ECON 2100-003 (CRN 80003)

THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

 

Semester: Fall 2004

 

Time/Place: 12:00-1:15pm MW, General Classroom Building 203

 

Instructor: Dr. Shelby Frost

 

Office: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS), room 530 (The new AYSPS building is located at intersection of Marietta and Peachtree Streets; my office is on the 5th floor – take a right off the elevators.)

 

Office Hours: 3:00-4:00pm MW; 11:45-12:45pm TR; and/or by appointment

 

Office Phone: 404-651-4224 (email is my preferred method of communication)

 

Email Address: sfrost@gsu.edu (or use the email feature in WebCT)

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant: Paul Kagundu

  

Office: AYSPS 556G

 

Office Hours: M: 11:00AM - 12:00PM; W: 3:00PM - 4:00PM

 

Office Phone: (404)-463-1220

 

Email Address: prcpkx@langate.gsu.edu

 

Prerequisite: none 

 

Course Description:

The world's economies have become much more integrated over time. This course is designed to introduce students to basic facts about the operation of the world economy, with particular focus on current issues confronting economies of various countries.  The course will discuss the role of international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and will focus on major problems facing policy makers, such as global income inequality, financial crises, environmental challenges, the transition to a market economy, and the design of the European Monetary Union.

 

Learning Outcomes for ECON 2100:

The student should be able to:

  1. define the concepts of resources and wants, and relate them to Scarcity and Opportunity Costs.
  2. identify the Production Possibility Curve and to use it to measure opportunity costs.
  3. understand and describe the concepts and measurement of gross domestic product, unemployment, and inflation.
  4. understand and describe the difference between business cycles and economic growth and the factors that contribute to each.
  5. understand and describe the concepts of Comparative Advantage.
  6. understand and describe the concepts of balance of payments and its components, as well as the determinants of exchange rates.
  7. identify the benefits and costs of free trade.
  8. define globalization and understand its history.
  9. understand the roles of international trading arrangements (e.g., the North American Free Trade Act, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), and the functions of international organizations (e.g., the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization).
  10. define and identify the components of capital flows and the determinants of capital flows to different world regions.

 

Text/Materials: Understanding the World Economy, 2nd edition, by Tony Cleaver will be our primary textbook.  Additional readings will be made available via WebCT.  A scientific calculator is recommended.  Access to a computer and the internet is required – there are many computer labs available on campus – for information about locations and hours see  http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwets/labsclassrooms/computerlabs/locations/index.html .

 

We will be using WebCT for this course, which can be found at the following URL: http://webct.gsu.edu; see the Student Center on the WebCT Entry Page for useful information about using WebCT.  It is a password-protected environment where you can monitor your grades, easily communicate with me and your classmates, and find many useful materials throughout the semester.  Please check the WebCT site at least once between each class meeting for announcements, etc.  To logon to the system, you need your WebCT ID and your initial password – see Getting Started with WebCT if you have never used WebCT before (otherwise, there should be a link to this course on your existing MyWebCT page).  If you have trouble getting into the WebCT site with your own user ID and password, use fs_frosts as the user ID and student as the password (this is my “fake student” account – please do NOT change the password for this account), and please send me an email to let me know that you cannot access the WebCT site so I can try to help you access it.  There will be various items available through the internet throughout the semester. You should become familiar with a web browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer) and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader for some items; the reader is available free of charge at the following URL: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.  There is a link to the Adobe site on the links organizer page of the WebCT site.  If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you install it on your machine; it should already be installed on any machine you use in a computer lab on campus.

