This document outlines the key details of the EC 4070: Economic Growth course for Fall 2021. It provides information on the instructor, class times and location, course description, prerequisites, required materials, grading policy, important dates, and COVID-19 protocols. The course will use a macroeconomic perspective to understand differences in economic growth between rich and poor countries. Grading will be based on homework, presentations, exams, and students must follow LSU's COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks and reporting illness.
This document outlines the key details of the EC 4070: Economic Growth course for Fall 2021. It provides information on the instructor, class times and location, course description, prerequisites, required materials, grading policy, important dates, and COVID-19 protocols. The course will use a macroeconomic perspective to understand differences in economic growth between rich and poor countries. Grading will be based on homework, presentations, exams, and students must follow LSU's COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks and reporting illness.
This document outlines the key details of the EC 4070: Economic Growth course for Fall 2021. It provides information on the instructor, class times and location, course description, prerequisites, required materials, grading policy, important dates, and COVID-19 protocols. The course will use a macroeconomic perspective to understand differences in economic growth between rich and poor countries. Grading will be based on homework, presentations, exams, and students must follow LSU's COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks and reporting illness.
This document outlines the key details of the EC 4070: Economic Growth course for Fall 2021. It provides information on the instructor, class times and location, course description, prerequisites, required materials, grading policy, important dates, and COVID-19 protocols. The course will use a macroeconomic perspective to understand differences in economic growth between rich and poor countries. Grading will be based on homework, presentations, exams, and students must follow LSU's COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks and reporting illness.
Email: achanda@lsu.edu Lecture Hours and Place: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00-1:20, Room 1325 BEC. Office Hours and Place: Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-2:00PM, 2323 BEC. You will have to reserve a 15 minute slot in advance, and at most 2 students will be allowed at the same time. I will setup on an online reservation system. You may also reserve a slot and choose to meet me via zoom. Finally, if you have class during these times, you are certainly welcome to schedule a different meeting time.
Course Page: Please visit the Moodle page for course information and announcements.
Course Description: As the name indicates, this is a course about economic growth. We will be using a macroeconomic perspective in trying to understand differences between rich and poor countries. The focus is on the long run. In other words, why are some countries rich and some poor.
Prerequisites:
1. The minimum requirement is either a) 2000 (2001) and 2010 (2011); or b) 2030. ECON 4710 or 4720 is highly recommended (Students who have taken these courses will be at a distinct advantage). In other words, you should be familiar with ba- sic macro concepts – nominal vs real GDP, GDP deflator vs Consumer Price Index, Growth Rate formulas, Components of GDP, income vs expenditure method, Labor force concepts (unemployment rates, LFPR, etc), etc. I will refresh your memory, but not go over them in detail.
2. You should be familiar with high school level differential calculus and algebra (tak- ing derivatives of simple functions, solving two equations with two unknowns, etc). More importantly, if you are uncomfortable with mathematics you should recon- sider enrolling in this course. While we will not be using advanced calculus, solving simple equation systems, drawing graphs, and elementary differential calculus will form the bread and butter of this course.
3. You will need to work with Spreadsheets (Excel, etc) for many of the homework assignments.
1 1. Textbook: Economic Growth, by David Weil. The link is to the third edition which is quite dated in terms of both data and many of the research being discussed. I do not recomment purchasing a new copy of this book. The author is working on a 4th edition, and I will share digital non-downloadable versions of the new chapters. These will form the core material. If you feel you need a hard-copy, you can still purchase a second hand version of the third edition to supplement the viewable notes. Much of the core theory is still the same.
2. Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. This book has been praised universally for its excellent discussion of policies that have worked (or not) on the ground. It provides an interesting contrast to some of the broader generalizations that are covered under the first book. There are various versions available in addi- tion to paperback and hardcover. I will use this book less extensively, but will be an important source for some of the lectures.
3. There will also be selected papers/chapters from academic journals/magazines/books
and will be provided on Moodle.
4. Additional supplementary material will be made available on Moodle.
Method of Instruction and Assessment: This is a face to face course. Though there is no “attendance” grade, the following rules will apply:
1. I intend to fully implement the LSU classroom rules that can be found here How fac- ulty manage facemasks compliance in the classroom. Also please familiarize your- self with the Covid-19 Statement below.
2. There will be no recorded lectures. I understand that you might have to miss lec- tures due to unexpected quarantines. I will provide you with slides, notes, etc that you might need, and will be happy to meet you outside of office hours. However, you will need to provide documentation to be excused from an assignment, etc.
3. Please enter the classroom before I do.
4. Please silence your cell phones before you enter the class. Avoid peeping into check texts.
5. Please refrain from engaging in conversation with your friends or reading maga- zines and any literature unrelated to the course during lectures.
