Bangor University

Transfer Abroad Undergraduate Programme

Module Implementation Plan (Draft 2)

MODULE: / BUS-111 Micro Economics
BUS-112 Macro Economics / LECTURER: Amos Rao
INTAKE: / 2012 / SEMESTER: / 3
ACTIVITY TYPES: / Lectures, Tutorials, Presentations, Examinations, Current Affairs Briefs

Start Date: Oct 8, 2012 End Date: Nov 2, 2012

Year / Semester / Academic weeks / Module Code / Module Name / Credits / Lecture hrs/week / Tutorial Hrs/week / Weeks
II / Fall / Week 6 ~ 9
2012/10/08~2012/11/02 / BUS-111 / Micro Economics / 10 / 3 Hours for each session
Monday ~Friday
Session: 0900 AM~1200 PM / 5 / 4
BUS-112 / Macro Economics / 10

Course Detail:

This module will provide a basic understanding of theories and applications of micro and macroeconomics, vis-à-vis that of current business happenings around the globe. At the end of the module, the students should comprehend the fundamental principles of economics, how economists approach real-life issues, and how to use effectively micro and macro economic theories in explaining business and market phenomena.

About the Lecturer:

Amos Rao is the Founder & Managing Director of FBS International LLP, a cross-cultural immersion business for corporations, schools and individuals. Over the last 12 years, he worked primarily in posturing and operationalizing ideas, where he strategized approaches to secure support for organizations. Amos has 8 years of lecturing experiences in Asia’s higher education institutions, where he had adjunct taught 56 modules and supervised 17 dissertations. He holds an MBA from the University of Western Sydney and also has an undergraduate degree in the Arts & Social Sciences from the National University of Singapore. Amos is a Doctorate student in Sustainable Development (Economics) & Diplomacy at the EUCLIDE (Pôle Universitaire EUCLIDE / Euclid University).

Assessment

Assessment Types / Date / Value
Class Attendance & Participation / 2012-10-08 to 2012-11-01 / 5%
Group Presentation / 2012-10-27 / 20%
Group Report / 2012-10-29 / 25%
Final Exam / 2012-11-01 / 50%
Week / Activity Type / Scheduled Contact Hours / Activity Details / Core Reading + Additional Reading + Practice Material / Learning Outcomes / Student Preparation for Tutorial
Week 01
Monday
Oct 08 / Lecture / 3hr / Lecturer & Module Introduction (15 minutes)
Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Ten Principles of Economics
Think like an economist / Textbook, Ch 1
Textbook, Ch 2 / To understand the ten fundamental principles on which the study of economics is based. To understand how economists approach problems
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 1 and Ch 2
Tuesday
Oct 09 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Interdependence and the gain from trade / Textbook, Ch 3 / To understand how people and countries gain from trade
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 3
Wednesday
Oct 10 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
The market forces of supply and demand / Textbook, Ch 4 / To understand how supply and demand for a good determines both the quantity produced and the price at which the good sells
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 4
Thursday
Oct 11 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Elasticity and its applications / Textbook, Ch 5 / To understand how much buyers and sellers respond to changes in market conditions
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 5
Friday
Oct 12 / Lecture / 1hr / Review of Week 1
Group Assessments Tips & Strategies
Week 02
Monday
Oct 15 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Supply, demand, and government policies
The costs of production / Textbook, Ch 6
Textbook, Ch 13 / To understand the impact of government policies on competitive markets using the tools of supply and demand learned in
Lectures 4 and 5
To understand the costs of production and develop the firm’s cost curves.
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 6, Ch13
Tuesday
Oct 16 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Firms in competitive markets
Monopoly (2 hr 15 minutes) / Textbook, Ch 14
Textbook, Ch 15 / To understand the behavior of competitive firms—firms that do not
have market power.
To understand the production and pricing decisions of monopolists, the social implications of their market power, and the ways in which governments might
respond to the problems caused by monopolists
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 14, Ch 15
Wednesday
Oct 17 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Oligopoly and monopolistic competition / Textbook, Ch 16
Textbook, Ch 17 / To understand the behaviour of firms in a market in which only a few sellers offer similar or identical products (oligopoly) and in a market in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identical (monopolistic competition)
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 16, Ch 17
Thursday
Oct 18 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Measuring a nation’s income
Measuring the cost of living / Textbook, Ch 23
Textbook, Ch24 / To understand the measurement and the use of gross domestic product (GDP). To understand how to generate a price index and how to employ a price index to compare figures from different points in time and to adjust interest rates for inflation.
Tutorial / 1hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 23 and Ch 24
Friday
Oct 19 / Lecture / 1hr / Review of Week 1
Preview of the Final Examinations I
Week 03
Monday
Oct 22 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Production and growth
Saving, investment and the financial system / Textbook, Ch 25
Textbook, Ch 26 / To understand the long-run determinants of both the level and the growth rate of real GDP per person. To understand how savings and investment are coordinated in the loanable funds market.
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 25 and Ch 26
Tuesday
Oct 23 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Unemployment / Textbook, Ch 28 / To understand how economists measure the performance of the labor market and how the government might use to lower certain types of unemployment
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 28
Wednesday
Oct 24 / HHU Autumn Sports Meets 2012
Thursday
Oct 25 / HHU Autumn Sports Meets 2012
Friday
Oct 26 / HHU Autumn Sports Meets 2012
Saturday
Oct 27 / Lecture / 3hr / Group Presentations / Group Presentation Deadline
Week 04
Monday
Oct 29 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
The monetary system
Money growth and inflation / Textbook, Ch 29
Textbook, Ch 30 / To understand how the monetary system works. To understand the issues in money growth and inflation. / Group Report Deadline
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 29 and Ch 30
Tuesday
Oct 30 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Aggregate demand and aggregate supply
The influence of monetary and fiscal policy on aggregate demand / Textbook, Ch 33
Textbook, Ch 34 / To understand how aggregate demand and aggregate supply work. To understand how monetary & fiscal policy affects aggregate demand.
Tutorial / 2hr / Problems and Applications – Ch 33 and Ch 34
Wednesday
Oct 31 / Lecture / 3hr / Daily Business/ Current Affairs (15 minutes)
Preview of the Final Examinations II (1 hour 30 minutes)
Revision with Lecturer (1 hour 15 minutes)
Tutorial / 2hr / Revision with Tutor
Thursday
Nov 01 / Exam / 2.5hr / Examination (Exact Timing & Location To be Confirmed)
Likely to be from 9am – 11.30am / Final Examinations
Friday
Nov 02 / Marking Day (Morning & Afternoon) & Examination Sub-Board Meeting (Evening) - For Lecturer & Tutor/s Only

Core Texts:

N.Gregory Mankiw, (2011) Principles of Economics 6th Ed., USA, South-Western College Pub (ISBM: 9780538453059)

Core Text Available in China:

N. Gregory Mankiw, (2009) Principles of Economics 4th Ed., 曼昆经济学原理( 第4版)中国, 清华大学出版社, (ISBN: 9787302204367)

N. Gregory Mankiw, (2009) Principles of Economics 5th Ed, 曼昆经济学原理( 第5版)中国,北京大学出版社 (ISBN:9787301150894)

Online Resources:

N. Gregory Mankiw, (2012) Principles of Economics 6th Ed, USA, South-Western College Pub (ISBN: 9780538453059)

Reference Books:

Campbell R. McConnell & Stanley L. Brue (2011), Economics 19th Ed., USA, McGraw-Hill/Irwin (ISBN:978-0073511443)

John Sloman, (2010) Economics 7th Ed., USA, Prentice Hall (ISBN: 978-0273729167)