 

Grading/Make-up Policy: This semester, I will assign grades based upon how much money you earn in this class (please see note #1 below).  The more money you earn, the higher the grade you can afford.  The following scale will be used to assign grades:

 

Course Grade

Money Earned

A

$900,000 or more

B

$800,000 to $899,999

C

$700,000 to $799,999

D

$600,000 to $699,999

F

$599,999 or less

 

How to earn money:  The most money can be earned from exams and a group project; there will be three one-hour unit exams and a comprehensive two-hour final exam, each worth a maximum of $200,000; the group project (explained in more detail below) is also worth a maximum of $200,000.  Note that there is a total of $1,000,000 available from exam grades and the group project alone, so it is possible for you to afford any grade that you “need” or want, if you perform well enough on the exams and do a good job on the project.  However, as an economist, I believe that people respond to incentives, so there will be other opportunities to earn extra income, related to activities that I believe are associated with your better comprehension of the material. There is a spreadsheet in WebCT that will allow you to easily calculate your grade so that you will always know where you stand in the class and what you need to do to earn enough income for the grade that you want.  The following table can be used to get an idea of most of the money that may be earned this semester. 

 

Your Earnings:

Possible

Date

exam 1

$ 200,000

Wednesday, September 22nd

exam 2

$ 200,000

Wednesday, October 20th

exam 3

$ 200,000

Monday, November 15th

final exam

$ 200,000

Monday, December 13th

improvement bonus*

$           -

 

total exam earnings

$800,000

 

 

 

 

group project earnings

$200,000

various dates – see table below

 

 

 

total extra credit earnings**

$    17,000

 

 

 

 

total earnings

$1,017,000

 

*If your final exam earnings are better than your lowest unit exam earnings, then you earn the difference between your final exam earnings and your lowest unit exam earnings (called an improvement bonus).  This is mathematically equivalent to having your final exam earnings replace your lowest unit exam earnings (when the final exam earnings are the higher of the two).

** The total extra credit earnings will most likely increase some from the $17,000 listed in this table, but I will reveal to you on the first day of class how you may be able to earn an extra $17,000 in total from various activities throughout the semester.  There may be other opportunities that arise throughout the semester too, so $17,000 is the minimum amount of extra income that can be earned.

 

More about exams: 

Each exam is worth a maximum of $200,000.  The spreadsheet in WebCT will help you calculate your earnings on any given exam based on your performance on the exam.  There will be absolutely NO MAKE-UP EXAMS!  If you miss an exam, then you will earn $0 for that exam.  While it is difficult to recover from missing an exam, it is possible to replace a missed unit exam (or any other terrible exam earnings) by taking the final exam and earning an improvement bonus.  Note that you do not earn an improvement bonus if you do not take the final exam.  All exam dates (including the final exam) are posted on the calendar in WebCT, as well as in the table above.  My advice to you is to clear your calendar for those four days this semester and plan to be in class to take all exams – and allow yourself plenty of time to prepare for them so that you can earn the maximum income possible from them. 

 

More about the group project:    

 

The Assignment Specifications:

The group project will consist of 3 parts: (1) a Power Point presentation posted in WebCT via the student presentation feature – found in the folder for your particular section in WebCT; (2) a presentation in class, approximately 25 minutes in length; (3) a submission of at least 10 potential exam questions and answers on the topic covered (also posted in WebCT as a Word document via the student presentation feature).  Topics for group projects will be included on the exams, so make sure you do a good job presenting the material for your topic to the class, and be sure to pay close attention to your classmates’ presentations.

 

Grading Criteria:

The group project will be worth a maximum of $200,000 to each individual in the group, broken down as follows: part 1 will be worth a maximum of $75,000; part 2 will be worth a maximum of $75,000; part 3 will be worth a maximum of $50,000.  Everyone in the group will receive the same earnings – exceptions to this rule will be rare and will only occur if everyone in the group unanimously decides on a different distribution of earnings, and informs me in writing at the time the project is due.  Late submissions will NOT be accepted under any circumstances and will result in $0 earnings for the entire group (note that means that your group is only as good as your weakest link – please do NOT be the one to let down the members of your group)… there will be absolutely NO MAKE-UPS for group projects!  When assigning earnings, I will be looking for the following:

