Syllabus1: Macroeconomics
Course Information
Macroeconomics
ECON-100-001
Spring 2022
Runs from January 10th 2022 – April 25th 2022
Online lecture sessions: Tuesdays and Fridays, 8:10am to 9:25am Eastern Time.
Instructor Information
Preferred Communication Method: Canvas, email and Zoom meetings
Response time: email messages will be responded within two business days.
Instructor Bio: Prof. Martinez-Covarrubias studied his MSc at the University of Birmingham in
England and received his PhD from the University of Limerick in Ireland. He has more than 10
years’ experience as a lecturer and senior lecturer. He has taught numerous – and a wide range of-
economic modules including Macroeconomics at graduate and undergraduate level in Europe.
He has supervised several Masters and PhD theses. He has published books and several articles
in leading international journals, such as Regional Studies. His research interests focus on
economics of innovation and technological change, industrial economics, economic integration
and public policy. He has presented numerous international conferences and keynote speeches.
As practitioner, he held senior roles in national civil services in Mexico and Ireland. He advises
the European Commission with its international development co-operation program with African
Countries in areas of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Teaching Assistants (TA) Information:
Nguyen, Nghia (Nick). nn3647a@american.edu Cimiluca, Mark. mc0551a@american.edu
Spaulding Bingaman, sb2941a@student.american.edu (SI Leader)
1 Every effort will be made to follow this syllabus. However, exceptional situations may require
exceptional changes at the discretion of the instructor.
Course Description
Introduction to the basic principles of aggregate economic analysis. Includes measurement and
determinants of national income, unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and business
cycles. Topics also include historical perspectives, alternative approaches to economics, and
current issues and controversies.
Translation
A beginning course in macroeconomics explores how an economist views the way people make
choices and works through the implications of the economist’s view. We first look at the choices
of individuals and households, and we look at the choices of firms, other organizations, and
governments. We develop a systematic way of describing how choices are made, and we follow
through with a systematic analysis of how choices change when circumstances change. We then
look at how everybody’s choices add up to“the economy.”Finally, we find out how
policymakers can help to“grow the economy”and how they can help to keep the growth as
steady as circumstances allow.
This Course in General Education
For students who entered AU before Fall 2018, this course is part of the General Education
Program. It is part of Foundational Area 4. Courses in Area 4:
Study the institutions, systems, and patterns of governance and of economic and social
organization that underlie contemporary societies.
Place policy options and their consequences in their appropriate social and political
context, drawing on classic and contemporary theories of human organization.
Develop your capacity to critically reflect on the organization of societies and the
relationship between the individual and the society, using the distinctive methods of
inquiry appropriate to the study of social institutions.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe how people and businesses interact in markets.
- Define key measures of economic activity and locate statistics on them.
- Define economic growth and recession and explain what can cause them.
- Explain how governments and monetary authorities can promote economic growth and/or
economic stability. - Explain the interrelationships between markets for outputs, inputs, and currencies in a
global economy.
Textbooks and Materials
Textbook: Macroeconomics by Krugman and Wells, 6th Edition, Macmillan.
Option #1: Digital Only: Achieve Access for Krugman/Wells, Macroeconomics, 6/e. ISBN:
9781319320195.
Option #2: Print + Digital: Loose-leaf Print Text & Achieve Access for Krugman/Wells,
Macroeconomics, 6/e. ISBN: 9781319396824. The campus bookstore can help you purchase a
print version.
Pre-Class online activities and electronic homework assignments:“Achieve”. To gain access
to these, which is organized by Achieve, you will have to register as a student of this course.
Please examine the instructions in the Canvas site for registering on Achieve as soon as possible.
Your subscription to Achieve gives you access to the digital version of the textbook.
Instructional Technologies
Canvas Learning Management System
You will use your AU credentials to log in to Canvas. AU’s Canvas Support team recommends
using Chrome or Firefox to optimize your experience and avoid incompatibility issues that can
occur when accessing Canvas with other browsers. DO NOT USE Internet Explorer. We will
use the video conferencing software‘Zoom’for our virtual sessions.
This course is delivered completely online, therefore it is your onus making sure you Internet
connection, software and equipment at your end work at an adequate level. The University
provides assistance. If you have any problems, you can contact the OIT Help Desk at: Phone:
202-885-2550; E-mail: helpdesk@american.edu or Online Support & Live Chat:
help.american.edu
Accessibility Statement
To find out about the accessibility of the instructional technology and other software for this
course, click on the link for the product. Canvas, Zoom, Achieve (Macmillan), CourseArc,
Collaborate Ultra, Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader.
