ECONOMICS 351:
MONEY AND BANKING
SECTION 001
COURSE GUIDE AND SYLLABUS
The Pennsylvania State University at Erie
The Behrend College
Spring 2012
I. BASICS
A. Instructor
Name: Mr. Ed Miseta
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].
DO NOT SEND ME EMAIL THROUGH ANGEL. I DO NOT READ MESSAGES IN
ANGEL. USE ONE OF THE EMAIL ADDRESSES ABOVE.
Phone: Office – 898-6333; Cell – 490-3835. If you can’t reach me leave a message and I will call
you back as soon as possible. If you leave me a voice mail, make sure you leave it on my cell
phone, NOT my office phone.
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00 to 11:00
Wednesday/Friday 2:30 to 4:00
My office is 285 Burke REDC.
B. Class Meetings – Mon/Wed/Fri 8:00 – 8:50 in 207 REDC.
C. Textbooks and Materials
Required Text: Dean Croushore, M&B, 2nd Edition, (Cengage South-Western, 2009).
This is a new edition of the book so I doubt with will find any used copies in the bookstore.
D. ANGEL Web Site
Class website: This course has a website on Angel (http://angel.psu.edu), PSU’s tool for on-line
course material. It will include the syllabus, selected readings, homework problems, answers,
quizzes, and other useful information. You will need to connect with this site to download
required course information.
E. Prerequisites: What you need before taking this class
Econ 102 and Econ 104 are both requirements for taking this course. I cannot make any
exceptions to this. If you have not taken Econ 102 or 104, you cannot take this course. I also
recommend that you not be taking either one concurrently with this class.
Registration: You MUST clear up all registration problems promptly. If you do not get any and
all registration problems taken care of, you may be administratively disenrolled from the class.
It’s your responsibility to take care of this.
E-mail and Web connection: I will post most required assignments on the website for this class,
and/or distribute them via e-mail. You must ensure that your PSU e-mail account works, and
learn how to use it if you don’t already know how. If you use some account other than the PSU
account, you should forward the mail from the official PSU e-mail address to the other account.
Be aware that students will sometimes have problems using other accounts rather than the
official PSU account. If you choose to use another account, YOU must take care of any problems
that arise as a result. I’m not a techno-wizard, and won’t be able to help you. “I didn’t get the
assignment because there was a problem with my e-mail account” is not a valid excuse for not
having the work done as assigned.
You are responsible for checking your e-mail and the website regularly. I will often announce in
class when I’ve sent or posted assignments, so be aware if you have not gotten an e-mail that you
should have. If this happens, please get the assignment from the website or one of your class
contacts. Please do NOT e-mail me asking me to re-send an assignment; I probably will not be
able to respond. It’ll be quicker and surer for you to get them from another student in your class.
I sometimes will send things spur of the moment, late the night before class as I prepare, so
you’ll want to check your account the evening and morning before class.
Math: I presume that you have learned about, and can work with, fractions, decimals and simple
algebra. If you successfully complete this course, you will also be a whiz with graphs. I realize
that some of these skills may have atrophied if you haven't used them lately, but I presume that
only a brief review on my part will be sufficient to get you up to speed. If your math skills are
very rusty, or if you didn't learn this stuff before getting here, you may need to put in some
outside time to improve those skills. The Learning Resource Center (upstairs in the Library
and at http://www.pserie.psu.edu/learnctr/lrnctrindex.html) will tutor you in basic math
skills for free.
F. Some Important Dates:
Classes Begin:
MLK Day (No Class):
First exam:
Second exam:
Spring Break:
Late Drop Deadline:
Classes end:
Final Exams:
Monday January 9th
Monday January 16th
Typically at about the 1/3 point in the class.
Typically at about the 2/3 point in the class.
March 4 to 10
Friday April 6th
Friday April 27th
April 30 to May 4
The Registrar will release the official Final Exam Schedule about the middle of the semester.
The final exam is not optional, and it is not available at any other time except with a serious
reason (something beyond your control) and proof.
II. COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is an introduction to money, banking, and financial markets. This course will cover
the following aspects of banking and financial markets:
- Money, the financial system, and the payments system
- Financial instruments, financial markets, and financial institutions
- Banks and their role in the financial markets
- Banks and monetary policy
- Bank balance sheets, regulation/deregulation, and goals
- Governments role in banking/Bank Regulation
- Money growth, demand, and monetary policy
- The Federal Reserve System, its structure, its goals, and its role in money creation
III. GRADING
As with most econ courses, this is not the easiest subject matter in the world--but it is among the
most important. So how do I design a course to help you learn it? Key aspects include: 1) the
textbook; 2) the classes; 3) quizzes, and 4) exams. My grading scheme is set up to give you
incentives to do the things that will help you learn--the things you should be doing anyway--and
reward you for doing them.
