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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
ECON D001H
Course Title (CB02)
Principles of Macroeconomics - HONORS
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
An introduction to macroeconomics focusing on aggregate economic analysis. Topics covered will include market systems, aggregate measures of economic activity including national income accounting, macroeconomic equilibrium, money and the banking system, money and the price level, classical macro theory, Keynesian macro theory, monetary and fiscal policy,international trade and economic growth.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is a major preparation requirement in the discipline of Economics as well as Business Majors for at least one CSU or UC. This course meets a General Education requirement for Area D at °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU and Area (4B) IGETC. This course belongs on the AA degree in Economics. The analytical tools developed in this course can be used to understand the contemporary issues including the workings of the US economy and other countries and to address how current policy initiatives affect their macroeconomic performance. This course is the honors version of ECON D001. and as a result includes more advanced assignments and assessments.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
ECONEconomicsApprovedC-ID ECON 202

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Elementary algebra or equivalent (or higher), or appropriate placement beyond elementary algebra

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

  • EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.
  • Intermediate algebra or equivalent (or higher), or appropriate placement beyond intermediate algebra

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

  • (Not open to students with credit in the non-Honors related course.)
  • (Admission into this course requires consent of the Honors Program Coordinator.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Collaborative learning and small group exercises.

Assignments

  1. Assigned material from text and supplementary readings covering material.
  2. Assigned papers, or reports on topics related to material as well as essay exams.
  3. Optional outside Internet materials and /or assignments.
  4. Written research project (one research paper of 10-15 pages OR two shorter research papers of 5-7 pages each) and/or oral presentation of the research topic.
  5. Completion of additional sets of problems that require a deeper understanding of the course material and that cover additional chapters of the textbook.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Objective (multiple choice, true/false) portions of midterms and final exam will be used; the questions will involve quantitative problem solving
  2. Short essay quizzes will be assigned in addition to the exam will be graded based on correct responses.
  3. Oral participation/discussion, online debates.
  4. Papers/Critical Essays/Short Answer questions on Exams will be graded based on correct responses.
  5. Homework Problem Sets will be assigned and checked for completion.
  6. Presentations will be used to assess understanding of the material covered in class and will be graded based on the quality of the presentations.
  7. Honors research paper will be evaluated for the depth of analysis, critical thinking skills, a comprehensive discussion of the research topic, and the quality of the sources selected.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Colander, D. "Economics". New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin 10th edition, 2016.
Cowen, T., & Tabarrok, A. "Modern Principles of Economics". New York:4th edition, Worth 2017.
Hubbard, R.G., & O'Brien, A.P. "Macroeconomics". 6th edition, Pearson 2017
Mankiw, N.G. "Principles of Economics". Cengage Learning. 8th edition, 2018
McConnell, C.R. Brue, S.L., & Flynn, S.M.: "Economics: Principles, Problems and Policies". New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. 21st edition, 2018

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Federal Reserve Website Resources
Financial Times
Wall Street Journal
Rittenberg, L., & Tregarthen, T. Principles of Economics. Flat World Knowledge. 2018

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Recognize economic decision making within the context of social science.
  • Define and measure basic macroeconomic phenomena - gross domestic product real and nominal, the price level, the unemployment rate, the money supply etc. - in diverse economies throughout the world; analyze the measurement of basic macroeconomic phenomena.
  • Analyze Economic Growth Analysis and the Financial System.
  • Recognize and define National Income accounts as a macroeconomic phenomena, measurement and analysis of macroeconomic aggregates: unemployment and inflation.
  • Recognize and define the relationships between monetary phenomena, including the linkage between the money supply/ demand and the price level, and central bank open market operations and the money supply. Illustrations of these relationships will be drawn from different societies in different historical periods.
  • Compare and contrast basic economic models, including classical macro theory, Keynesian macro theory and the recent revisions of rational expectations, supply-side and general equilibrium theories.
  • Identify, analyze and evaluate international economic policies and programs.
  • Demonstrate a deeper analytical understanding of economic concepts relating to various topics to be determined by the instructor.

CSLOs

  • Demonstrate how choices are made in the real world given limited resources.

  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of the workings of the US Economy and its institutions in a Global Context.

  • Critique existing economic theories about Business Cycles in light of historical and current economic perspectives.

  • Evaluate fiscal and monetary policy responses to macroeconomic instabilities such as unemployment, inflation and economic growth.

