Required Text:

The Financial System and the Economy, by M. Burton and R. Lombra, 4^th Edition, South-Western College Publishing, 2006.

 

Recommended Texts:

Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies, by L. Randall Wray, Edward Elgar 1990

Understanding Modern Money, by L. Randall Wray, Edward Elgar 1998

 

Suggested Reading:

Stabilizing an Unstable Economy, by Hyman Minsky, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, by Charles P. Kindleberger, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996 (third edition, first in 1978)

 

Course Objective:

This course will stress the nature and role of money, and the structure and operations of financial institutions with a special interest in their macroeconomic impacts.  We will study banking, financial instruments, the role of Central Banks, and Monetary policy. Financial Markets and international financial systems will also be emphasized. The goal is to equip the students with economic concepts and analytical tools for thinking critically about current economic issues, and which can be applied to wide range of topics with contemporary relevance.

 

Evaluation:

Participation: 10%

Midterm: 25%

Paper: 25%

Paper Presentation: 10%

Final Exam: 30%

Community Service Requirement: 5 buckaroos

 

Grading Scale:

 

        Percent Score        Grade               Percent Score        Grade

93-100%              A                           73-76                    C

90-92                    A-                          70-72                    C-

87-89                    B+                         67-69                    D+

83-86                    B                           63-66                    D

80-82                    B-                          60-62                    D-

77-79                    C+                         0-59                      F

 

Study guides for both the midterm and final exams will be provided. However, no make-up exams will be given. Plan to take the exams on the date they are given. Turn in your paper on time. A late paper will reduce your grade by 10%. In other words, a perfect assignment, which is late, will receive 90% instead of a 100%.

 

Any form of cheating or plagiarizing will immediately result in an F grade for the semester.  You are encouraged to engage in discussions regarding the material covered in class and to study together for the exams, but you must demonstrate that you alone have completed the work. 

 

One or two lectures may be given by a visiting lecturer (likely from the Kansas City Fed).  I can also arrange a trip to the Federal Reserve if students are interested. Material presented by guest speakers will be on the exams.

 

Participation is strongly encouraged and of course it represents 10% of your grade. This includes attentiveness, active interest in the issues discussed, making use of my office hours and most importantly engaging in dialogue. 

 

Finally, to get a grade in this course you will need to submit 5 buckaroos, which represent 5 hours of community service (details will be provided). The purpose of this requirement is not only to perform a valuable service to the community, but also to illuminate the workings of modern monetary systems.

 

The buckaroo is an internal university currency which is issued by the Department of Economics and represents an internal to UMKC monetary system (Kelly Pinkham, Treasurer, Office: Manheim Hall 203G). Effectively, as a student of economics you are ‘taxed’ 5 buckaroos per course. The Treasurer (pinkhamk@umkc.edu) manages the supply of buckaroos and the easiest way to obtain them is to be involved in community service, which pays one buckaroo per hour. You need to provide proof of your community involvement to Kelly Pinkham, who will then give you the corresponding number of buckaroos.  Of course, you can try to obtain buckaroos on ‘the market’ as well.  Attending UMKC’s community service day in April is one way to can fulfill the community service requirement and obtain the necessary buckaroos to pay the tax. Note that submitting buckaroos is not optional. It is a course requirement. If you fail to turn in 5 buckaroos by the end of the semester, you will get an incomplete in the course until you are able to do so.

 

Important Dates:

Feb 28: Midterm

March 4-12: Spring Break

April 18, 20, 25, 27: Paper presentations

April 27: Papers due

May 3: Final Exam

 

Final Examination: Wednesday, May 3, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.