Course Expectations, Requirements, and Policies
Expectations for Course Participation
Attendance at lecture sessions is mandatory. You must proactively participate in the activities
and group discussions during the sessions. Attendance will be recorded, and you will gain points
(3% of your overall grade) for attending at least 90% of all sessions.
Time Commitment:
This course is taught completely on-line, and you have a high degree of flexibility to
choose when to study. You still need to plan your days and evenings carefully during the period
you take this class. It is expected that you will need to devote at least 7 and a half hours a week
to this class. This includes:
Reading power-point presentations, and watching supplementary videos
Attending and participating in online lectures.
Reading the textbook
Doing online homework assignments
Writing and developing the required assignments
Studying for and taking the required exams
Communication Policy
For any issue or query related to the course, your first contact point will be your
designated Teaching Assistant or Supplementary Instruction Leader. If you are not satisfied, then
you can escalate and contact the instructor.
Please plan and organize your time efficiently. The implication of the response time
stated earlier is that the instructor’s inbox is not checked over the weekends. This means that if
your email is received on a Friday after 4pm, you will get a reply by Tuesday at the end of
business at the latest.
Canvas is the official digital platform to announce important aspects of the course. Please
make sure these announcements are not sent to your spam folder by your email account. You can
ensure this by adjusting your email settings and preferences. For help, contact OIT Help Desk at:
Phone: 202-885-2550; E-mail: helpdesk@american.edu or Online Support & Live Chat:
help.american.edu
Time Zones:
All deadlines mentioned in the syllabus refer to Eastern Standard Time. If you are not
living in the Eastern United States while taking this course, please be aware of the time
differences so that you do not turn in your assignments late. (For example, if you are in
California, then a 12-midnight deadline means that you must turn in your work by 9 pm that
night. If you are in Japan, you must turn in your work by 1 pm the following day.)
General Organization of Class and Grading Standards
Each week of the class will be organized in a similar way.
You should begin each week by reading the relevant textbook chapters and doing the
Pre-Class activities and Bridge quizzes.
Then, attend the lectures where we will address some of the key concepts in the course
that are particularly important to master.
After that, I would recommend that you re-read the textbook chapters.
You will be directed to the Learning Curve online activity, and an electronic homework
assignment on Achieve that you will be required to complete before the week ends.
There will be Group Presentations for which you will be allocated to a team of five or
six students. You will receive instructions to develop a Digital Artifact as a team. On the
relevant week you and your team will submit and present your Digital Artifact to the
whole, or a wider section of the class. A rubric will be made available in advance, so you
and your team will be clear on what is expected from you to deliver. This is a
collaborative effort where all members are expected to contribute equally.
The Midterm exam and the Final Exam will be time-bound and further instructions will
be issued in due course. For these and Reaction Papers collaborative effort is not
allowed.
Canvas is the official platform to host all students’assignment records. Therefore, all
assignments must be submitted to the designated submission points in Canvas. Technically,
Canvas does not allow the instructor or TAs (Teaching Assistants) to submit on the students’
behalf; therefore, please do not email your work to your instructor or TA. Each student should
submit his/her own work directly on Canvas. If you are in doubt about how to do it, please ask
your TA or instructor. Submission Points will be made available in due course.
Achieve is integrated with Canvas. This means that if you complete your weekly online
assignments in Achieve, the scores will automatically be transferred to Canvas within at least 48
hours (about 2 days) after completing the homework sets. If your score in Canvas is different to
your latest score in Achieve, please do not panic; give it at least two days to get your latest score
reflected on Canvas. If nothing changes, then please contact your instructor or TA.
Late Work Policy
20% marks less in that assignment for every day of delay.
All assignments should be submitted before the indicated deadline. For every day an assignment
is late after the assignment is due, 20 per cent will be deducted from the assignment grade. For
example, if your submission is 2 days late and you are awarded full points (100), your final grade
on the assignment would be 60 points (2 days late x 20 per cent deduction per day = 40 per cent
Late Penalty). For the calculation of the Late Penalty, late days will be rounded up to the next
whole number. For example, if a student submits 1.3 days late, the Late Penalty will treat the
student as 2 days late. No exceptions to this policy will be made, apart from documented medical
or family emergencies (in these cases, an ad-hoc deadline with no penalty will be agreed on a
case-by-case basis).
For the case of the final exam, late penalties will be more severe: 5% deduction for every
minute of delay.
It is the onus of the student making sure that his/her submitted work is the intended piece. This
means that whatever material is submitted, it will be graded accordingly, and under no
circumstances‘completed’work presented after the deadline will be considered to replace the
original submitted‘incomplete’work.