Outline

  1. Recognize economic decision making within the context of social science.
    1. Distinguish social sciences from natural sciences and formal sciences (logic and mathematics)
    2. Summarize and evaluate different views about economic methodology.
    3. Formulate and examine the role of models in economic theorizing
    4. How markets operate.
    5. The basic resource categories
    6. The global problem of scarcity and the basic economic questions each of the world's societies must answer
    7. The necessity of economic choice in global economic communities as illustrated through the production possibilities curve
    8. The distinction between potential and actual output
  2. Define and measure basic macroeconomic phenomena - gross domestic product real and nominal, the price level, the unemployment rate, the money supply etc. - in diverse economies throughout the world; analyze the measurement of basic macroeconomic phenomena.
    1. GDP, GNP and productivity accounting.
    2. CPI, PPI, GDP deflator.
    3. National equilibrium, recessions and inflationary cycles.
    4. Changes in Aggregate Demand, Expenditures and Growth
    5. Evaluate the traditional approach that sees economics as deducing conclusions from assumptions based on introspection and casual observation.
    6. Evaluate the Keynesian and Classical perspective of active national policy.
  3. Analyze Economic Growth Analysis and the Financial System.
    1. Economic Growth Analysis.
    2. Role of Saving and Investment in economic Growth.
    3. Interest Rates
    4. Calculating price indexes, real and nominal income and income distribution.
  4. Recognize and define National Income accounts as a macroeconomic phenomena, measurement and analysis of macroeconomic aggregates: unemployment and inflation.
    1. Defining gross domestic product (GDP)
    2. Comparing different ways of measuring GDP.
    3. Measurement of Unemployment and other aspects of Labor force.
    4. Analysis of Long Term/Natural Rate of Unemployment including Structural and Frictional Unemployment
    5. Measurement of Inflation including Consumer Price Index and other Price Indices.
  5. Recognize and define the relationships between monetary phenomena, including the linkage between the money supply/ demand and the price level, and central bank open market operations and the money supply. Illustrations of these relationships will be drawn from different societies in different historical periods.
    1. Identify and integrate independent variables for money demand
    2. Define different measures of money and construct the money supply diagram
    3. Analyzing monetary policy, the role of the Federal Reserve and the general price level.
      1. Explaining the causal relation between excess money growth and inflation
      2. Describing and evaluating the classical quantity theory.
      3. Interpreting and evaluating the modern quantity theory.
    4. Describe and analyze the Federal Reserve System (the bank of the United States) and the banking system
      1. Analyze the expansion and contraction of deposits and money
      2. Identify and compare different central bank tools for managing the money supply
  6. Compare and contrast basic economic models, including classical macro theory, Keynesian macro theory and the recent revisions of rational expectations, supply-side and general equilibrium theories.
    1. Analyze, explain and evaluate macro theory
    2. Explain and analyze different elements of classical macro theory such as Say's law.
      1. Construct the classical model of the real goods market
      2. Evaluate the predictive record of classical macro
    3. Explain, interpret and evaluate Keynesian macro theory.
      1. Identify and analyze equilibrium in the real goods market
      2. Explain and apply multipliers
      3. Appraise the predictive and explanatory power of Keynesian macro theory
    4. Explaining and applying the aggregate supply (A/S)/aggregate demand (AD) model.
      1. Construct AD curve
      2. Construct AS curve with positive slope
      3. Identify and analyze equilibrium
    5. Define, analyze and evaluate monetary and fiscal policy.
      1. Define monetary and fiscal policy
      2. Analyze monetary policy in the Keynesian paradigm
      3. Distinguish fiscal policy from automatic stabilizers
      4. Evaluate the effectiveness of fiscal policy
      5. Analysis of Deficit and Debt: Advantages and Disadvantages
  7. Identify, analyze and evaluate international economic policies and programs.
    1. Distinguish comparative and absolute advantage
    2. Calculate comparative advantage and recognize its role in determining observed patterns of trade among different nations exhibiting different degrees of economic development such as Mexico, Thailand, Russia and the United States
    3. Examine the benefits flowing from international trade
    4. Identify the main trade restrictions (tariffs, etc.) and their rationale
  8. Demonstrate a deeper analytical understanding of economic concepts relating to various topics to be determined by the instructor.
    1. Income Inequality
    2. Poverty
    3. Discrimination
    4. Finance
    5. International Trade
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