Course: Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Ashford
Module: Week 16 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute lectures
Objectives covered: cumulative — Objectives 1–8 (Weeks 1–15): the macro perspective, scarcity & the PPF & positive vs. normative; measuring output (GDP, real vs. nominal, the deflator); measuring inflation & unemployment (CPI, the u-rate, LFPR, types of unemployment); growth & the rule of 70; the AD–AS model & the business cycle & output gaps; fiscal policy & the spending multiplier & deficits vs. debt; money, banking & the Fed & the money market & the transmission mechanism; the Phillips curve, the quantity theory, comparative advantage, exchange rates & the balance of payments; the schools of thought & policy debates.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 16 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that posts when the module opens. This is finals week — it works differently from a normal week. Dates assume a Monday/Wednesday lecture pattern with the in-class review on Mon Dec 14; the Final window opens Mon Dec 14 and is due six days later (Sun Dec 20). Adjust day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 16 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 16: Final Review & Exam

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

Heads-up: this is finals week, so it runs differently. There is no quiz, no discussion, no assignment, and no workshop this week — the comprehensive Final replaces all of them. The week is built to get you ready: we spend our class session reviewing the whole course, you work through a three-part prep kit, and you sit the exam.

The Final is cumulative over all eight objectives from Weeks 1–15 — the macro perspective, scarcity, the PPF, and positive vs. normative economics; measuring GDP with the expenditure approach, real vs. nominal output, and the GDP deflator; the CPI, the inflation rate, the unemployment rate, and the labor-force participation rate; growth rates and the rule of 70; the AD–AS model, comparative statics, and recessionary/inflationary gaps; fiscal policy, the spending multiplier, and deficits vs. debt; money, banking, the money multiplier, the Fed's tools, the money market, and the transmission mechanism to aggregate demand; the Phillips curve and the quantity theory of money; comparative advantage and the gains from trade; exchange rates, appreciation/depreciation, and the balance of payments; and the Keynesian vs. classical/monetarist debate.

The midterm already covered the first half (Objectives 1–6, Weeks 1–7), so the Final leans heaviest on the back half (Objectives 7–8, Weeks 9–15) — money, banking, the Fed, monetary transmission, the Phillips curve, the quantity theory, and the open economy — but the first-half foundations (GDP, the CPI, the unemployment rate, growth, AD–AS, fiscal policy) are the building blocks the later topics rest on, so they're fair game too.

The week's big question

"Across the whole course — GDP and the deflator, the CPI and the unemployment rate, growth and the rule of 70, which curve shifts in AD–AS and what happens to P and Y, the multiplier, the money multiplier, the money market and the transmission mechanism, the Phillips curve and MV = PQ, comparative advantage, and exchange rates — can I do the one move each topic requires, work the numbers cleanly, and avoid the mistake that sinks it?"

By the end of the week you'll have walked the entire Objective 1–8 arc once more, re-worked the quantitative pockets (GDP and the deflator, the CPI and inflation rate, the unemployment rate and LFPR, growth rates and the rule of 70, AD–AS comparative statics, output gaps, the spending multiplier, deficits vs. debt, the money multiplier, the money market, the transmission mechanism, MV = PQ, comparative-advantage opportunity-cost ratios, and exchange-rate conversions), found the exact spots where points get lost, and shown what you can do on the Final.

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all eight out loud, you're ready for the exam.

• [ ] The macro perspective (Obj 1) — state the opportunity cost of a PPF point at the scale of a whole economy, read an interior point as idle resources (a recession preview), and tell a positive statement from a normative one.
• [ ] Measuring output (Obj 2) — compute GDP via C + I + G + NX; state what's counted and what isn't (transfers, used goods, intermediate goods excluded); compute the GDP deflator and distinguish real from nominal.
• [ ] Measuring inflation & unemployment (Obj 3) — compute the CPI and the inflation rate from a fixed basket; compute the unemployment rate and the LFPR; classify frictional/structural/cyclical unemployment and explain why discouraged workers aren't counted.
• [ ] Growth (Obj 4) — compute a growth rate via percentage change and apply the rule of 70 (divide, never multiply).
• [ ] AD–AS & the business cycle (Obj 5) — identify which curve shifts (AD, SRAS, or LRAS), which direction, and what happens to the price level and real output; diagnose a recessionary or inflationary gap.
• [ ] Fiscal policy (Obj 6) — apply the spending multiplier 1/(1−MPC); distinguish expansionary from contractionary fiscal policy; distinguish the deficit (a flow) from the debt (a stock).
• [ ] Money, banking & the Fed (Obj 7) — apply the money multiplier 1/RR; trace a deposit through fractional-reserve expansion; read the money market (which way the Fed's tools move MS and r); trace the full transmission mechanism from the money supply to r, to I, to AD, to P and Y.
• [ ] The Phillips curve, the quantity theory & the open economy (Obj 8) — distinguish the short-run (downward-sloping) from the long-run (vertical) Phillips curve; apply MV = PQ; compute comparative-advantage opportunity-cost ratios and a mutually beneficial terms of trade; determine whether a currency has appreciated or depreciated and its effect on net exports.

