ECON*1100 Introductory Macroeconomics – Course Syllabus and Study Guide

Course Overview

This course provides an introduction to macroeconomic principles, focusing on the Canadian economy. It covers aggregate performance and policy, determinants of national income, employment, price level, economic growth, and the roles of monetary and fiscal policies in influencing macroeconomic outcomes.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Recognize and define key macroeconomic concepts, including GDP, price indices, growth, exchange rates, interest rates, monetary variables, and fiscal indicators.

• Measure macroeconomic activity using indicators such as GDP, unemployment, savings, and balance of payments.

• Analyze short-run and long-run macroeconomic outcomes, including inflation, unemployment, and economic growth, and understand the effects of monetary and fiscal policy.

• Understand the functioning of financial markets, the foreign exchange market, and the money market.

• Explain and evaluate the effects of monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate policy.

• Interpret Canadian economic performance in historical and global contexts.

Course Structure and Topics

The course is organized into the following main units, each corresponding to key chapters in a standard macroeconomics textbook:

• Unit 01: Introduction to Macroeconomics – How Markets Work

• Unit 02: Macroeconomic Indicators and their Measurement

• Unit 03: Economic Growth

• Unit 04: The Economy in the Short Run

• Unit 05: Monetary and Fiscal Policy

• Unit 06: Macroeconomics in an Open Economy

Unit Summaries

Unit 01: Introduction to Macroeconomics – How Markets Work

• Key Concepts: Scarcity, opportunity cost, production possibilities frontier, comparative advantage, and the basics of supply and demand.

• Example: Understanding how changes in consumer preferences affect market equilibrium price and quantity.

Unit 02: Macroeconomic Indicators and their Measurement

• Key Indicators: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rate, inflation rate, price indices (CPI, GDP deflator), and balance of payments.

• Formula Example: GDP can be measured using the expenditure approach: $GDP = C + I + G + (X - M)$ where $C$ = consumption, $I$ = investment, $G$ = government spending, $X$ = exports, $M$ = imports.

Unit 03: Economic Growth

• Key Topics: Determinants of long-run economic growth, productivity, capital accumulation, technological change, and policies to promote growth.

• Formula Example: Growth rate of real GDP: $\text{Growth Rate} = \frac{GDP_{t} - GDP_{t-1}}{GDP_{t-1}} \times 100\%$

Unit 04: The Economy in the Short Run

• Key Topics: Aggregate demand and aggregate supply, business cycles, short-run fluctuations, and the role of expectations.

• Example: Analyzing the impact of a negative demand shock on output and unemployment.

Unit 05: Monetary and Fiscal Policy

• Key Topics: Money supply, central banking (Bank of Canada), tools of monetary policy, government spending and taxation, fiscal multipliers.

• Formula Example: Simple spending multiplier: $\text{Multiplier} = \frac{1}{1 - MPC}$ where $MPC$ is the marginal propensity to consume.

Unit 06: Macroeconomics in an Open Economy

• Key Topics: Exchange rates, balance of payments, international trade, and the effects of globalization on the domestic economy.

• Example: How a depreciation of the Canadian dollar affects exports and imports.

Assessment Structure

The course uses a combination of online quizzes, assignments, tests, and a final exam to assess student understanding. The breakdown is as follows:

Assessment Item	Weight
MyEconLab Quizzes	20%
Tests	30%
Final Exam	50%

Key Macroeconomic Concepts (Definitions and Examples)

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period.

• Unemployment Rate: The percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively seeking work. $\text{Unemployment Rate} = \frac{\text{Number of Unemployed}}{\text{Labor Force}} \times 100\%$

• Inflation: The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.

• Aggregate Demand (AD): The total quantity of goods and services demanded across all levels of an economy at a given overall price level and in a given period.

• Aggregate Supply (AS): The total quantity of goods and services that producers in an economy are willing and able to supply at a given overall price level in a given period.

• Monetary Policy: Actions by a central bank to manage the money supply and interest rates to achieve macroeconomic objectives such as controlling inflation, consumption, growth, and liquidity.

• Fiscal Policy: Government decisions about spending and taxation that impact the economy's overall demand and output.

• Balance of Payments: A record of all economic transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world.

Course Policies and Support

• Academic integrity is strictly enforced; plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration are prohibited.

• Extensions and accommodations are available for documented medical or compassionate reasons.

• Students are expected to use MyEconLab for quizzes and assignments, and the Respondus LockDown Browser for online tests and the final exam.

• Technical support and resources are available through the University of Guelph.

Additional Info

• This syllabus provides a comprehensive overview of the course structure, assessment methods, and key macroeconomic topics. For detailed content, students should refer to the required textbook: "Macroeconomics" by Hubbard, O'Brien, and Serletis (4th Canadian Edition).