1
Saint Leo University
ECO 201
Principles of Macroeconomics
Course Description:
An introduction to the study of the determination of income, output, employment, and prices in the U.S.
economy. Emphasis on fundamental economic concepts, gross domestic product and its components,
monetary and fiscal policy, and contemporary macroeconomic issues.
Prerequisite:
None
Textbooks:
The textbook information which appears on our Saint Leo Bookstore ordering site is as follows:
Saint Leo University. Economics Today (Custom). ISBN: 9781323789582
Your custom textbook was created from the following National text(s):
Economics Today (Complete): Miller, R. L. (2018). Economics today(19th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson
Education. ISBN: 9780134478777
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, and the role of incentives in decision making.
2. Explain the primary statistics used to measure income, output, employment, and prices in the
aggregate economy.
3. Develop the basic Aggregate Supply/Aggregate Demand (AS/AD) Model.
4. Describe Monetary and Fiscal Policy within the context of the AS/AD model.
5. Relate the concept of deficit to debt by comparing government expenditures to government revenues.
6. Recognize the importance of specialization by comparative advantage in the face of globalization.
7. Distinguish between the balance of trade and the balance of payments.
8. VALUES OUTCOME: Integrate the relevance of Responsible Stewardship in the context of
macroeconomic analysis.
Core Value:
Responsible Stewardship: Our Creator blesses us with an abundance of resources. We foster a spirit of
service to employ our resources to university and community development. We must be resourceful. We
must optimize and apply all of the resources of our community to fulfill Saint Leo University's mission and
goals.
Evaluation:
Chapter Tests (55%)
Homework (10%)
Discussion (10%)
Writing Assignment (10%)
Final Course Assessment (10%)
Peregrine Formative Assessment (5%)
Tests:
2
The graded chapter tests in this class will occur in Modules 2-8, with practice tests in Module 1. All tests
will be completed online, through MyEconLab which is already embedded within D2L. Tests will cover the
material in the textbook and AVPs. The online homework assignments should be completed prior to
taking the tests, as they will help to better prepare you. There is one test per chapter, regardless of the
number of chapters covered per module.
Homework:
All homework assignments will be completed online, through MyEconLab which is already embedded
within D2L. There is one assignment per chapter, regardless of the number of chapters covered per
module. You are allowed two attempts per question.
Discussion:
There will be one required discussion question per module. The discussion questions ask you to apply th ...
1. 1
Saint Leo University
ECO 201
Principles of Macroeconomics
Course Description:
An introduction to the study of the determination of income,
output, employment, and prices in the U.S.
economy. Emphasis on fundamental economic concepts, gross
domestic product and its components,
monetary and fiscal policy, and contemporary macroeconomic
issues.
Prerequisite:
None
Textbooks:
The textbook information which appears on our Saint Leo
Bookstore ordering site is as follows:
Saint Leo University. Economics Today (Custom). ISBN:
2. 9781323789582
Your custom textbook was created from the following National
text(s):
Economics Today (Complete): Miller, R. L. (2018). Economics
today(19th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson
Education. ISBN: 9780134478777
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain the concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, and the
role of incentives in decision making.
2. Explain the primary statistics used to measure income,
output, employment, and prices in the
aggregate economy.
3. Develop the basic Aggregate Supply/Aggregate Demand
(AS/AD) Model.
4. Describe Monetary and Fiscal Policy within the context of
the AS/AD model.
5. Relate the concept of deficit to debt by comparing
government expenditures to government revenues.
6. Recognize the importance of specialization by comparative
advantage in the face of globalization.
7. Distinguish between the balance of trade and the balance of
payments.
8. VALUES OUTCOME: Integrate the relevance of Responsible
3. Stewardship in the context of
macroeconomic analysis.
Core Value:
Responsible Stewardship: Our Creator blesses us with an
abundance of resources. We foster a spirit of
service to employ our resources to university and community
development. We must be resourceful. We
must optimize and apply all of the resources of our community
to fulfill Saint Leo University's mission and
goals.
Evaluation:
Chapter Tests (55%)
Homework (10%)
Discussion (10%)
Writing Assignment (10%)
Final Course Assessment (10%)
Peregrine Formative Assessment (5%)
4. Tests:
2
The graded chapter tests in this class will occur in Modules 2-8,
with practice tests in Module 1. All tests
will be completed online, through MyEconLab which is already
embedded within D2L. Tests will cover the
material in the textbook and AVPs. The online homework
assignments should be completed prior to
taking the tests, as they will help to better prepare you. There
is one test per chapter, regardless of the
number of chapters covered per module.
Homework:
All homework assignments will be completed online, through
MyEconLab which is already embedded
within D2L. There is one assignment per chapter, regardless of
the number of chapters covered per
module. You are allowed two attempts per question.
Discussion:
There will be one required discussion question per module. The
5. discussion questions ask you to apply the
material you have learned in that module at a deeper level.
While there is no specific length requirement,
discussions are graded based on the quality and understanding
of your analysis. You are encouraged to
not only reference your readings, but to also conduct further
research online to enhance your postings. For
full credit, you need a minimum one quality response to the
question AND two quality responses to
classmates’ postings. Responses of “I agree” or “Great post!”
do not count as quality posts.
Writing Assignment:
A written assignment is due in module 3. This assignment asks
you to synthesize the concepts learned in
your readings with Saint Leo’s Core Values. The paper will be
automatically run through Turnitin.com for
verification of authenticity. The paper must between 2-3 pages,
double spaced, with size 12 font. Your
sources must be fully cited using the APA formatting style. A
detailed rubric is also provided.