6. If you bring LAPTOPS/TABLETS, please sit in the last row, or at the end of the row.
Grading Policy: The course total grade will be calculated as described in Table 1
1. Class presentations will be done in groups of 2-3 and approximately last half an hour. 50% of the grade will be for the entire group, and 50% for your own part. I will provide more details later.
2 Table 1: Course Grading Scheme
Homework Assignments 20%
Class Presentation 10%
Presentation Summaries 10%
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Final Exam (Comprehensive) 20%
Table 2: Important Dates
Exam 1 (Tentative Date) Tuesday, October 5th , 2021, during class time
Exam 2 (Tentative Date) Tuesday, November 16th, 2021, during class time
Final Exam (as per LSU schedule) Thursday, December 9th, 2021, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Table 3: Point to Letter Grade Conversion
≥ 97 A+ ≥ 87 B+ ≥ 77 C+ ≥ 67 D+ < 60 F
≥ 93 A ≥ 83 B ≥ 73 C ≥ 63 D
≥ 90 A- ≥ 80 B- ≥ 70 C- ≥ 60 D-
2. Presentation Summaries are short 500-750 word summaries of material presented by
other students and will need to be submitted before the corresponding class begins.
3. I will drop the lowest grade from the homework assignment and presentation sum- mary - in calculating the final grade for each of your categories. If you missed an assignment due to unexcused reasons that will count as your lowest grade for the relevant category.
Important Dates: Refer to Table 2.
Please refer to LSU calendar for other important dates such as adding/dropping courses.
Letter Grading: Letter grades will be assigned on the basis of the standard university scale. Please see Table 3
3 Missed Exam Policy: Excuses must be submitted prior to the exam or within three days after the missed exam. Unless the excuse is an officially approved, fully documented, and independently verifiable one, the missed exam will earn zero points. Officially approved is defined in LSU policy statement PS-22.
COVID-19 Statement LSU strongly encourages all students, faculty, and staff to get vaccinated for COVID- 19. Visit www.lsu.edu/roadmap/vaccines/ to learn how to get vaccinated on campus. Vaccination helps keep our campus community safe, helps protect those among us who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, and is our path back to more normal operations and the full college experience that our students deserve. Masks are required in the classroom and must be worn properly, covering the mouth and nose. No eating in the class. Drinking is permissible, but you need to put your mask be- tween “sipping”. It is essential that you fill out the Daily Symptom Check and follow its instructions. Here is information from the University’s recommendations: Physical Isolation and Quarantine The following isolation and quarantine protocols are mandated for everyone in the campus community:
• For confirmed asymptomatic, individuals must isolate for at least 10 days from the date of the positive test. Individuals may return to campus on day 11 if no fever on day 10.
• For confirmed symptomatic, individuals must isolate for at least 10 days from the start of symptoms. Individuals may return to campus on day 11 if no fever on day 10.
If an individual has close contact with someone who is confirmed positive for COVID-19 (close contact is fifteen minutes or more within six feet):
• Unvaccinated individuals will quarantine for 10 days unless they receive a positive test, at which point they will move to isolation.
• Vaccinated individuals who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID- 19 are not required to quarantine. However, they should get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if they do not have symptoms. Vaccinated individuals should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until they receive a negative test result. They should isolate for 10 days if they receive a positive test result.
All faculty, staff, and students are required to report if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
4 If at any point during the semester a student needs to quarantine, they should contact each faculty member for each class and let them know they are in temporary quarantine status and the faculty member should provide the coursework so that the student does not fall behind. LSU will not release the name or personal information of a COVID-19 positive case or close contact.
Academic Misconduct: To uphold high standards of academic integrity, procedures have been established to address academic misconduct. Cases of academic misconduct, as designed in Section 10.1 of the LSU Code of Student Conduct, which occur in this course will be prosecuted vigorously and fully. For a complete list of activities that constitute academic and non- academic misconduct, and the possible sanctions, please refer to the Code: http://students.lsu.edu/saa/students/code.
Special Needs: The University abides by The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabil- itation Act of 1973, as amended, Section 504. Students who are registered with ODS should present the course instructor a copy of the accommodation Letter as early during the semester as possible but no later than three business days prior to the examination date. ODS policy also states accommodations are not retroactive. Accommodations for otherwise qualified students with disabilities do not take effect until you have completed registration with ODS and have provided the faculty member with your Semester Ac- commodation Letter.
Students who have emergency medical information to share with the instructor or for whom special arrangements must be made in the case of the emergency evacuation of the building should inform the instructor of such needs immediately. To ensure complete confidentiality, it is preferred that all meetings and discussions take place during office hours.
