The Macroeconomy (ECON7021)

Course overview

This is an intermediate course in Macroeconomics. This course covers important macroeconomic issues such as the determinants of national expenditure and income, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. The course integrates macroeconomic theory and policy with applications to recent international and Australian economic episodes.

ECON7021 is an intermediate course in macroeconomics that introduces decision-makers in the managerial and business profession to modern macroeconomic theories and models. Such models shed light on macroeconomic issues that influence the performance of domestic businesses and industrial enterprises operating in a competitive international setting. The workshops will focus on contemporary macroeconomic theories and policy issues confronting Australia and the global economy in the short and long run, allowing students to debate important macroeconomic policy issues. In tutorial sessions, students can clarify their understanding of macroeconomic concepts and theories. Students are expected to work towards a proper understanding of economic modelling techniques.

The course includes access to learning content on the UQ Extend platform, with 70 studio-produced lecture video segments, each around 2 to 14 minutes in duration, and accompanying learning activities. As students must work through the relevant UQ Extend course content before each scheduled workshop (lecture), these workshops will focus on the more complex concepts and relevant topical macroeconomic issues, providing students with additional learning opportunities in class.

Course requirements

Assumed background

It is assumed students have completed an introductory macroeconomics course such as ECON7001, ECON1020 or equivalent.

For Master of Commerce students, it is assumed students have already completed ECON7002.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ECON1020 or 7001 or 7002

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ECON2020 or 7020

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

• Workshops (scheduled lectures) commence in Teaching Week 1.
• Tutorials commence in Teaching Week 2.
• Tutorial Preferencing: Please refer to My Timetable (available via the my.UQ dashboard) for more information on the tutorial preferencing and allocation process.
• Consultations commence in Teaching Week 2.

Students should refer to the timetable before the commencement of classes to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information, as late room changes may occur from time to time. The timetable is published through the UQ Public Timetable found in the Apps section of my.UQ. The timetable can be downloaded here: Public Timetable.

Important Dates

• Public Holidays: Wed 14 August (Royal Queensland Show), Mon 7 October (King's Birthday).
• In-Semester Break: 23 - 29 September. Semester 2 classes recommence Mon 30 September.

Please see the Learning Activities section of this Course Profile for the timetabling implications of public holidays.

Aims and outcomes

• a theoretical and practical understanding of the key relationships and causal links between well-defined major macroeconomic aggregates;ﾠ
• an understanding of the role and workings of macroeconomic policy;ﾠ
• a coherent, analytical macroeconomic modelling framework from which to evaluate these policies critically;ﾠ
• and the ability to apply these concepts in a real-world setting.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

Online Quiz (Inspera Assessment)

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

30%

Due date

9/09/2024 - 10/09/2024

(70-min timer)

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03

Task description

Submission guidelines

The Online Quiz must be completed and submitted electronically by the due date and time through the relevant assessment submission link, located in the Assessment > Online Quiz (Inspera Assessment) section of the course Blackboard site.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 calendar days to ensure timely feedback to other students.

Late submission

Exams submitted after the end of the submission time will incur a late penalty.

Impact Comparison

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

25%

Due date

11/10/2024 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit the Impact Comparison research report electronically via Turnitin on Learn.UQ (Blackboard) by the due date and time.

All Impact Response research reports must be submitted electronically by the due date and time through the relevant Turnitin submission link, located in the Assessment > Impact Comparison (Research Report) section of the course Learn.UQ (Blackboard) site.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 calendar days to ensure timely feedback to other students.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Policy Response

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia

Category

Creative Production/ Exhibition

Weight

30%

Due date

4/11/2024 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit the Policy Response video electronically on Learn.UQ (Blackboard) by the due date and time.

All Policy Response video presentations must be submitted electronically by the due date and time through the relevant assessment submission link, located in the Assessment > Policy Response (Video) section of the course Learn.UQ (Blackboard) site.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 calendar days to ensure timely feedback to other students.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Author, Moderate and Answer Questions via RiPPLE

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Participation/ Student contribution, Quiz

Weight

15% (3 x 5%)

Due date

Round 1 23/08/2024 4:00 pm

Round 2 20/09/2024 4:00 pm

Round 3 25/10/2024 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03

Task description

Submission guidelines

Detailed instructions for using RiPPLE will be provided on Learn.UQ (Blackboard).

All author, moderate and practice (answer) tasks must be submitted electronically by the due date and time through RiPPLE, located in the Assessment > RiPPLE section of the course Learn.UQ (Blackboard) site.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 calendar days to ensure timely feedback to other students.

Late submission

You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

A student’s final overall end-of-semester percentage mark will be rounded to determine their final grade. For example, 64.5% rounds to 65%, while 64.4% rounds to 64%.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Plagiarism

The School of Economics is committed to reducing the incidence of plagiarism. Further information on plagiarism and how to avoid an allegation of plagiarism is available in this course profile under Policies & Guidelines. Please refer to the Academic Integrity Modules (AIM). It is strongly recommended that you complete the AIM if you have not already done so.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

All course content, including workshop slides and tutorial materials, will be made available to students through Learn.UQ (Blackboard). The Learn.UQ site further provides access to UQ Extend, a learning platform where studio-produced lecture videos, slide handouts, and other learning materials can be accessed.

Note: Workshop slides are not a substitute for the learning content on UQ Extend and required readings. Instead, workshops provide additional learning opportunities, with workshop slides being a supplemental learning guide.

Students will maximise their benefit from this course if they read The Economist magazine or newspapers such as the Australian Financial Review to keep abreast of current macroeconomic conditions (e.g., inflation, interest rates, financial crises, economic growth). This course will use current issues as examples during the workshops as much as possible. In addition, links to useful articles and websites will be provided.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Additional learning activity information

Make sure you check your student email and the ECON7021 Learn.UQ (Blackboard) site regularly (at least every few days). All important correspondence will be communicated to students via email or Learn.UQ throughout the semester.

UQ Extend

Before attending each weekly workshop, you must work through the relevant UQ Extent content (including videos, readings and learning activities).

Workshops and Tutorials

It is essential that you attend the weekly workshops and tutorials. The workshops will cover the more challenging concepts and practical applications, while further theoretical and practical applications will occur during tutorials. Brief tutorial answers will be added to Learn.UQ at the end of each tutorial week. However, reviewing these answers alone will not lead to an in-depth understanding of the key concepts and theories and not all answers on Learn.UQ will necessarily be covered as thoroughly as during the tutorials.

All tutorials in any week cover the same work and are based on material covered in the previous teaching week's workshop and UQ Extend content. Most tutorials work through a subset of pre-set questions available on the ECON7021 Learn.UQ site. You are expected to work through the material before attending a tutorial. Tutors will not merely provide answers during tutorial sessions, as that is not their job. Instead, tutors will direct questions to you during tutorial classes to encourage students' active participation.

Consultation

Consultation is your chance to speak directly with the teaching staff. A timetable listing the consultation times and locations of teaching staff will be posted on the ECON7021 Learn.UQ site under Course Help. There is no need to make an appointment for a consultation, and you may attend any teaching staff's consultation session. However, note that consultation sessions may be busy before assessment due dates.

Do not hesitate to seek one-on-one help from teaching staff during consultation sessions. They are there to help. However, teaching staff will expect that you have performed your side of the bargain. If it becomes apparent that you are not dedicating 10 hours per week to ECON7021, you will likely be asked to return to consultation only once you have done so.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.