[samantha__]

Econ 1BB3 is all about Macroeconomics, unlike Econ 1B03, which is about Microeconomics. It is recommended that you take 1B03 first then 1BB3, but people did the opposite anyways.

Macroeconomics, according to Dictionary.com is:

The branch of economics dealing with the broad and general aspects of an economy, as the relationship between the income and investments of a country as a whole.

In essence, you will be learning about employment, income and basically about the economy as a whole, instead learning about specific businesses like in Econ 1B03. The format is very similiar to Econ 1B03, if not identiical, depending on the Profs teaching it. APLIA is an internet based sort of.. quiz centre, if you want to call it that, where there are quizzes on every chapter of the textbook. There are practice assignments for each chapter and then there are the actual graded assignments. Practice assignments are very helpful, as the questions on them are usually similiar to those on the graded assignments.

All in all, I found this course to be very interesting; it was one of my favourites. I had Krishnakali Sen Gupta, who can be a hit or miss. For me she was a hit.. until the end of the course, where she loaded us up with these ridiculous theories right before the exam. The exam was alright if you study properly. Her notes were alright, but I really liked the textbook. It was very informative, went through the theories very well and it was probobly one of the best textbooks I had this year.

Course Breakdown

• Test With Higher Score: 25%
• Test With Lower Score: 15%
• APLIA Graded Assignments (Best 6): 15%
• Final Exam: 40%

Please do a review of Microeconomics 1B03.. pretty please

If it's recommended that you take 1B03 first then why do they bother offering 1BB3 first term? lol... I'm only interested because they fit better into my schedule when 1BB3 is first term and 1B03 is second term. So maybe you could clarify why they suggest you do it micro first, then macro?

From experience last year, I found that most people I know took 1B03 first then 1BB3. I also know they suggested us to do it this way because you go from Micro (businesses, individual industries) to Macro (the whole economy, employment, anything that affects a whole country or whatever). But seriously, I dont think it makes that much of a difference.

I took Econ 1BB3 first term last year with Bridget O' Shaughnessy. She won't be teaching this year I don't think because she's on mat leave. This is unfortunate because she was a great prof, good lecturer... kinda scary though... probably the hormones

The material I found SO much more interesting than Micro. You learn about the stock market, international trade, inflation/deflation, and all that good stuff. Blows boring Micro out of the water. I found it to be much more theory based too which I liked better. The math was really simple, even for me (VERY mathematically challenged) so no one should worry.

I took both econs in the same term during first year which I would REALLY advise against. You'll have to suffer through two tests on Saturday. The only good thing about taking both is the first 5 chapters of each are the exact same you can take it easy for the first month

The best part about my class specifically was that the lectures were vodcasted... and when the class is at 8:30... it was awesome. It was really handy to be able to go back and watch the prof do examples while studying for the exam. I doubt they'll do that again though... I'm sure the prof had about 2 people in class after the first few weeks

I liked this econ quite a bit so I recommend it.

Bridget O' Shaughnessy is teaching it again this year She's back from maternity leave.

so would it be fine if i took econ1bb3 only and never took 1b03?
looking at the ratings this course seems to be a lot more interesting and is rated high..

Yep, the courses aren't continuous meaning that 1bb3 doesn't follow 1b03. They are independent of each other.

Great Course -- I recommend it to anyone who needs an easy elective!

Is it important to attend lectures for this course?

Originally Posted by tiger

Is it important to attend lectures for this course?

As a general rule, it's important to attend lectures in order to do well in most classes. As far as Econ 1BB3 goes, I personally stopped going to lectures about half way through the course because I felt I could learn the material better by just reading the textbook because I didn't like the professor very much. I ended up doing well, so in that regard, it's definitely possible, but everyone is different.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

As a general rule, it's important to attend lectures in order to do well in most classes. As far as Econ 1BB3 goes, I personally stopped going to lectures about half way through the course because I felt I could learn the material better by just reading the textbook because I didn't like the professor very much. I ended up doing well, so in that regard, it's definitely possible, but everyone is different.

Everyone is different. Very true. Some people can easily learn by the book while others need a lecture. Generally lectures are better than the book in terms of examples. Professors will sometimes give examples or descriptions not given in the book.

It's also important to note that some professors supply the class with extra information not found in the book. The professor has full rights to test you on this extra information. So if you do not attend class you may be missing out on some important marks.

O'Shaughnessy posts podcasts of the lectures, which I generally watched instead of going to lectures. I found them to be just as effective and much less time-consuming. However, they are much shorter than the actual lecture because she takes out the parts where students ask questions and when she asks the class questions.. So if you are having difficulty with the course and need further explanations, going to class would probably be better than watching the podcasts.

If you take 1BB3 with Bridget O' Shaughnessy, you don't have to go to class because there are podcasts but sometimes the podcasts don't have sound or are really bad quality...overall this class is great...she doesn't post notes on aplia or anything but she gives you time to copy it down and SHE DOES NOT READ OFF THE SLIDES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great prof....

Originally Posted by yum24

but sometimes the podcasts don't have sound or are really bad quality...

the podcasts are a lot better quality now than they were in the past (i had this class 2nd semester this year) because she recorded them in her office rather than recording an actual lecture like she used to.