1.  Go to http://www.google.com/ and do a search on "macroeconomics".  How many hits on the web does Google locate?  Does that surprise you in any way?  Do the same thing for "monetary policy".  Return to this page.

2.  Go to http://www.chss.iup.edu/smbrewer/brewerteach.html and note the variety of News Sources and Search Engine Links available by scrolling down this page.  Then go back up and click on "ECON121".  Take a couple of minutes to check out the links for the "Syllabus," "Announcements," and "Current and Old Assignments and Exams with Selected Answers".  Then follow the link for "Links to Websites of Interest for Various Economic Issues".  Note there are links to information across the major fields within economics.  For now, follow the link for "Monetary Economics and Macroeconomics ".  Note the variety of links provided, and then return back to this page.

3.  Go to the IUP Library page about Information Literacy at http://www.lib.iup.edu/infolit/infolit.html.  Read "What is Information Literacy?" and return back to this page.

4.  Now, go to the Association of College and Research Libraries posting of Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education at http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ACRL/Standards_and_Guidelines/
Information_Literacy_Competency_Standards_for_Higher_Education.htm.  Read over each of the five standards and corresponding performance indicators for each standard.  As you read, note which standards and/or performance indicators sound like they could have been included as an example in the first chapter of your textbook.  When you are finished reading the standards, return to this page.

5.  In the Fall 2002 semester, ECON 121 H students were assigned the name of two different agencies/organizations concerned about macroeconomic and monetary policy issues.  Each of the organizations that they were asked to investigate maintains a website.  Click on the "Link to summaries" option below, and read the summaries for the various agencies/organizations.  Then answer the following questions:

a.  About which two of the agencies/organizations would you like to know more?
b.  Why do the agencies/organizations cited in part 5(a) interest you the most?

Link to summaries

6.  You will be using various websites over the course of the semester as you complete different projects.
To get a preliminary sampling of the type of material included on these websites, first complete part 6(a) below, and then choose one of the three exercises under part 6(b) to complete.

a.  The U.S. Census Bureau collects a wide variety of data at the county, state, and national levels.  Go to the State and County Quickfacts web pages of the Census Bureau (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html).  Select the state and then the county that you consider to be "home."  For both the state and county, record the following information:
• Population, 2001 estimate
• Population percent change, April 1, 2000-July 1, 2001
• Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000
• High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000
• Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000
• Homeownership rate, 2000
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000
• Median household money income, 1999
• Per capita money income, 1999
• Persons below poverty, percent, 1999
• Private nonfarm employment, 1999
• Retail sales per capita, 1997
• Land area, 2000 (square miles)
• Persons per square mile, 2000
• Metropolitan Area (note:  see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/nchsdefs/msa.htm#psma) for an explanation of what is meant by MSA, PMSA, and CMSA terms)


b.  Choose ONE of the following three exercises to complete:

• The Bureau of Economics Analysis, or BEA, is a government agency that collects a wide variety of statistics about the U.S. economy.  From the BEA’s home page (http://www.bea.doc.gov) find data for the most recent year available on the U.S. exports and imports of goods and services.  Is the United States running a trade surplus or deficit?  Calculate the ratio of the surplus or deficit to U.S. exports.
• Find the most recent unemployment rates for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and compare them to the most recent unemployment rate for the United States.  A useful source is the home page of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an organization of industrialized countries (http://www.oecd.org/). See also the OECD’s publication, Main Economic Indicators.  Is unemployment still lower in the United States than in Western Europe?
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is the government agency that is charged with projecting the federal government’s surpluses or deficits.  From the CBO’s home page (http://www.cbo.gov/), find the most recent value of the federal government’s surplus or deficit and the CBO’s projected values for the next 5 years.  How do you think these projections are likely to affect congressional deliberations on taxation and government spending?

 
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