Final Course Assessment:
The Final Course Assessment will be taken in Module 8 in
6. addition to the module test. It is a
comprehensive multiple-choice assessment of the learning
outcomes from Modules 1-8.
Peregrine Formative Assessment:
At the start of this course you will be required to take a
formative assessment, the Peregrine Formative
Assessment. The exam should take 60 to 90 minutes to
complete, though you have up to three minutes
per question. You are permitted two 15 minute breaks. Once
you click on the exam link inside the course
in D2L, you will be taken directly to the Peregrine login screen
to enter your name and student ID. You
will earn 5% of your course grade for taking this assessment
and will be automatically populate in the
ECO-201 course Gradebook.
The Formative Exam in this course is provided by Peregrine
Academic Services. The results are used to
measure program-level learning outcomes as required by
accreditation authorities. Please keep in mind
that this exam is an initial program-level assessment of your
academic knowledge. As such, it is not
expected that you will necessarily know the answer to every
7. question. It is a standardized test used by
many different colleges and universities. You can find detailed
instructions via the link in the Course
Home menu.
Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Learning
Outcome
Assessment Method(s)
1 Test question, Homework question, Final Course Assessment
3
2 Test question, Writing Assignment, Homework question,
Final
Course Assessment
3 Test question, Homework question, Final Course Assessment
4 Test question, Homework question, Final Course Assessment
5 Test question, Homework question, Final Course Assessment
6 Test question, Homework question, Final Course Assessment
8. 7 Writing Assignment
Grading Scale: The following distribution will be used in
assigning grades
(decimal points will be rounded to the nearest whole number at
semester’s end):
Grade Score (%)
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
D+ 67-69
D 60-66
F
10. of Trade-Offs
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
• Discuss the differences between microeconomics and
macroeconomics.
• Evaluate the role that rational self-interest plays in economic
analysis.
• Distinguish between positive and normative economics.
• Explain why the scarcity problem induces individuals to
consider
opportunity costs.
• Discuss why obtaining increasing increments of any particular
good
typically entails giving up more and more units of other goods.
• Explain why the economy faces a trade-off between
consumption goods
and capital goods.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
11. Read the assigned materials
Post an initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday
11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete Peregrine Formative Assessment: Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 1 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 2 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 1 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 2 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 2 The Macroeconomy: Unemployment, Inflation, and
Deflation
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
12. • Explain how to calculate the official unemployment rate and
discuss the
types of unemployment.
• Describe how price indexes are calculated and define the key
types of price
indexes.
• Distinguish between nominal and real interest rates.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 7 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 7 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
5
13. Module 3 Measuring the Economy’s Performance
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
• Define gross domestic product (GDP) and understand the
limitations of using
GDP as a measure of national welfare.
• Explain the expenditure and income approaches to tabulating
GDP.
• Distinguish between nominal GDP and real GDP.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 8 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 8 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
14. Submit writing assignment Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Read Economics Today, Chapter 8 Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Module 4 Real GDP and the Price Level in the Long Run and
Classical and Keynesian
Macro Analyses
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
Describe the effect of economic growth on the long-run
aggregate supply
curve.
Explain why the aggregate demand curve slopes downward,
and list key
factors that cause this curve to shift.
Discuss the meaning of long-run equilibrium for the economy
as a whole.
Describe the short-run determination of equilibrium real GDP
and the price
level in the classical model.
15. Describe what factors cause shifts in the short-run and long-
run aggregate
supply curves.
Evaluate the effects of aggregate demand and supply shocks
on equilibrium
real GDP in the short run.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 10 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 11 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 10 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 11 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
16. 6
Module 5 Fiscal Policy and Deficit Spending and the Public
Debt
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
• Use traditional Keynesian analysis to evaluate the effects of
discretionary
fiscal policies.
• Discuss ways in which indirect crowding out and direct
expenditure offsets
can reduce the effectiveness of fiscal policy actions.
• Describe how certain aspects of fiscal policy function as
automatic stabilizers
for the economy.
• Explain how federal government budget deficits occur.
• Analyze the macroeconomic effects of government budget
deficits.
• Describe possible ways to reduce the public debt.
Assignments
17. Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 13 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 14 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 13 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 14 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 6 Money, Banking, and Central Banking and Domestic
and International
Dimensions of Monetary Policy
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
Define the fundamental functions of money and identify key
18. properties that
any good that functions as money must possess.
Describe the basic structure and functions of the Federal
Reserve System.
Determine the maximum potential extent that the money
supply will change
following a Federal Reserve monetary policy action.
Describe how Federal Reserve monetary policy actions
influence market
interest rates.
Evaluate how expansionary and contractionary monetary
policy actions affect
equilibrium real GDP and the price level in the short run.
Understand the equation of exchange and its importance in the
quantity
theory of money and prices.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
19. 7
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 15 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 16 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 15 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 16 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 7 Comparative Advantage and the Open Economy
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
• Explain why nations can gain from specializing in production
and engaging in
international trade.
• Understand common arguments against free trade and why
nations restrict
trade.
• Identify key international agreements and organizations that
20. adjudicate trade
disputes among nations.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 32 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 32 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Module 8 Exchange Rates and the Balance of Payments
Objectives
At the conclusion of this module, you will be able to:
• Distinguish between the balance of trade and the balance of
21. payments.
• Outline how exchange rates are determined in the markets for
foreign
exchange and what factors induce changes in equilibrium.
• Understand how policymakers can go about attempting to fix
exchange rates.
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Read the assigned materials
Post initial response to the Discussion Board Thursday 11:59
PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 33 Homework Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete MyEconLab Chapter 33 Test Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT
Complete Final Exam Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT