Principles of Macroeconomics

The retake exam has preliminarily (!) been scheduled for Tuesday 28 February 2012, 15:00 h to 17:00 h, in room HG F 7.

"NEW: Starting with lecture 3, video recordings of the lectures are available at: http://www.multimedia.ethz.ch/lectures/mtec/2011/autumn/351-0565-00L
Login and password details are to be found in the lecture 4 slides."

DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES:

This course will introduce the fundamentals of macroeconomic theory and explain their relevance to every-day economic problems. It examines the behaviour of macroeconomic variables, such as gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation rates.

The course helps you understand the world in which you live. There are many questions about the macro-economy that might spark your curiosity. Why are living standards so meagre in many African countries? Why do some countries have high rates of inflation while others have stable prices? Why have some European countries adopted a common currency? How can we explain fluctuations of national economic activity? These are just a few of the questions that this course will help you answer. Furthermore, this course will give you a better understanding of the potential and limits of economic policy. As a voter, you help choose the policies that guide the allocation of society's resources. When deciding which policies to support, you may find yourself asking various questions about economics. What can economic policy do against unemployment and inflation? What significance do international economic relations have for my country? What are the burdens associated with alternative forms of taxation? What are the effects of free trade with other countries? What is the best way to protect the environment? How does the government budget deficit affect the economy? These and similar questions are always on the minds of policy makers.

TEXTBOOK:

The set up of the course will closely follow the book of:

• N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor (2011): Economics, 2^nd Edition, Cengage Learning.

You can purchase the book including an access card to online study tools on http://aplia.com. Besides the textbook, the lecture slides will cover the content of the lecture.

ONLINE TUTORIALS:

The lecture will be accompanied by online tutorials on http://aplia.com. The aim of the online tutorials is to deepen economic understanding by solving exercises related to content of the lecture.

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

There is an exam of 1.5 hours at the end of the semester. The exam is closed book. No "Sitzscheine" are distributed – everyone who wants to get credits will have to pass the exam. For those students who failed in the first exam, a repetition exam will be offered.

SOME FREE ADVICE:

First, keep current with the reading. Not only will that maximise your assignment grades, but it will allow you to make the most of the lectures. Second, do your homework and the homework assignment. The latter is virtually free credit, and it will improve your performance on the exam. Third, it is not a bad idea to do all problems at the end of each chapter in the textbook. Fourth, ask questions in class. If you read something and it is unclear and then it is unclear during lecture, ask about it. Your classmates will probably thank you. This is one of the few ways, before an exam, in which we can gauge how the material is getting across. Fifth, come and see us in our office hours (see below). This is another opportunity to get clarification and help on material about which you are unclear. But … do not wait until the last minute, by then it is invariably too late!