Exam 1
Exam 2
Quizzes
Final Exam
Total
25%
25%
25%
25%
100%
A. Quizzes: 25% of your grade
In this course, one of the most important things you need to do is keep up with the material.
Many students think they can show up for class without reading the book or reviewing their
notes from the previous class. This is actually the easiest way for you to get behind and fall into a
hole. Blowing off the reading and studying until the night before the exam is a bad idea. Quizzes
are my way of forcing you to keep up with the class material.
Whenever I assign pages in the text to be read, you will take a quiz on Angel. The quizzes will
appear on Angel at midnight on Sunday and will disappear from Angel at midnight on the
following Sunday. Therefore you will have an entire week to do each one. There are no
makeups on these quizzes. If you do not get it done before it disappears from Angel, you
will get a zero on it. No exceptions. All of the questions will relate to the reading in the book.
The quizzes will be completed on ANGEL. Quizzes will have 10 questions (True/False and
Multiple Choice) and you will have 15 minutes to complete them. A timer will let you know
how much time you have left. You must submit the quiz before the time is up, or it will be
automatically submitted.
Even though these quizzes are open book/open note, don’t assume they will be easy. There is a
lot of information covered in many of the chapters. I strongly recommend that you read the
chapters and take notes on it prior to taking the quizzes.
I will not be able to post the quiz answers for you to review. My quiz database for each chapter
contains about 40 questions. When a student takes the quiz, Angel will randomly select 10
questions from the 40. Angel will also mix up the questions as well as the answers. That means I
cannot post the quiz answers because each student will technically have a different quiz.
If you want to know what questions you missed, send me an email and I will send you the
questions you missed along with the correct answers after everyone has completed the quiz.
I will occasionally give in-class quizzes as well. These will be announced in advance. If I ask
the class to read an article, and it becomes obvious to me that most students have not, I may
also give an in-class quiz. You will DEFINITELY have an in-class quiz on the two days that I
hand back exams.
Realize that the quizzes account for twenty-five percent of your grade (the same amount as each
of the exams). You can virtually assure yourself of a high grade on them by reading the
chapters thoroughly and taking good notes on them. Most students will find that the quizzes
will help to pull their grades up--although a few will not. At the end of semester, it's hard to have
sympathy for a student who fell a little short of their desired grade, but did very poorly on these
open-book quizzes.
C. Exams: 75% of your grade.
There will be three major exams, including the final. Each will be announced at least a week in
advance, and will take place at about the 1/3 points of the course. They will be standard fullperiod exams. The exams are designed to test your knowledge--not mere memorization. They
will test whether you understand the material, and can use it to solve problems such as may be
encountered in the outside world after you leave Penn-State Erie. Most students find my exams
to be challenging. If you don't know the material well, you may also be pressed for time.
Each exam, including the final, will be non-cumulative (as much as possible).
***The exam questions are all multiple choice.***
D. General Information About Grading
I calculate your grade in the following way:
Course grade = 0.25*(quiz average) + 0.25*(exam 1 grade) + 0.25*(exam 2 grade) +
0.25*(final exam grade)
For each grading item, I use percentage grades (not raw scores or points.)
You are responsible for all assignments announced in class, including those made in classes from
which you are absent.
I will use the following cutoffs for letter grades:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
D
F
93%+
90-92%
87-89%
83-86%
80-82%
77-79%
70-76%
60-69%
< 60%
E. Homework
There is a folder on Angel with homework problems in it, as well as the answers. I do not collect
homework, and it is not a part of your grade. However I recommend that you do all of the
homework problems. Knowing how to solve these problems is vital to doing well on the exams.
IV. COURSE POLICY
A. Late or Missed Exams
All exams are announced in advance, and it is your responsibility to know when they are and to
be here for them. An absence from an exam will be considered a zero for that exam.
The University does recognize a limited number of legitimate reasons for missing an exam, such
as participation in an official University sports contest or medical emergencies. However,
fairness dictates that no one should get unwarranted special treatment, such as extra study time,
when it comes to exams. In order to be fair to the students who take the exam on time, absences
from exams will be excused only for officially-approved reasons, and with proof. A student who
misses an exam bears the burden of providing proof that the absence should be excused. It is the
student's responsibility to contact me, and to explicitly tell me that s/he thinks the absence should
be excused, tell me what the legitimate reason is, and then show me the proof.
If you find that you must miss an exam for any reason, CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY to
explain the situation and to set an alternate time for the exam. A significant penalty may be
assessed against the grade if an exam is taken late, to try to be fair to other students.
If you do not contact me about missing an exam PRIOR to missing it, you will most likely not be
offered an opportunity to do a make-up.
