Intermediate Macroeconomics
Contact information
Bayarmaa Dalkhjav
Email: Bayarmaa.Dalkhjav@unh.edu
Office: Paul College 240M
Office Hours: flexible, by appointment via Zoom
Course overview
Intermediate macroeconomics is an undergraduate course with three credit hours and meets a core requirement for the Economics major. Intermediate macroeconomics is a course focusing on aggregate economic analysis. This course helps students understand macroeconomics in theory and practice by providing knowledge about how an economy works at an aggregate level.
Course Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
Use macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, inflation, and unemployment to describe and analyze the economy in quantitative terms
Describe and analyze the aggregate production, economic growth, and sources of economic growth
Describe the money supply process and analyze the role of the Federal Reserve System
Analyze business cycles and financial crises
Assess fiscal policy and monetary policy to counter business cycle swings by using simple macro-economic models
Course Learning activities Description
Take-home problem sets (20%): Every two weeks, I will assign you a problem set related to the topics we learned. Questions in a problem set are similar to what you would see in exams. Each problem set is due by the pre-specified date. Feel free to work in groups, but the answers must be written up individually! This assignment includes several problems to solve and some open questions. Also, these problem sets may require you to use different skills such as calculation, reading, writing, critical thinking, and analyzing.
Participation (10%): We will do several in-class activities, such as class discussion, writing a “journal”, and watching a brief economic policy discussion. Attendance and participation help you save time to review your materials and prepare for exams. Attendance will be checked randomly, while submission of a short quiz counts as attendance. For every absence, you will lose a 0.5 point.
Group projects (10%): You and your group will analyze some macroeconomic events based on theories you learned. A group will be set at the beginning of the semester. Each group will submit one project, and there are two group projects.
Short quizzes (5%): This quiz will take 5-10 minutes during our class. I may ask you 1 or 2 short questions from previous topics. Please be prepared for a quiz when you come to a class.
Reading and Reviewing Notes: You are expected to dedicate 1-2 Hours per Week Reading and Reviewing your Notes. This review will help you succeed in the course. If you have questions or don’t understand the readings, bring them to class or come to my office during office hours. This activity will not be graded, but it will contribute to your learning.
Midterms (30%): This is an exciting time of our course to see the result of your work. You will be evaluated based on how you can use your new knowledge in solving problems, answering questions, and analyzing issues. You will have two midterm exams and the second midterm exam will be cumulative.
Final Exam (25%): The format of the final exam will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and calculation questions.
Optional activity: A way you prepare for a class and exams (your study strategy) is important. There are scientifically proven strategies for learning. If you choose effective strategies for your learning, they will help you learn effectively. https://oli.cmu.edu/courses/student-cognition-toolbox-open-free/ (Links to an external site.)
Course Assessment activities
All learning activities will be evaluated except weekly reading and reviewing notes. In short quizzes, you will answer one or two questions related to previously studied topics. Those questions help you quickly assess and examine your understanding of key concepts.
The take-home assignments help you evaluate how well you describe your understanding of new topics and where you have an issue to solve problems. The group projects help you deepen and apply your knowledge in real-life cases.
The midterms and final exams tests on subjects you should know.
Learning objectives, learning activities, and learning assessments
We begin our course by learning macroeconomic indicators. These indicators are vital for your future career as an economist and the rest of this course. There will be two short quizzes with 1 point for each and one take-home problem set with 6 points. Later, questions and problem sets related to this topic will be in the midterms and the final exam. There will also be two short quizzes and one take-home problem set to learn about economic growth. To check your mastery of these two topics, there will be the first midterm. Questions in midterm will be similar in take-home problem sets.
The third learning objective is to understand the money supply process and the role of the Federal Reserve System. Excitingly, we will watch the video on Fed policies and analyze and discuss it in class. As you know, you have short quizzes, a problem set, and a first group project.
Analysis of business cycles and financial crises is the most compelling subject. You will work on short quizzes and a problem set to check your understanding. After this topic, there is the second midterm. It is cumulative and includes everything up to that time. In the final section, we will learn how to use fiscal and monetary policy to counter business cycle swings. There is the same structure with short quizzes and a fifth problem set. During this section, there is a second group project.
The final exam is cumulative and includes all types of questions and problem sets.
Grading policy
Your course grade will be computed using the following absolute scale using a course base of 100 points:
Points Grade
93.-100% A
90.00-92.99% A-
87.00-89.99% B+
83.00-86.99% B
80.00-82.99% B-
77.00-79.99% C+
74.00-76.99% C
70.00-73.99% C-
60.00-69.99% D
59.99% or less F
Student expectations (social arrangements, etiquette, etc.)
As a student, you are expected to
attend every class and study at least two hours outside of class. Attendance will be checked randomly.
actively participate during class and other course activities
put appropriate time and your best effort into all activities
Class expectations are as follows:
No late assignments will be accepted. The lowest score on your homework assignments will be dropped and will not be counted towards your final grades. If you have a personal issue, illness, or injury that prevents you from finishing your assignment on time, you may skip one of your homework assignments.
No make-up exams or quizzes. However, documentable emergencies, certain University-approved curricular and extra-curricular activities, and religious holidays can be legitimate reasons to be excused from a scheduled examination. Students must contact the instructor prior to the exam/assignment date.
Please refrain from using any electronic devices during class time. If you would like, you can use a laptop for taking notes only. Although I cannot monitor it frequently, I believe in your honesty.
If you have questions, you can ask questions in class or via emails.
Diversity/Inclusion statements
“The University of New Hampshire is committed to building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive. We also are committed to providing open and inclusive access for all alumni, volunteers, learners, employees, and visitors seeking to participate in our programs and activities. We venture to sustain a campus environment that fosters mutual respect and understanding. We believe diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are foundational values inextricably linked to achieving our core educational mission; and we embrace the many characteristics of our community members that make them uniquely themselves. Here, you belong, and all are welcome.”
Source: University of New Hampshire https://www.unh.edu/inclusive/
ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM
Students are required to obey the UNH Academic Honesty policy in the Student Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities Handbook. Any form of cheating or plagiarism is not tolerated in both homework assignments and/or exams. If you have been found guilty of cheating, you will receive a zero for the assignment and will be referred to the Economics Department Chair and the Associate Dean for subsequent penalty, up to a failing grade for the course. For more info, please see University Academic Honesty Policy and Tutorial on Plagiarism. I reserve the right to deduct points or award a grade of zero if I see any form of cheating on exams/assignments.
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and may result in an F for the course. Please refer to the University’s policy on academic misconduct available at http://www.unh.edu/student-life/academic-honesty-policy for more information.
EMOTIONAL OR MENTAL HEALTH DISTRESS
Your academic success in this course is very important to me. If, during the semester, you find emotional or mental health issues are affecting that success, please contact the University’s Counseling Center (3rd floor, Smith Hall; 603 862-2090/TTY: 7-1-1) which provides counseling appointments and other mental health services.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (as amended, 2008), each student with a disability has the right to request services from UNH to accommodate his/her disability. If you are a student with a documented disability or believe you may have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at 201 Smith Hall. For more information refer to www.unh.edu/studentaccessibility or contact SAS at sas.office@unh.edu. Under the guidance of the Accommodation Letter, I can work on an individual case basis with the student to meet those needs. It is strongly recommended that you do so at the start of the semester as accommodations must be made in advance of an exam and not on the day of and will not be made without the proper documentation. If you do not talk to me about your accommodation in person in advance, I may not be able to properly accommodate you when needed.