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ECON 2015 Principles of Macroeconomics Section ____
Semester and year, meeting times
Instructor: name, contact information and other relevant information about the instructor.
Course description: A general introduction to macroeconomics, the study of the aggregate economy.
This course examines: how levels of output, employment, interest rates, and prices in a nation are
interrelated; what causes these levels to change; and the use of policy measures to regulate them.
Course prerequisites: None
General Education Requirement: This course is classified under the Values and Choices theme and
meets the requirement for a course in Values and Choices C: Other Values and Choices Courses.
General Education Student Learning Outcomes and the Five Themes: HPU’s general education
curriculum is focused around five themes. This course emphasizes the Values and Choices theme and
provides students with opportunities to achieve the following related general education student
learning outcomes:
Students will analyze the interrelationships among beliefs, choices and cultural and social institutions
and practices. (V&C 2)
Macroeconomics is a study of various approaches to solving problems associated with a multitude of
economic issues: inflation, unemployment, stagnation, growth, freedom, equality, and decision making
control. Policy alternatives in government spending, taxation, debt, and regulation of money, interest,
and banking, etc. carry ethical considerations regarding the impact on individuals and society as a whole.
Some areas where analysis of interrelationships among beliefs, choices and cultural and social
institutions and practices are crucial are development economics, sustainable growth, and employment
of women and children. For example, there are often major disconnects between local beliefs and
cultures and strategies of economic development. There also are significant differences in the way that
individuals and societies in various cultures look at employment of children and women
Students will understand & analyze the range of consequences that follow from a choice, policy or
course of action. (V&C 3)
Macroeconomics is the study of the sum total of economic activity, dealing with the issues of growth,
inflation, and unemployment and provides a major focus on national economic policies relating to these
issues. Thus, students learn to analyze the impact of various economics policies made at the national
level on the previously mentioned variables. Students also consider the differing impact of various
policies on individuals and society as a whole.
Students will recognize and value multiple perspectives and develop skills for mediating among
conflicting claims. (V&C 5)
There is no single model, or set of beliefs governing the workings of the macro economy, that enjoys
universal support or that consistently out predicts or better explains economic events. Thus, students of
macroeconomics are exposed to various schools of thought ranging from Classical to Keynesian to
Monetarist to Marxist. Students learn the different perspectives and assumptions made and learn how
they not only imply different outcomes to various economic stimuli, but how they shape very different
viewpoints on how a government should employ policy and what that policy should entail. These
approaches involve comparisons of values and differing schools of thought regarding fiscal and
monetary policy. Students are also expected to draw their own conclusions as to appropriate policies for
various economic situations, and more importantly, to justify their conclusions using sound economic
reasoning.
The course also addresses the Research and Epistemology theme and provides students with
opportunities to achieve the following related general education student learning outcome:
Students will use reasoning skills, such as identifying assumptions, considering multiple perspectives
and positions including one’s own, making inferences, and drawing conclusions, to advance an
argument supported by reasons and evidence (R&E 4)
This is the primary over-arching outcome of the course. Students will learn to use the basic tools of
economic analysis as well as how to evaluate and use both qualitative and quantitative evidence when
conflicting viewpoints are encountered. By the end of the course students are expected to have
developed an analytical way of thinking through some of the macroeconomic problems and have
developed creative ways of applying economic concepts and tools in evaluating current macroeconomic
issues. The tools of economic analysis are presented in lectures and readings while exams, homework
and essay assignments offer opportunities for students to demonstrate their reasoning skills and apply
these tools.
Note: Purple text shows places where specific course information must be filled in. Red text provides
explanatory notes to the instructor which should be deleted before using the syllabus. Blue explanations
above may be rephrased by the individual instructor to reflect the specific approach in that section.
Optional: list any other general education outcomes that you will specifically address in the course under
the appropriate themes and/or describe how your course relates to any of the themes in ways other
than by addressing one of the general education student learning outcomes. Please delete this note and
all red text.
Course specific outcomes below are an example and may also be rephrased or modified by the instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes for ECON 2015 Principles of Macroeconomics
At the completion of the course, the students should be able to:
1. differentiate the scope and methods of analysis between microeconomics and macroeconomics
2. discuss and illustrate the difference between positive and normative economics
3. with the use of a circular flow diagram, discuss the relationship among sectors of the economy
(e.g. private and business sector, household sector, government sector and foreign trade sector)
4. discuss the effects of government policies, e.g. increase tax, increase in interest rates, on the
level of employment, incomes and the rate of economic growth.
5. discuss the principal differences in the Keynesian and the classical approach to economic
analysis
6. discuss the role of money and the financial institutions on the growth of the economy, and
7. estimate the equilibrium levels of the Gross Domestic Product and the multipliers, given the
consumption function, level of investment, level of government expenditures and foreign trade.
For the rest of these required syllabus items see the details in the faculty handbook. Delete this note
once the syllabus is complete. For online courses there are some additional requirements given at this
link.
Texts List textbooks with ISBN’s and include this language as well
All textbook information (pricing, ISBN #, and e-books) for this course can be found on the HPU
Bookstore website: hpu.edu/bookstore.
If you have any questions regarding textbooks, please contact the HPU Bookstore at:
Phone:
808-544-9347
Or e-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Assignments and mode of evaluation
Summary of important dates and deadlines (if the schedule is a separate document and due dates are
not given with the description of the assignments).
Class rules and policies (including regarding attendance, late work and academic dishonesty)
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