What's due this week, and what to do

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

There is no Quiz 16, no Discussion 16, no Assignment 16, and no Workshop 16 — the Final stands in for all of them. The Study Guide, Exam-Prep Tutorial, and Practice Final are your prep kit; the Final is what's graded.

A note on the AI prep tutorial: the Exam-Prep Tutorial works like every weekly tutorial — the chatbot teaches and quizzes you, and you judge its work. It will sometimes use the wrong multiplier (confusing 1/(1−MPC) with 1/RR), shift the wrong curve or the wrong direction in AD–AS, confuse real vs. nominal, mix up fiscal vs. monetary policy tools, or reverse the inflation–unemployment tradeoff (or treat it as long-run instead of short-run); catching that is part of being ready. AI is allowed only for this prep tutorial — not on the Final itself.

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late, and the exam window is firm. If life happens, reach out before the deadline.

How to succeed this week

• Review actively, not passively. Don't re-read notes — do the moves: compute a GDP, a deflator, a CPI, an unemployment rate, a growth rate, a multiplier, a money-market outcome, a comparative-advantage ratio, an exchange-rate conversion.
• Re-work the quantitative pockets by hand. The Final has several calculation items. Re-derive each one until the steps are automatic.
• Lean into the back half. The midterm already tested Objectives 1–6, so the Final weights Objectives 7–8 most heavily — money, banking, the Fed, the Phillips curve, and the open economy — but the first-half foundations are the tools the later topics use.
• Lead with the idea, then the number. On the exam, name the move before the arithmetic: which curve shifts? is this a flow or a stock? does the Fed's tool raise or lower the money supply? has the dollar appreciated or depreciated?
• Use the prep kit in order. Study Guide → Exam-Prep Tutorial → Practice Final.

You've already done the hard work across fifteen weeks. Come to class ready to review out loud. See you Monday.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 16

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Mon Dec 14, 2026 — not before.

Subject: Week 16 — Finals week: the whole course, one last time

Hi everyone,

Here we are — the last week. This one is different from the rest: it's finals week. There's no quiz, no discussion, no assignment, and no workshop — the comprehensive Final takes their place. Everything this week is built to get you ready and then let you show what fifteen weeks built.

Here's the shape of it: our class session (Mon Dec 14) is a fast, complete review of the whole course — the macro perspective and the PPF, measuring GDP and the deflator, the CPI and the unemployment rate, growth and the rule of 70, AD–AS and the business cycle, fiscal policy and the multiplier, money and banking and the Fed, monetary transmission, the Phillips curve and the quantity theory, comparative advantage, and exchange rates and the balance of payments. The exam is cumulative over Objectives 1–8; because the midterm already covered the first half, the Final leans heaviest on the back half (Objectives 7–8) — money, banking, the Fed, and the open economy. Several items are quantitative (the GDP deflator, the CPI and inflation rate, the unemployment rate, a growth rate via the rule of 70, AD–AS comparative statics, the spending and money multipliers, the money market, MV = PQ, opportunity-cost ratios, exchange-rate conversions), so re-work those by hand on scratch paper.

Your prep kit, in order: work the Study Guide first, then run the Exam-Prep Tutorial with an approved chatbot and submit the share link, then sit the Practice Final timed to find any soft spots.

The dates that matter:
1. Final — window opens Mon Dec 14, due Sun Dec 20 (six days later) (25% of your grade; 25 items; AI not permitted).
2. Exam-Prep Tutorial — submit your chat share link before the Final closes.
3. In-class review — Mon Dec 14; come with questions.

A word as we close the term. When we started in Week 1, the whole promise was learning to zoom out — to see an entire economy's choices the way you already see your own trade-offs, and to keep straight what the model predicts (positive) from what we think should be done about it (normative). Everything since has been that same instinct, applied eight different ways: measuring the whole economy, tracking its growth, modeling its short-run swings, using the government's tools, using the Fed's tools, understanding the inflation–unemployment relationship, and opening the model to the rest of the world. I've genuinely enjoyed watching you argue with chatbots when they shift the wrong curve, use the wrong multiplier, or forget that an interest-rate change moves along money demand instead of shifting it. This last exam is about naming the eight honest moves, working the numbers cleanly, and using them under one roof. You're ready.

Open the Start Here / Module Overview page first. Thank you for a terrific semester.

You've got this. Come with questions Monday,
Prof. Ashford