CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

Department of Economics
ECON 203 INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS
SECTION F - T, J 10:15-11:30 in H-110
COURSE OUTLINE
Winter 2016
Instructor: Anca Alecsandru
Office: Hall Building 1155.42
E-mail: Anca.Alecsandru@concordia.ca
Office hours:
F 9:00-12:00
Also, by appointment through email or phone
Course objectives:
This course provides an understanding of the basic principles of macroeconomics and their use in
analyzing contemporary economic issues. The focus is on the level of economic activity, unemployment,
interest rates, inflation, and the value of the Canadian dollar. It begins with an introduction to the
methodology of economics and continues with an analysis of economic aggregates. A basic model of the
economy is introduced and gradually augmented. A clear distinction between the short run and long run
perspectives is preserved throughout. Fiscal and monetary policies are discussed in the context of the
proposed models.
Textbook:
These are provided by the Lyryx Service Course Solution (LSCS), including:
E-Text: Douglas Curtis and Ian Irvine, Macroeconomics: Theory, Models and Policy, 2015.
The e-Text has an open license and can be downloaded on the Lyryx site, printed, and freely distributed
for non-commercial use.
Online Homework: You will need to register yourself on the Lyryx website at http://lyryx.com to
complete your assignments. (see Lyryx Registration Instructions file)
Evaluation:
- Online Lyryx Labs: 20% (see Lyryx Labs Instructions file; Complete 10-13 weekly labs.)
- Midterm Exam: 20% (In class, during the regular class time, on Tuesday, February 16)
- Final Exam: 60 % (To be scheduled by the Examinations Office.)
Students who miss the midterm exam for valid reasons (such as physician-documented illness) must
contact their instructors immediately.
The final exam is comprehensive. The final exam will be common to all 203 sections. It will consist of
multiple choice questions, algebraic and graphical questions, as well as policy-oriented questions. The
midterm exam will consist of multiple-choice questions only. Past midterm and final exams will be
posted on Moodle.
The Department of Economics does not offer supplemental exam privileges.
1

Online Tutorials:
The traditional in-class tutorials are replaced by weekly online tutorials, open to students taking any of
the course sections.
The online tutorials consist of 1) multiple choice (MC) questions and 2) problems to solve.
1) The MC component is live and interactive on scheduled days and times. It lasts for about 45 min.
and is conducted using Adobe Connect. A link to it will be posted on Moodle. To attend, students
should first read the guidelines on using Adobe Connect (posted on Moodle), click on the link at
the specified day and time and follow the instructions.
During those live MC sessions the Tutorial Leaders (TLs), who are graduate economics students,
cover a number of MC questions interactively. A set of MC questions is first displayed onscreen
for each student to work on for several minutes and select her preferred answer; afterwards, the
TLs reveal the correct answers and explain all choices in detail.
There are 2-3 live/interactive sessions scheduled per week, covering the same MC questions.
Each session has a capacity of 200 students, who participate on a first-come-first-serve basis. A
recording of the session is subsequently posted for review.
2) The solution to the problems are pre-recorded (i.e. not live) and posted on Moodle for students to
review throughout the semester.
The tutorial questions (both MC and problems) will be posted before each live tutorial. Ideally, students
should try to answer them prior to attending the tutorials or watching the recordings. These practice
questions are quite similar to past midterm and final exam questions.
The answers to both the MC questions and problems will NOT be posted. Therefore, students who wish
to obtain them should attend the tutorials live online and/or review the recordings of the sessions.
The tutorial sessions begin in the 3rd week of classes. The schedule (days and times) will be posted on
Moodle.

Study Group Sessions:

Student Learning Services is organizing Study Group sessions for ECON 201 and 203, open to any
student taking one of these courses. Students attending the groups will be able to review course content,
work on sample problems together and review prerequisite material needed to succeed in ECON. Study
Groups are facilitated by students who have done well in the course. Study Group Session schedules
will be available on Moodle.

Reading List:
Please note that the schedule is tentative. Due to statutory holidays and potential active class
participation, some chapters may not be covered in their entirety while some material not in the text
(such as current events) may be discussed and tested in exams. As a result, students should attend
classes regularly. Also, to facilitate understanding, students are encouraged to read chapters ahead of
time. It is recommended that the students read Chapters 1 through 3 as a review or introduction to
economics.
Chapter 4: Economic Activity and Performance
Chapter 5: Output, Business Cycles, Growth and Employment
Chapter 6: Aggregate Expenditure and Aggregate Demand
Chapter 7: The Government Sector
Chapter 8: Money, Banking and the Money Supply
Chapter 9: Financial Markets, Interest Rates, Foreign Exchange Rates, and Aggregate Demand
Chapter 10: Central Banking and Monetary Policy 10.1 to 10.4 only
Chapter 11: Traditional AD/AS Model 11.3 to 11.6 only
Chapter 13: Economic Growth 13.1 to 13.3 only
Chapter 14: International Macroeconomics
Web Resources:
MOODLE: available through MyConcordia Portal (source of course information)
Statistics Canada: www.statca.ca
Bank of Canada: www.bankofcanada.ca (source of banking and financial statistics)
Canadian Economy Online: www.canadianeconomy.gc.ca (provincial & territorial economic indicators)
World Bank: www.worldbank.org (important general economic data and article source)
EconoMagic: www.economagic.com (important general macroeconomic data source)
The Economist: http://www.economist.com/markets/indicators (weekly international financial and
economic indicators)

Academic Honesty: It is the responsibility of students to be aware of the rules and regulations
governing assignments and exams that come under the category of behaviour called cheating. The
code of conduct is available in the University Calendar, which is accessible through the Concordia home
page.
Disclaimer
While it is unlikely that significant changes to the course outline will materialize, students are required
to keep up with the materials posted on the Moodle course website, where any changes will be posted.
Students are advised that the Economics Department does not support and cannot guarantee the quality
of any private tutoring service offered by outside institutions. Students are encouraged to use caution
and should be aware that they enrol in such services at their own risk.