 18 # 10
5 February 4 #5 11 March 25 # 11
6 February 11 #6 12 April 1 # 12

The Secret of Success in MGEA06:

• The course is complex and interconnected, and many students find it quite hard.
• Success in this course is actually quite easy. Work hard, work steadily, and don’t stop working.
Also, understand the materials not memorize them!

MGEA06 Outline (Winter 2019) 6