Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - ECON 115 D100

Introduction to Macroeconomics (3)

Class Number: 1826

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Mon, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Focused on basic competencies in macroeconomics, this course is suitable for business and other students not intending to specialize in economics. Topics include GDP, economic growth, business cycles, unemployment, inflation, money, monetary and fiscal policies, exchange rates, government debt, globalization and trade policy. Economic literacy is an important part of the course. Students who have taken ECON 105 first may not then take this course for further credit. Quantitative/Breadth-Soc.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is focused on basic competencies in Macroeconomics suitable for business and other students not intending to specialize in economics. Topics include Gross Domestic Product, Inflation, Unemployment, Economic Growth, Inequality, Saving & Investment, Financial System, Money, Banking/Central Banks, Fiscal & Monetary Policy, and the Central debates in Macroeconomics. Emphasizes on economic literacy is an important part of the course. The expectation is this course will be delivered as an in-person class. That means that you will be expected to be able to attend classes. Audio from the lecture will be made available if feasible.

Topics:

  • Introduction to Macroeconomics
  • National Income Accounting
  • Inflation
  • Unemployment
  • Economic Growth
  • Inequality
  • Savings and Investment
  • Guest Speaker
  • Financial System
  • Money Banking And Central Banks
  • Fiscal And Monetary Policy

Course Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, the students will be able to:

  • Define and understand the key macroeconomic variables.
  • Compare how GDP is measured from the expenditure side and from the income side.
  • Understand how equilibrium national income is determined, and how it can change.
  • Analyze how fiscal policy can be used to influence the level of national income.
  • Examine how aggregate demand or aggregate supply shocks affect equilibrium real GDP and prices.
  • Describe the functions of money and explain how commercial banks create money.
  • Determine how monetary policy affects the economy in the short run and the long run.
  • Identify how the Bank of Canada conducts monetary policy.

Grading

  • Assignments (Best 5 out of6) 15%
  • Quizzes (Best 4 out of 5) 20%
  • Midterm Exams(15%each) 30%
  • Final Exam 35%

NOTES:

Organization:This course outline is based on 10 weeks of one lecture per week with the remaining
weeks of lecture slots available for classroom experiments and two midterm exams.

Quizzes:You must bring your laptop or tablet to submit the quiz during the class session. The quizzes will be submitted using Achieve digital platform. There will be five quizzes worth 5% each and the quiz with lowest score will be dropped.

Assignments: There will be six assignments worth 3% and the assignments with the lowest score will be dropped.

Midterm Exams: The first midterm exam will be held on October 7 during the class session. It will cover chapter 6,7 and 8 and content shared on Canvas. It will be a closed book and closed note exam. The second midterm exam will be held on November 4. It will be based on chapter 9,10 and content shared on Canvas.

Final Exam: The final exam will be cumulative and will cover all the chapters discussed during the term. The exam will be held during December 5-17 and the date and timings of the exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s office.

Classroom Experiments
There will be two classroom experiments. These experiments will be run using the free software provided on the webpage https://economics-games.com/games

This webpage allows for experiments of up to 150 students at a time.

The first experiment will be concerned with illustrating the idea of a ‘Bubble in Asset Prices’ and the second experiment will be about ‘Investment Decisions during the Business Cycle’. The dates of these experiments will be posted on Canvas.

Course Policies:

Missed assignments: Considering that you have one week to complete each of the assignments, and that your lowest two assignment marks will be dropped, I will not accept any excuses for missed or late assignment submissions. There will be neither extension nor reopening of assignment unless you have accommodation that clearly states so.

Missed quizzes: Considering that your lowest quiz mark will be dropped, I will not accept any excuses for missed or late quiz submissions. There will be neither an extension nor retake of quiz, unless you have accommodations that clearly states so.

Missed midterm exams: If a student misses one of the midterms then the weight of the missed midterm will be added to the final exam.

Missed final exam: The final exam is compulsory, which means if you miss it for some unavoidable circumstances, then we will reschedule a separate final exam.

Videos: If class is cancelled due to a holiday, instructor illness, or a campus closure, or if a given week’s course material cannot be completed during class time for any reason, the material will be presented in videos that will be uploaded to course page.

 

 

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Paul Krugman; Robin Wells; Iris Au; Jack Parkinson
Macroeconomics: Canadian Edition, 4th, 2021, MacMillan.

Achieve (required) : Macmillan Learning’s Digital Courseware Platform will be used for assignments and quizzes.

Instructions to access Achieve will be uploaded on Canvas.


This course has a Canvas page for all registered students; Class materials, grades, and announcements will be posted to Canvas. For each topic, corresponding chapters from Krugman et al.’s textbook Macroeconomics are assigned as the main reading. Additionally, because one of the goals of the course is to introduce real-world applications, textbook chapters are supplemented by suggested resources on real-world topics that illustrate the concepts covered. The idea is to show students how the key concepts in economics translate into real-world issues. This helps students understand how the material is relevant to them and helps them be more informed about current economic affairs.

Supplementary materials for these topics are sourced from free online resources, mainly the free online textbook CORE Econ: The Economy, and sections from CORE Insights on the same website. Additional webpages or news articles may also be assigned for topics covered in each session.


Free Online CORE-Econ resources

We will use the free online book Core Econ: The Economy available here:

https://www.core-econ.org/the-economy/

We will also use sections from the same website CORE insights available here:

https://www.core-econ.org/project/core-insights/


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

Please note that, as per Policy T20.01, the course requirements (and grading scheme) outlined here are subject to change up until the end of the first week of classes.

Final exam schedules will be released during the second month of classes. If your course has a final exam, please ensure that you are available during the entire final exam period until you receive confirmation of your exam dates. 

Students requiring accommodations as a result of a disability must contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) at 778-782-3112 or caladmin@sfu.ca.

***NO TUTORIALS DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES***

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.