How to Do Your Best in This Course

Intermediate Macroeconomics

UNI Professor Kanago

“Studying is something you do for yourself.  Studying means thinking about what you're reading, thinking about your lecture notes.  My dictionary defines studying as "applying one's mind purposefully to the acquisition of knowledge."  I couldn't have put it better myself.”  Norm Weiner

http://www.oswego.edu/academics/opportunities/honors/program/dowell.html

Attend Class Every Time.  If you miss a day, get a copy of the notes from someone in the class and then ask me if you have questions.

Similar to a math or statistics class your comprehension of current material depends on your understanding of past material because the material covered in a class is frequently used again in subsequent classes.  You will learn more and find the material more interesting if you attend frequently enough to see the whole picture.

Students who miss class on a regular basis or are inattentive never earn better than a C- and frequently get D’s of F’s. 

Read the Text.

Students who read the text do better.  The text provides different examples and additional information.  You set your own pace when you read the text, which improves your understanding of the notes.  Also, some questions on the exam may be based on material covered in the text but not the notes.

Use the Supplements to Practice to Improve Your Understanding

To do well in this course you must study outside of class.  Use the textbook reviews, study guide, and end-of-the chapter problems to reinforce your understanding and practice applying the material.  Study with the goals of improving your understanding and correcting errors in your thinking. 

Study on a Regular Basis. 

Cramming does not work well in courses, such as this one, that require you to think critically and apply what you learn.  It takes time to learn and apply tools, comprehend the logic of arguments, appreciate implications, and consider the evidence.  I recommend that you spend about three hours outside of class for every hour in class.  Spend more if you want to learn the material better or have difficulty understanding.   Use the text, supplements,  office hours, quizzes  and homework as opportunities to practice and diagnose your understanding and abilities. 

Study to Understand and Apply not Just to Memorize

Learning macroeconomics requires remembering some key concepts and memorizing definitions.  Without these, you would have a hard time even knowing what theory was trying to explain.  However, you must work to understand theories and the graphs and logic behind them.  You must learn the general framework rather than memorizing results.  You will be tested over how the models are set up and how they work.  There are too many results to memorize; you need to know the theory to see how the results are derived.

Get a Good Start

Do not fall behind. The chapter and lectures apply facts and results from previous chapters and lectures.

Be on the safe side and study more intensively than you think you need to for the first exam.  Putting in a solid effort at the start to learn the material and do well on the first exam will make the rest of course easier.

See Me if You Need Help

Many students do very well in this course.  On exams there are a number of perfect of near perfect scores.  So, the information and resources are available to do well.  If there is something you do not understand or that looks like a mistake do not let it go.  Talk to me, it is my job to help you learn.

Little Changes Can Yield Big Results

The difference in points between just getting a C+ and just missing a B- is a relatively small number of points.  So, one or two more right on each exam, can add up to a big difference in your course grade.  Similarly, missing a few classes, not reading a couple of chapters, or not making time to use the study guide can significantly lower your grade.  The benefits of doing just a little more work each week, can add up over the semester.

Make a Commitment to Succeed

Make the same commitment to doing well in your courses that you would make to advance in your career or operate a successful business.  Think of your college education as the beginning of your professional career.   Establish and maintain good work habits and professional behavior now.

Prerequisites

Both Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics are prerequisites for this course.  Admission to the university presumes some basic understanding of graphs and algebra.  If you did not do well or do not remember very much from these courses or if your math skills are weak, you are at a disadvantage and will have to work harder.

The Exams

Content

The exams are based on class notes, the text, current events discussed during class or posted on the website, and other course resources.  While there is a lot of overlap between the lecture and the text, I often use different illustrations and examples, add material where I think it will help students better understand, and skip some topics to focus on topics students usually  need the most help with.  The more you come to class, read the text, and use the supplements, the more likely you are to find exam questions familiar and easy to answer.  The more often you see a topic, the more likely it is to be on the exam.   All questions are based on material covered in the text, notes, and other course resources.  Of course questions may be variations of illustrations and examples, may require you to compare or combine concepts, or apply the material.  Please let me  know if you think there are questions that are not based on what is covered in the course resources.

Format

The exams consist of true-false and multiple-choice questions.  Details are on the syllabus. 

