Parkes' Principles of Macroeconomics Assignments Page

Spring 2020, Section 8




[Home Page]



 Tentative Schedule and Course Assignments:


     PAST ASSIGNMENTS:



                                   Week 8

            March 3, 2020      Chapter 15: Unemployment

            • Chapter 15: Unemployment
              • Identifying Unemployment
                • How is unemployment Measured?
                • What is the Labor Force?
                • The Labor Force Participation Rate
              • The Natural Rate of Unemployment
              • Cyclical Unemployment
              • Frictional Unemployment and Structural Unemployment
              • Discouraged Workers
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 15 Unemployment



            March 5, 2020      Exam 2, Chapters 10 - 13, and 15




                                   Week 7

            February 25, 2020      Chapter 13: Saving, Investment, and the Financial System


            February 27, 2020      Finish Chapter 13: Saving, Investment, and the Financial System

            • Chapter 13: Saving, Investment, and the Financial System
              • Financial Markets
                • Stock Market
                • Bond Market
                • Financial Intermediaries
                • Banks, Mutual Funds, Etc.
              • Saving and Investment in the National Income Accounts
              • Identities: Investment = private saving + public saving
            • The Market for Loanable Funds
              • 3 Very Important Graphs:
                • Policy 1: Saving Incentives
                • Policy 2: Investment Incentives
                • Policy 3: Government Budget Deficits and Surpluses
              • Crowding out and the Public Debt
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 13: Saving, Investment, and the Financial System


                                   Week 6

            February 18, 2020      Chapter 11: Measuring the Cost of Living

            • Chapter 11: Measuring the Cost of Living
              • The Consumer Price Index
              • How is the CPI calculated
                • Fix the basket of goods
                • Find the prices
                • Compute the basket's cost
                • Choose a base year and compute the basket
                • Compute the inflation rate
            • Review: How is the CPI calculated
            • Quiz 8
            • Problems in Measuring the Cost of Living
              • 1. Substitution Bias
              • 2. Introduction of New Goods
              • 3. Unmeasured Quality Change
              • 4. It's an Average
            • The GDP deflator versus the CPI
            • Correcting Economic Variables for the Effects of Inflation
              • Dollar figures from Different Times
              • Indexation
              • Real and Nominal Interest Rates
            • Elon Musk: The Man, The Myth, The Meme
            • Premium PowerPoint for Ch. 11 Measuring the Cost of Living


            February 20, 2020      Chapter 12: Production and Growth



            • Due February 20, 2020, before 11:59 pm. Paper #1 Due in Bb Learn: Minimum Wage: Where are we now?



                                   Week 5

            February 11, 2020      Chapter 10: Measuring a Nation's Income
            February 13, 2020      Ch. 11 Measuring the Cost of Living and finish Chapter 10

            • Chapter 10: Measuring a Nation's Income
              • The Four Components of GDP
                • Consumption or PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures)
                • Investment Expenditures
                • Government Expenditures
                • Net Export Expenditures (Exports minus Imports)
              • Real versus Nominal GDP
              • The GDP Deflator
            • Quiz #7: Calculate Real GDP, PCE, and G growth rates and PCE/GDP
            • Premium PowerPoint for Ch 10 Measuring a Nation's Income

                                   Week 4

            February 4, 2020      Chapter 6: Supply, Demand, and Government Policy continued
            February 6, 2020      Exam 1, Chapters 1 - 4, and 6



                                   Week 3

            January 28, 2020      Chapter 4: The Market Forces of Supply and Demand
            January 30, 2020      Chapter 4: continued and Chapter 6: Supply, Demand, and Government Policy January 21, 2020      Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade

            • Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade
              • A Parable for the Modern Economy
                • Production Possibilities
                • Specialization and Trade
              • Comparative Advantage
                • Absolute Advanatage
                • Opportunity Cost and Comparative Advantage
                • Comparative Advantage and Trade
                • The Price of Trade
              • Applications:
                • Serena Williams, Should she mow the lawn?
                • Should we trade with other nations?
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade

            Quiz #3: PPF      Quiz #3: PPF Answers


            January 23, 2020      Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade

            • Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade
              • A Parable for the Modern Economy
                • Production Possibilities
                • Specialization and Trade
              • Comparative Advantage
                • Absolute Advanatage
                • Opportunity Cost and Comparative Advantage
                • Comparative Advantage and Trade
                • The Price of Trade
              • Applications:
                • Serena Williams, Should she mow the lawn?
                • Should we trade with other nations?
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 3: Interdependence and Gains from Trade

            • Introduction to Chapter 4:
            • Chapter 4: The Market Forces of Supply and Demand
              • What is a Market? A competitive Market?
              • Demand Side
                • The price of the good, movement along the curve
                • Shifts: P-P-P-INT



                                   Week 1

            January 14, 2020      Chapter 1: Ten Principles of Economics

            • The Syllabus, Outline, and a little about me
            • Chapter 1: What are these 10 Principles of Economics
              • How people make decisions
              • How people interact
              • How the Economy as a Whole Works
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 1: Ten Principles

            January 16, 2019      Chapter 2: Thinking Like An Economist

            • Chapter 2: Thinking Like an Economist
              • The Scientific Method and the Role of Assumptions
              • The Circular Flow: The first model of Economics we will study
              • Model 2: The Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF)
              • Positive versus Normative Economics
              • Why Economists Disagree
            • PowerPoint for Chapter 2: Thinking Like An Economist



[Andrew Parkes' Home Page]

email: andrew at andrewparkes.com
Last Update: March 8, 2020
By Andrew L. H. Parkes, Ph. D.