Econ 2/Spring 2018 TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm CAMPBELL HALL
Javier A. Birchenall javier.birchenall@ucsb.edu North Hall 3021 805-893-5275
ECON 2: Principles of Macroeconomics Course description ECON 2 is an introductory course to Macroeconomics. Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole, so the main objective of this class is to explain how certain economic events affect many households, firms, and markets simultaneously. In addition to some basic measurement of aggregate quantities such as GDP and inflation, we will focus on some of the core analytical issues in Macroeconomics such as: Why are some countries so rich and others so poor? How do countries grow and develop economically? Why do countries face recurring recessions and expansions? How does monetary policy work (or fails to work) and what variables does it affect? What are the economic implications of changes in government fiscal policies? How are interest rates determined? What role do interest rates play in personal and corporate decisions? The class is ambitious but at the end of this course, you should have a general understanding of Macroeconomics and you should be able to critically apply economic thinking to aggregate economic problems.
Course materials The textbook for this class is: Mankiw, N. Gregory: Principles of Macroeconomics, 8th edition, 2016. We will use the electronic copy that comes with MindTap online homework platform. You can buy the electronic version of the book and MindTap at the UCSB bookstore, where a limited number of access cards are available, or directly online from Cengage for $90.00. The link is http://www.cengagebrain.com/course/2889107 If you want a printed version of the textbook, the bookstore has a loose-leaf version of the book and MindTap for $144.00; which might be an attractive alternative to the e-copy. You might also consider an earlier edition of the textbook; they are a lot cheaper, and aside from the end of chapter questions, the editions do not change much in terms of content. A few copies of the book will be available on a 2-hour reserve.
