RYERSON UNIVERSITY ─ DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA (ECN 210)

(Lower Level Liberal Studies) COURSE OUTLINE

September 2010 Department of Economics, Ryerson University Page 1 of 3

Fall Term September – December 2010 Instructor Dr. Teresa Fung Contact Information Phone: 416-9795000 x7335; Email: t3fung@ryerson.ca Consultation Time and Location

Tuesday 10:30 am. –12:30 pm., Friday 11:00 am.–12:00 pm.; Jorgenson Hall (JOR), Room 218

Lecture Time / Location Monday 9-11 a.m., RCC 203 and Fri 1-2 p.m., POD 484 Instructor’s Homepage www.ryerson.ca/~t3fung

1. Course Description

This course examines how the Canadian economy works, and how the major problems of unemployment and inflation can be dealt with. Major topics include national income measurement, inflation and unemployment, money and banking, as well as fiscal and monetary policies. The aim is to study the relationships among major macroeconomic variables by simple models, in order to evaluate the nature and impacts of economic problems and policies. Current economic issues, whenever applicable, will be presented and examined in the light of these theoretical frameworks.

2. Lecture Topics

2.1 Introduction to macroeconomics and the Canadian economy 2.2 Growth, unemployment and inflation 2.3 The goals of macroeconomic policy 2.4 Aggregate demand and aggregate supply 2.5 Fiscal policy and budget deficits 2.6 Money, banking and monetary policy 2.7 Trade-off between inflation and unemployment 2.8 Exchange rates and the macroeconomy

3. Course Assessment

Weight Date Duration Question types

Class Participation 5% Sep - Dec N/A N/A

Online Assignments 15% TBA TBA Problem-solving

Term Paper 20% Due: Nov 29 N/A Essay

Mid-term Test 20% Oct 25 90 minutes Multiple-choice

Final examination 40% TBA 150 minutes Multiple-choice and

short-answers Note: TBA: to be announced online; N/A: not applicable.

RYERSON UNIVERSITY ─ DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA (ECN 210)

(Lower Level Liberal Studies) COURSE OUTLINE

September 2010 Department of Economics, Ryerson University Page 2 of 3

Students are expected to attend lectures, keep up with the course material and prepare adequately for lectures, test and the final examination. Students are responsible for all material covered in the chapters, with particular emphasis on material discussed in the lectures. Attendance will be checked at every class from the third week onwards and will account for 5% of the final grade.

Students are expected and required to follow Ryerson Student Code of Conduct. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. For further details, see http://www.ryerson.ca/academicintegrity. For information on Economics courses and Department of Economics policies on essay, projects, missed tests and appeals, please read the information found on the departmental web page: http://www.ryerson.ca/econ.

Online Assignments and Term Paper

There will be six online graded assignments, conducted through Aplia.com. Each assignment must be completed by a specific date and the best five out of six marked assignments count towards the 15% of the final grade. You may attempt your assignments as many times as necessary in the time allowed. If you do not submit an assignment on time, you will receive zero mark.

Towards the end of the term (on/before Nov 29, 2010), each student will have to submit a term paper of not more than 2,500 words on at least one of the issues/topics covered in this course. The term paper should be typed, double-spaced and contains a title page and bibliography. A list of the topics and some guidelines will be distributed to students by the end of September. The University has subscribed to the Turnitin service which helps professors identify internet plagiarism and helps students maintain academic integrity. The work submitted by students in this course will be submitted to Turnitin. Students who do not want their work submitted to this plagiarism detection service must, by the end of the second week, consult with the instructor to make alternate arrangements. Test and Final Examination

The mid-term test will consist of multiple choice questions and will be conducted in the last week of October. The test will be returned to students within one week. The final examination at the end of the term will consist of both multiple-choice and short-answers questions.

Any student who misses the test or exam for medical/religious reason will have to arrange for alternative assessment, subjected to discussion with and approval of the instructor. All requests must be supported by appropriate documentation. Please refer to Ryerson University Course Management Policy at the following link: http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol145.pdf.

RYERSON UNIVERSITY ─ DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA (ECN 210)

(Lower Level Liberal Studies) COURSE OUTLINE

September 2010 Department of Economics, Ryerson University Page 3 of 3

Tutorials and Announcements

There will be tutorial sessions during lecture time, especially before/after the test. The tutorial sessions are mainly for reviewing the answers to study questions and those in the test. All supplementary course materials and important announcements, including marks for assignments and tests will be posted via Ryerson Blackboard. There will be faculty course surveys in the November period.

4. Textbook:

Baumol, W.J., Blinder, A.S., Lavoie, M., and Seccareccia, M., Macroeconomics: Principles and Policy, 1st Canadian edition, Nelson Education, 2010. This textbook has a companion website that contains an online learning centre for students: http://www.baumolmacro1e.nelson.com. It provides key terms, exercises, quizzes/tests, and other interactive tools for each chapter. There are also links to other related websites, statistics and news sources.

5. Reference by week / topics:

Week Lecture Topics Textbook Chapters*

1 Introduction: basic concepts 1, 2, 3

2 The Macroeconomy: Gross Domestic Product 5

3 The Goals of Macroeconomic Policy 6

4 The Circular Flow of Spending 8

5 Demand-side Equilibrium and the Multiplier 9

6 Supply-side Interacting with Demand 10

7 Mid-term Test --

8 Fiscal Policy 11

9 Money and the Banking System 12

10 Monetary Policy 13

11 Debate over Policy and Budget Deficits 14, 15

12 The Trade-off between Inflation and Unemployment

16

13 Exchange Rates and the Macroeconomy 19

Note:* Baumol, W.J., Blinder, A.S., Lavoie, M., and Seccareccia, M., Macroeconomics: Principles and Policy, 1st Canadian edition, Nelson Education, 2010.