B. Academic Dishonesty
Likewise, in order to be fair to the overwhelming majority of students who are honest, I take a
hard line on academic dishonesty. I believe that academic dishonesty undermines the whole
process of higher education, and could make a Penn State degree meaningless if not prevented. I
assume that you're here to get an education, and not just a degree. Therefore, I strongly endorse
the University’s policy on academic dishonesty. Be aware that ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
MAY RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC COURSE FLUNK. When appropriate, other sanctions
(such as suspension or expulsion from the University) may be pursued. Academic dishonesty
includes, among other things, copying exam answers, attempting to get an advance copy of the
exam, changing answers on an answer sheet after a quiz or exam has been returned, and using
someone else's work when handing in homework. Academic dishonesty also includes allowing
someone else to use your work. (Don't let someone else's cheating get you into trouble!) Be
advised that I will actively enforce this policy, out of fairness to the majority of students who are
honest and have to work hard for their grades. I may kid about a lot of things, but I'm dead
serious about this. See University Senate Policies and Rules for Students, Policy 49-20. You
should also be aware that Penn State has a policy of assigning an “academic dishonesty F” or
“XF” grade which tells everyone viewing the transcript that the F grade was due to cheating.
You certainly don’t want to have to explain that during a job interview! The PSU policy also
requires faculty to notify the administration of virtually every cheating infraction, so that
multiple occurrences by one student in different classes can be identified. More severe penalties
are typically imposed when a student has had previous incidents.
More information can be found at: http://www.pserie.psu.edu/faculty/academics/integrity.htm
C. Classroom Policy
The basic guideline is very simple: be polite. Please don't talk with other students, whistle, etc.
during class. This is distracting for other students as well as for me, and thus interferes with the
education process. If you have a question about something, it is usually best to direct it to me,
rather than asking (distracting) another student. Please do not eat or text in class.
D. Lateness
I will start the class promptly at the assigned time, and I would appreciate it if you would be in
your seats ready to go at the scheduled time. Please try to be here on time for the class, so we
don't waste any of our limited classroom time. On the other hand, I would prefer that you come
late rather than not coming at all (if those are the only two choices.) If an occasion arises in
which you MUST come late, please enter quietly and take a seat unobtrusively. Please do not let
the door slam behind you.
V. HOW TO GET A GOOD GRADE IN MONEY & BANKING
1. Come to every class.
2. Stay awake and take good notes.
3. Do your best to get 100% on every Angel quiz.
4. To get ready for the exams, study your class notes and do all of the homework problems on
Angel. Do not waste time re-reading the book.
5. Go to any and all extra credit opportunities that I offer.
6. Ask questions if you don’t understand something.
Your Future:
No matter what semester you are in, it is not too late to start thinking about your career. Consider
using the Career Development Center (CDC) to assist you in choosing the right major or career.
The CDC can assist students with the process of career and life planning through a full range of
programs and services. You may schedule appointments with CDC staff to discuss issues
including interests, skills, values, and goal setting as well as how to find career information,
internships, full-time jobs, and graduate schools. You are encouraged to utilize the services of
the CDC every year from first semester to graduation.
CDC Location: First Floor – Reed Building
CDC Phone: 898-6164
CDC Web Site: http://pennstatebehrend.psu.edu/cdc
VII. MATERIAL TO BE COVERED*
Chapter/Pages
Topic
PART I: Banks, Money, The Financial System, The Money Market
Not in book
1
1-9
2
12-34
3
37-51
Not in Book
Not in book
Not in book
4
53-73
Saving, wealth, income, poverty, and bankruptcy
Intro to Money and Banking
Money and the Financial System
Money
US Money, Currency Security Features
Demand and Supply for Money plus shifters
Instruments of the Money Market
Present Value/Future Value/Interest/Compound Interest
EXAM 1
PART II: Banks, Bank Balance Sheet, Bank Regulation, Bank Failure
8
156-173
9
176-193
Not in book
How Banks Work
Government’s Role in Banking/Bank Regulation
Bank Income & Expenses
EXAM 2
PART III: The Federal Reserve System
15
312-328
17
357-369
18
395-402
10
200-203
10
210-216
16
333-348
Not in book
The Federal Reserve System and Structure
Monetary Policy and Goals, Policy, Policy Lags, Unemployment, Infl.
The Taylor Rule
Employment and Unemployment
Business Cycles
Monetary Control & the Multiplier
The Banking Meltdown – How, Why, & Who’s To Blame (in my opinion)
Misc Topics (Time Permitting)
7
132-152
The Stock Market
FINAL EXAM
THERE IS A LOT OF MATERIAL IN THE BOOK THAT WE WILL NOT COVER IN
CLASS, AND A LOT OF MATERIAL I WILL COVER IN CLASS THAT IS NOT IN THE
BOOK. KEEP THIS IN MIND EACH TIME YOU DECIDE TO SKIP CLASS.
THE BEST WAY TO DO WELL IN THIS COURSE
IS TO COME TO EVERY SINGLE CLASS!