ECON 7071 - Intermediate Macroeconomics IID

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2015

Macroeconomics is concerned with the behaviour of the economy as a whole. In particular it addresses the big issues which affect us on a day to day basis. As macroeconomists we want to know why some countries grow more quickly than others, why some experience high inflation while others have stable prices and why all countries experience recessions and booms. Furthermore, we want to know if government policy can have an impact on these factors. The aim of this course is to provide these tools and give a deeper understanding of these issues.

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Course Details

Course Code	ECON 7071
Course	Intermediate Macroeconomics IID
Coordinating Unit	Economics
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assumed Knowledge	Introductory level macroeconomics, ECON 1005 or equivalent
Restrictions	Available to MFin&BusEc, GradCertEc, GradCertIntEc, GradDipIntEc & GradDipAppEc students only
Assessment	Typically, mid-semester exam & final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Mark Weder

Professor Mark Weder (Semester 1 and 2)

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding:
This course aims to develop an understanding of those social institutions such as property rights, firms and markets, that are the economic framework within which individuals, responding to incentives, make choices in their own self interest and how these choices can also serve the social interest. (Learning outcomes 1-3)

Communication Skills:
This course aims to develop students’ abilities to construct and sustain an argument using the phrases and concepts that economists use in their deliberations. A theoretical framework is developed in which students acquire an understanding of how economic agents interact and by doing so develop the literacy and verbal communication skills necessary for presenting arguments of an economic nature. (Learning outcomes 4-9)

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1	Explain how markets organise the allocation of scarce resources and the distribution of goods and services
2	Assess the efficiency of markets and describe the various factors that might impact on efficiency
3	Distinguish between the various forms of market failure and explain how governments might need to intervene
4	Relate the basic economic theory and principles to current macroeconomic issues and evaluate related public policy
5	Use economic models to analyse a situation in terms of economics
6	Work and learn independently and with others
7	Communicate their knowledge and understanding of economic issues using written, verbal and visual expression
8	Evaluate outcomes based on the costs and benefits involved
9	Understand the broader social consequences of economic decisions making

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1-3
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	4-9
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	4-6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Macroeconomics by Stephen Williamson, 5th edition, ISBN 97812920000459, Pearson

Recommended Resources

Students enrolled in this course may request a paper copy of this course profile from the Professions Student Hub.

Online Learning

All additional material will be posted on the course MyUni website.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Students will be required to understand material as covered in the course lectures as well as additional assigned readings. Problem sets will reinforce key concepts covered in course lectures.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Students in this course are expected to attend all one-hour lectures throughout the semester plus one tutorial class each week. Students are also expected to commit approximately 8 to 10 hours to private study, that is, study outside of your regular classes.

Learning Activities Summary

Part I. ECONOMIC GROWTH

1. Economic Growth: Malthus and Solow

2. Income Disparity Among Countries and Endogenous Growth

Part II. A ONE-PERIOD MODEL OF THE MACROECONOMY

3. Consumer and Firm Behavior: The Work—Leisure Decision and Profit Maximization

4. A Closed-Economy One-Period Macroeconomic Model

5. Search and Unemployment

Part III. SAVINGS, INVESTMENT, AND GOVERNMENT DEFICITS

6. A Two-Period Model: The Consumption—Savings Decision and Credit Markets

7. Credit Market Imperfections: Credit Frictions, and Financial Crises

8. A Real Intertemporal Model with Investment

PartT IV. MONEY AND BUSINESS CYCLES

9. Money, Banking, Prices, and Monetary Policy (if time allows)

10. Business Cycle Models with Flexible Prices and Wages

11. New Keynesian Economics: Sticky Prices (if time allows)

** Order of material to be covered in class is tentative and subject to change.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Weighting: Midterm exam 40%
Take home exam 20%
Final exam 40%

Assessment Detail

The midterm exam will occur in class some time around Week 4 to 6. The exact date will depend on material covered in lectures. The take home exam will occur in week 10 to 12.

There will not be a make-up mid-semester exam. Those who miss the mid-semester exam must obtain documentation in line with university regulations in order to avoid a grade of zero on the mid-semester exam or assignment. For those who miss the mid-semester exam and obtain accepted documentation the relevant weight will be added to the weight of the final exam in determining the overall grade for the course.

The final exam will be 2 hours in length.

Please note that, following University policy, dictionaries are not allowed in School of Economics exam.

Submission

See MyUni for further information on submission details.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator