Syllabus for future!

IQL 101: Currency Crises and Global Poverty, Dr. Duggan, Spring 2010

Friday, 8-11:45. We have two classrroms: the Social Science Computer Lab in Rhodes S270, and a classroom in Rhodes N210. 

 

Professor:         Dr. Marie Duggan

Office:              Rhodes 265S

Telephone:        358-2628

Email:              mduggan@keene.edu

Office Hours:    Monday 12-1, Thursday 10-11, Friday 12-1.

 

DESCRIPTION: 

The fastest evolving dimension of globalization is the instantaneous flow of financial capital between economies.  This is supposed to bring low interest loans to the world’s poor.  In practice, however, financial capital caused currency crises that brought down emerging markets in the 1990s.  The same forces are now undermining the US economy.  By downloading data and analyzing it quantitatively, students will explore the role of financial capital in globalization. Conceptual tools will be introduced including the balance of payments, exchange rates, and the exponential growth of foreign debt.  Through hands-on exercises in the computer lab, students will gain the quantitative skills to tell the story of the currency crisis in Argentina, and explore the implications for the current US economy in a final project.  

 

Required Texts

Alicia Sevilla and Kay Somers, Quantitative Reasoning: Tools for Today’s Informed Citizen. Key College Texts (John Wiley), 2007.

Paul Blustein, And the Money Kept Rolling In and Out: Wall Street, the IMF and the Bankrupting of Argentina. Public Affairs, 2005.

 

Greg Harvey, Excel 2007 for Dummies Quick Reference.  John Wiley, 2007.

 

Integrative Studies Outcomes:

  • Global Issues: Students will be able to demonstrate a commitment to analyzing and/or solving the global issues surrounding financial crises.
  • Social and Environmental Engagement: Students will be able to demonstrate a commitment to analyzing social issues caused by the free flow globally of financial capital.

 

Assignments: QL Course Project:

All students will be required to:

·        Investigate a question or problem that involves quantitative information.

·        Use data generated from real sources or data they collected.

·        Analyze data using descriptive statistics, both graphical and numerical.

·        Submit a written report that includes a statement of the problem or question investigated, an explanation of the methods used and an analysis of the investigation.

·        Present a summary of their report orally.

Syllabus Table 1.  Topical Outline

 

Week

Focus

Theory

Data

Math and Excel

1:

Jan. 23

What happened in Argentina gives some insight into what’s going on in US

 

Spreadsheets

 

Quantitative work

Financial vs. Physical Capital

 

Portfolio vs. Foreign Direct Investment

Portfolio investment from Argentina and

Download data from an online database.

Open, save, close file in Excel.

Basic Excel formatting.

 

2:

Jan. 30

Intro to the Quantitative Reasoning book

Revisit above.

Types of portfolio investment in US. 

 

Portfolio vs. FDI in Argentina

Organizing Information in Bar Charts, Pie Charts and Histograms.

 

3:

Feb. 6

What is an exchange rate and why does it matter?

Current account

And Balance of Payments

Exchange rate

Exports

Imports

Current account deficit

Bivariate data in scatter plots  and regressions.

4:

 Feb. 13

Borrowing from foreigners

Inflation

Exchange rates

 

Finance inflow

 

Finance outflow

Graphing functions: what do exports depend on?

What do imports depend on?

5:

Feb. 20

Several explanatory variables at a time

Fiscal Policy

Same data

Multivariate functions

6:

Feb. 27

Impact of financial crisis on people

Financial sector vs. real sector

Unemployment rate.

GDP per capita.

Revisit previous issues.

7:

Mar. 6

Macro concepts

Circular flow

National savings rates.

Linear functions

8:

Mar. 13

Exploding debt dynamics

 

Fiscal deficit and national debt

Exponential functions

9:

Mar. 20

Foreign debt

No new theory

Foreign loans and foreign debt

Logarithms

10:

Mar. 27

Measuring from base years

Inflation

Stock Markets

Consumer Price Index, Dow

Indices and ratings

11:

Apr. 3

Creditors “Taking a Haircut”

Bonds and interest rates

Riesgo Pais.

National debt.

Simple and Compound Interest

12:

Apr. 10

 

 

GDP per capita in emerging markets

Volatility  of portfolio investment

Mean, median and mode

Five number summary and boxplot Draft written projects due.

13:

Apr. 17

 

 

 

Standard deviation and normal distribution.  Draft written projects due.

14:

Apr. 24

 

 

 

Oral presentations

15:

May 1

 

 

 

Oral presentations.

Written projects due.

 

Syllabus Table 2.  Assignments.

Week

Date

Readings

In-class Ex.

Written Work Due

1: Intro

Friday

Jan. 23:

Financial capital

·         Read Dummies, pp. 21-46 for how to open and save an Excel workbook.

·         Read p. 78 on formulas.

Portfolio Investment

 None.

2:

Friday

Jan. 30: Fiscal deficit and national debt.

·         Read Blustein, pp. xvii – 12 (Prologue and Ch 1)

·         Read QR, Topic 1: Organizing Information Pictorially Using Charts and Graphs.

Activities 1.

Portfolio Investment and bar charts

pie charts

histograms.

Q on Bluestein Prologue and Ch. 1.

Topic 1 Explore, #1, 2, 4, 14. 

3:

Friday Feb. 6

Read QR, Topic 2: Bivariate Data.

Activities 2. Scatterplots and regressions

QR, Topic 2 Explore, #2, 3, 5.

 

4:

Fri. Feb. 13

 

Read QR, Topic 3: Graphs of Functions

Activities 3.

Exchange rates and current account.

Q on Blustein Chs. 2 & 3

QR, Topic 3 Explore,

#3, 5, 11.

5:

Fri. Feb. 20

 

Read QR, Topic 4: Multiple Variable Functions

Activities 4.

Current account and exchange rates, oil prices.

Q on Blustein, Ch. 4

QR, Topic 4 Explore,

#1, 4, 6.

6:

Fri. Feb. 27

Impact of financial crisis on people. (No money at the ATM)

Unemployment rate. Wages, Income and GDP per cap.

Revisit previous.

7:

Fri. Mar. 6

Read QR, Topic 5: Modeling with Linear Functions

Activities 5.

National debt

Foreign debt

Q on Blustein Ch. 5

QR, Topic 5 Explore,

# 1 & 2.

8:

Friday

March 13

Read QR, Topic 6: Modeling with Exponential Functions

 

Q on Blustein Ch. 6

QR, Topic 6 Explore

# 2, 4, 5.

9:

Friday

March 20

Spring Break

 

No class.

10:

Friday Mar. 27

Read QR, Topic 7: Logarithms

 

QR, Topic 7 Explore

#2, 4, 6

11:

Friday Apr. 3

Read QR, Topic 8: Indexes and Ratings

Inflation

Dow

Q on Blustein Ch. 7

QR, Topic 8 Explorations,

#2, 3, and 4.

 

April 10

Read QR, Topic 9: Simple and compound interest

Restructuring Argentine debt.

Q on Blustein Ch. 8

QR, Topic 9 Explore, # 8, 9, 10.

 

April 17

Read QR, Topics 16 and 17: Mean and Standard Deviation.

Boxplot

GDP per Capita

QR: Topics 16 and 17: #4,#6, #4

 

April 24

 

 

Questions on Blustein Ch. 9 & 10.

Oral presentations

 

May 1

 

 

Written projects due, Thursday by 10 AM Oral presentations.

 

May 7

 

 

 

 

Quantitative Literacy Course Outcomes: 

Students will be able to:

·        Apply the basic methods of descriptive statistics, including both pictorial representations and numerical summary measures, to analyze data.

·        Use appropriate software to create spreadsheets, tables, graphs and charts.

·        Read and interpret visually represented data.

·        Distinguish among various types of growth models (e.g., linear, exponential) and the types of situations for which the models are appropriate.

·        Critically read and interpret a quantitative problem.

·        Pose a question in the form of a mathematical model in order to solve the problem.

·        Apply prior knowledge to solve a new problem.

 

Core Skill Outcomes for All QL Courses:

·        Reading:  Demonstrate the ability to summarize and identify key points.

·        Writing:  Organize, state and develop ideas clearly, and incorporate research appropriately

·        Information Literacy: Incorporate information into written work and oral presentations and develop research (paper or project) using information appropriately

·        Critical Thinking: Analyze and interpret arguments made by oneself and by others to formulate and defend a conjecture or thesis

·        Critical Dialogue: Organize what one wishes to convey, speak with purpose when conveying thoughts/ideas, avoid “fillers” (uh, you know, like) when conveying thoughts/ideas, meet allotted time guidelines, project voice so all can hear, use language appropriate for the audience or other discussion participants.

·        Demonstrate thoroughness of research and effective preparation in making a formal presentation.

·        Technological Fluency: Use a database and/or spreadsheet to access and set up information