Econ 303

[TheRealTimHorton]

Intermediate macroeconomics..

Anyone taken this? Is the material any good? I'm talking about actually learning some good shit not who is the easiest and how do you get a good mark.

Above that, which courses go in-depth about interest rate/government policy, effects on markets and economy, investing implications, etc.

E.g. I want to ask myself would now be a good time to short the Shanghai Index with Chinese interest rates sitting at 6.3%, a 500% GDP increase over the last 10 years (clearly non sustainable in a healthy description of the word). The index has stagnated for a god awful long time now. This while conversely playing a long on Japan / Nikkei 225--their rates are sitting at 0%, attempting to rebuild from devastation of tsunami will require a huge influx of capital into the economy plus the governments artificial depressing of the Yen 'should' have a tendency to give a little more edge to equities on the upside.Does this make sense to do this spread? I must be overlooking a shit ton of things, which is what I want to learn. How does the US Bond market / currency situation have a bearing on both of these economies?

Pretty much I want to become a god in macroeconomic forecasting with implications in equities and commodities markets. Which courses offer great insight / should I take? All the while polishing off a Finance BCom. Fuck. Should I even be taking Finance or switch to Econ? :(

For the record, I used to be in Uni and left for 2 years to fuck around. Coming back now, so needless to say I need to satisfy 28 halfcourse equivalents which should take me about 1.5 years. Im registering for summer courses today (boy the pickings are slim) annnd yeah ECON 303 is one of the courses I'll be taking right now.

FEELS GOOD TO BE COMING BACK. I AM READY.

[drewb]

It does not matter how many econ courses you take, you will never become "a god in macroeconomic forecasting with implications in equities and commodities markets"

[TheRealTimHorton]

Originally posted by drewb
It does not matter how many econ courses you take, you will never become "a god in macroeconomic forecasting with implications in equities and commodities markets"

:rofl: I think you know what I meant.. It was just an exaggeration of what I wanted to learn. lol

[Superdooper]

You will not learn much of the stuff that you are talking about in Econ303. Unless they have changed the course, you will mostly be learning about the IS/LM model (the aggregate demand side of the economy).

The course that covers macroeconomics in detail, including what you are talking about, is Econ 559 (Honours Macroeconomics), however you do need a background in differential equations, linear algebra and multivariate calc.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Superdooper
You will not learn much of the stuff that you are talking about in Econ303. Unless they have changed the course, you will mostly be learning about the IS/LM model (the aggregate demand side of the economy).

The course that covers macroeconomics in detail, including what you are talking about, is Econ 559 (Honours Macroeconomics), however you do need a background in differential equations, linear algebra and multivariate calc.

To a tee. Especially if you have Tracey, you won't learn A THING. I would suggest Microeconomics but that's just my preference haha.

[TheRealTimHorton]

Originally posted by Superdooper
You will not learn much of the stuff that you are talking about in Econ303. Unless they have changed the course, you will mostly be learning about the IS/LM model (the aggregate demand side of the economy).

The course that covers macroeconomics in detail, including what you are talking about, is Econ 559 (Honours Macroeconomics), however you do need a background in differential equations, linear algebra and multivariate calc.

Would I be allowed to take 500 level econ courses if I still want to major in finance?

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by flipstah


To a tee. Especially if you have Tracey, you won't learn A THING. I would suggest Microeconomics but that's just my preference haha.

You are comparing apples and oranges. Mircoeconomic is so different from Macro its not really comparable.

Macro > mirco.

[Superdooper]

Originally posted by TheRealTimHorton


Would I be allowed to take 500 level econ courses if I still want to major in finance?

If I am not mistaken, Finance majors can only take max 2 courses in Econ. To take Econ 559, I believe you need Econ 303,359, 387, 389 and 395, so I highly doubt you would be able to do that unless you're a double major in econ. Also, most 500 levels have econ 301,303,357 and 359 as prereqs.

I would stick to econ 303...its not THAT bad.. it teaches you some general knowledge about the macroeconomy but not as specific as you seem to want it.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Team_Mclaren


You are comparing apples and oranges. Mircoeconomic is so different from Macro its not really comparable.

Macro > mirco.

Let me rephrase that. I mean, with Tracey you won't learn jack. You will definitely learn a lot about macro in 303 if you have a decent prof that doesn't spoon-feed you answers.

And yes, Macro doesn't equal Micro. But micro>macro

...Just saying. :)

[Gainsbarre]

You can take 500 level econ classes, but only if you do a double degree.

To learn some of these things, you might want to take some of the advanced field courses that focus on macroeconomic issues (such as ECON 423). These are the classes where you get exposure to some practical implications of economic theories (case study work). When I took the core theory classes in ECON there were few "real world" examples to be found, with the exception of 557, which was on game theory and one of the best classes I've ever taken.

You might have better luck taking FNCE 461 (International Finance). I have no direct exposure to 461, but it might answer some of those questions.


And macro pretty much becomes micro at the advanced (graduate) levels -- it's all about "microfoundations of macroeconomics" :barf: if you ever take ECON 659.