  • Good introduction.  Does it become clear from the outset what this presentation is about and what will be the parts?
  • Amount of relevant information included, sufficient detail, and quality of explanations in the presentation.  Sources should be cited; web links are useful; you may also find some interesting video material in the library.  In addition to factual information, feel free to express opinions on the topic and present arguments for it.
  • Ability to address questions from the audience (including me) during the class presentation.
  • Connection between the parts presented by different members during the class presentation and how well the Power Point presentation is structured.  It should not be simply a compilation of the parts that each member wrote separately; different parts need to tie in well, and the class presentation show flow well.  Note that means it will most likely be necessary to get together as a group to think over the structure and practice your class presentation in order to avoid incomplete information and/or repetitions, and to be sure that it falls within the specified time frame (approximately 25 minutes).
  • Quality of potential exam questions and answers provided.  Do the questions sufficiently cover the topic?  Are they “fair” questions?  Are the questions clearly worded and not ambiguous in any way (that is, are they open to different interpretations)?  Are they accurate (that is, are the answers provided correct)?

 

Formation of Groups:

The entire class will be broken into 12 different groups of approximately equal size (for a class size of 75, that means 6 or 7 students per group).  Groups and topic assignments (which are associated with particular dates – listed on the WebCT calendar, and in the table below) will initially be assigned randomly, and posted in WebCT; then you will be given an opportunity to trade across groups.  All trades must take place by Labor Day (Monday, September 6th)… everyone involved in the trade must inform me via email by the deadline.  I will then update the membership in the groups and post the final group assignments by class time on Wednesday, September 8th.

 

Topics and Dates:

 

Group

Topic

Date

1

Comparative Health Care Systems

Monday, September 20th

2

Economic Stagnation in Africa

Monday, September 20th

3

NAFTA

Wednesday, October 13th

4

The WTO

Wednesday, October 13th

5

IMF and The World Bank

Monday, October 18th

6

Global Environmental Problems

Monday, October 18th

7

Immigration Issues

Wednesday, November 10th

8

The Japanese Economy

Wednesday, November 10th

9

The Recent Economic Crisis in Argentina

Wednesday, December 1st

10

Outsourcing and Labor Issues

Wednesday, December 1st

11

Economic Issues Related to Terrorism

Monday, December 6th

12

Human Rights Issues

Monday, December 6th

 

Attendance Policy:  Attendance will be taken daily (please see note #6 below).  Attendance does not factor directly into your grade, but attending class is important and that is why I take roll everyday.  If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed.  Note that some opportunities to earn extra income will require your presence in class – missed opportunities for extra income CANNOT be made up!  Consult the WebCT calendar to see what we are scheduled to cover each day.  It represents a tentative course outline, but we will try to stick to it as closely as possible (please see note #7 below).  Please make note of the exam dates and the presentation dates because missing an exam or a presentation has a very high opportunity cost!  Note that missing your group’s presentation affects not only your earnings, but also those of the others in your group.

 

Notes:

  1. I am not really paying you money; this is just for illustrative purposes.  When I say “money”, I mean hypothetical classroom dollars, which are used to assign your grade in the course.
  2. If you require special accommodations for exams (e.g., "time and a half"), you MUST provide documentation from GSU Disability Services and make arrangements with me PRIOR to the exam dates.
  3. Incompletes will only be given to students who are PASSING the course, and even then, only in very special circumstances.  In the case where an incomplete is awarded, it MUST be removed by the end of the NEXT term that the student is enrolled (and within TWO terms regardless of whether or not the student is enrolled) or it will automatically turn into an F.
  4. Students who withdraw after the midpoint of each term will not be eligible for a "W" except in cases of hardship. A student who withdraws after the midpoint of the term is assigned a grade of "WF," except in those cases in which (1) hardship status is determined by the Office of the Dean of Students because of emergency employment, or health reasons, and (2) the student is doing passing work, as determined by the student's instructor(s).
  5. All students are responsible for knowing and adhering to GSU’s Policy on Academic Honesty as published in On Campus: The Undergraduate Co-Curricular Affairs Handbook.
  6. Effective Fall 2001, all instructors must, on a date after the mid-point of the course (to be set by the Provost),
    1. Give a WF to all those students who are on their rolls, but no longer taking the class; and
    2. Report the last day the student attended or turned in an assignment.
  7. This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
  8. This syllabus is for this particular section of ECON 2100 only.  See the GSU Economics Department generic course description for ECON 2100 at http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwsps/academics/courses/econ2100.htm.