Sharing of Course Content
Unauthorized downloading, file sharing, or distribution of any part course materials, or using
information for purposes other than student’s own learning, may be deemed a violation of
American University’s Student Conduct Code and subject to disciplinary action (see Student
Conduct Code VI. Prohibited Conduct).
Students are not permitted to make visual or audio recordings (including livestreams) of lectures
or any class-related content or use any type of recording device unless prior permission from the
instructor is obtained and there are no objections from any student in the class. If permission is
granted, only students registered on the course may use or share recordings and any electronic
copies of course materials (e.g., PowerPoints, formulas, lecture notes, and any discussions –
online or otherwise). Use is limited to educational purposes even after the end of the course.
Exceptions will be made for students who present a signed Letter of Accommodation from the
Academic Support and Access Center. Further details are available from the ASAC website.
Other Course Policies
The use of digital devices in activities not relevant to the topics discussed during the virtual
lectures and exams is not permitted. The instructor or tutor reserves his/her right to carry out
random checks and you must cooperate accordingly.
Cheating will not be tolerated. Collaboration on individual assignments and assessments is not
permitted. There will be an opportunity for Group Presentations and Digital Artifacts where
collaboration within your designated group is permitted and encouraged. Anti-cheating
technologies such as Safe Assign and Respondus will be used. If someone is found at foul, an
outright‘F’(Fail) will be allocated to that assignment, and/or escalated to university disciplinary
procedures.
Grading and Assessment
Grading Scale
Final Percent Grade Descriptor
93%-100% A Excellent
90%-92% A-
87%-89% B+
83%-86% B Good
80%-82% B-
77%-79% C+
73%-76% C Satisfactory
70%-72% C-
60%-69% D Poor
Under 60% F Academic Fail
Final Grade Calculation
Activity or Assessment Weight in
Final Grade
Attendance to Lectures (at least 90%) 3%
Achieve Sets: Homework (18x, HW) 22%
Achieve Sets: Pre-Class Tutorials, Bridge, Learning
Curve (PCT, BR, LC)
5%
Reaction Papers (2x) 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Group Presentation (5%) and Digital Artifact (15%) 20%
Final Exam 20%
Note: The final grade calculation is performed at the end of the course by the instruction team,
and it is reported in the Eagle Service 72 hours after the conclusion of the final exam. This
means that, as the course progresses, the ongoing total grade calculated by Canvas is only
indicative and not conclusive.
Homework sets are graded online quizzes in Achieve from which you get your result straight
away after completion. (IMPORTANT: you must allow 48hrs to see your final result of your
completed Homework reflected in Canvas). Each Homework set corresponds to each chapter in
the textbook.
Achieve Sets (PCT, BR, LC) are also online sets that prepare you for the lecture and consolidate
your understanding on the relevant topic. PCT are Pre-Class Tutorials which includes videos
that introduce the topics, BR are small Bridge quizzes that assess your understanding over the
material presented in the PCT and from your reading on the relevant chapter in the book. Finally,
LC stands for Learning Curve, which is an adaptive online test to better prepare you for doing
the Homework set (HW) described above. Most chapters include one PCT, one BR and one LC.
But others may include up to four PCT, four BR and one LC. Other chapters may include only
one of these types of online sets, such as one LC. You must complete all available Achieve sets
per chapter. You will earn the 5 points of your final grade if you complete at least 90% of all
relevant sets.
Reaction papers are small written pieces of no more than two paragraphs where you must
address specific questions that will be issued in advance. Your opinions must be supported by
robust evidence. There are two Reaction Papers each to be submitted in Teaching Week 2 and
Teaching Week 14. Guidelines will be issued in advance.
The Midterm exam will cover the first three modules and will be held during the lecture session
on the Friday of Teaching Week 6.
Group Presentation is one of the most dynamic and engaging assessments in this course, in the
sense that it is a collaborative effort. It is a space for you to get to know more of your classmates.
You will be allocated to a group of 5 or 6 students who altogether will design, prepare and
present to the whole, or a large section of the class, a Digital Artifact that displays your
understanding on relevant topics covered in Class. Further guidelines will be provided in
advance.
A Digital Artifact (resource) in the context of this course is similar to a project that is submitted
for an assignment in a face-to-face course. But rather than submitting a physical object, such as a
paper, an essay or presentation, the assignment is presented and viewed digitally—online
through a site or platform on the web. An artifact has the following characteristics:
A combination of two or more of the following: text, image, sound, video or links
Accessible with its own link (URL)
Easy to access and view online without requiring a password or login information
Available on the Web for at least six weeks.
The Final Exam will cover all topics in this module.