A Few Sample Questions and Some Generalizations

1.      Which of the following is true concerning nominal GDP?

A.     It is given in the prices of some base year.

B.     It includes the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds.

C.     It includes final goods and services.

D.     None of the above are correct.

2.      Other things the same, in which case(s) would the interest rate rise?

A.     if the saving curve shifts left, but not if the investment curve shifts left.

B.     if the investment curve shifts left, but not if the saving curve shifts left.

C.     if either the saving curve or the investment curve shifts left.

D.     None of the above are correct.

3.      A decrease in the expected future marginal product of capital schedule causes

A.     investment demand to increase and so increases the interest rate.

B.     investment demand to increase and so decreases the interest rate.

C.     investment demand to decrease and so increases the interest rate.

D.     investment demand to decrease and so decreases the interest rate.

4.      Other things the same, in the AD/AS model an increase in the money supply raises employment in the

A.     short run and the long run.

B.     in the short run, but not the long run.

C.     in the long run, but not the short run.

D.     in neither the short run nor the long run.

Some questions, such as #1, primarily test your knowledge of facts and definitions.  You need to know basic facts about GDP to get the right answer to question #1.  However, if you know its definition or what nominal means, you would be more likely to get the question right.  The more you know and understand, the more likely you are to get right answers.

Questions do not typically have answers that can be eliminated without knowing at least something about the material.  So, being “test smart” will not help you.  To do well on the exams you must know, understand, and be able to apply the material.

Some questions, such as #2, require you to understand how conclusions are reached.  As another example, a question may ask about why a curve has a downward slope instead of simply asking what the curve’s slope is.

Some questions, such as #2, require you to be able to apply the material.  Even if the text and notes only look at the consequences of an increase in some variable, you should be able to apply the principles learned in class to derive the consequences of a decrease.  If you really understand the concepts, you can apply them to other cases.  So, exam questions may use different numbers or directions than those used in examples from the notes and text.

Some questions, such as #3, may test you over two or more concepts.  To get the correct answer to #3 you need to know what investment demand means, what the marginal product of capital schedule means, and how to use a model the explains how interest rates are determined.

Some questions, such as #4, require you to understand what happens in different cases.  In economics, as in real life, the consequences of a change often depend on the circumstances and the time frame.

Tips on Preparing for Exams

My advice on doing well in the course is also intended to help you learn and be prepared for the exams.  Here’s a summary and some further specific actions you can take to prepare.

One more time, the more you know, understand and can do, the more likely you are to do well on the exams.

Psychological studies find that people tend to reject ideas and methods that are contrary to their past understanding.  Studies of students who took science courses show that there is a tendency, even for students who did well in a course, to revert to misconceptions and faulty explanations they thought were correct before they took the course.   It is appropriate be skeptical of ideas and explanations that seem counterintuitive.  However, it is also appropriate to think critically about potential errors in your knowledge and understanding.  Beware of the bias to hold on to what you think you already know, even when there is convincing evidence to the contrary.

Challenge yourself to think critically about the material.  Economics teaches you to think; it provides exercise for the mind.  Consider how what you learn in a chapter relates to what you have learned in previous ones.  Make and work through variations of examples in the text and notes. If you know what happens when demand shifts right and you also know what happens when supply shifts right, think about what happens if they both shift right.  Look for general points.  Think about the implications of conclusions.   Keep asking yourself, could I explain this to someone else, do I find this argument convincing?   If you cannot make sense of how conclusions are reached or explain their relevance, you do not really comprehend them.

Some exam questions are similar to questions from the study guide, the suggested end of the chapter problems, the online quizzes, handouts, and emails.  So, the more you work with these resources, the more likely you are to do well on the exams.

Although the text and lectures often use numerical examples, it is more important to understand the equations, how to set them up, and their implications then to be able to substitute and solve.  I expect you to understand why and how the computations work.

The text and I often link together previous conclusions or assumptions in a chain to reach another conclusion.  For example in the short run an increase in the money supply decreases interest rates, the decrease in interest rates raises investment spending, the increase in investment spending leads to an increase in the price level and real GDP.  You can memorize these conclusions, but you will learn more and do better if you can offer an explanation for each link in the chain.