Population Economics 01:220:477
Rutgers University, Professor Ira N. Gang, Email: gang at rutgers.edu  Please include 477 in the subject line

During the term: The two (2) exams will be administered according to the following procedures:
1. They will be given online via Sakai tests and quizzes folder. 
2. Please see the lecture schedule and Grading Syllabus web pages for details on material coverage and grading.
4. On the exam date you must take the exam during the time on the lecture schedule, which is during regular class time. The exam will be automatically submitted at the posted end-time (Midterm=11:30AM; Final=1:00PM) regardless of whether you have answered all the questions. You can submit the exam earlier if you like.
5. Once the exam is submitted you cannot go back to it.
6. You can proceed through the exam in order of the questions. If you want to skip around, clicking Table of Contents (just below “Midterm” or "Final" on each question) will bring you to the list of the questions, with the ones you have answered marked. You can also use this for moving around the exam. Until you submit the exam you can go back and change your answers.
7. This is and OPEN exam. You can use calculators, notes, etc. You cannot communicate with anyone during the exam.
8. If issues arise during your taking the exam email me [gang@rutgers.edu]. I plan on being on the computer during the exams. If I do not get back to you during the exam you will have registered the issue. In this case, after finishing the exam please email again saying how you handled the issue and what assumptions you made. 
9. After the final exam I will calculate your course grade and post it on SAKAI. An announcement will be made at the time as to where you can find it. I will also submit your grade to the registrar.
  1. Students often ask what material should they study. The simple answer is everything and more.  The idea is to develop an understanding of the subject of this class.  Of course, I, like most other professors, tend to lecture and test on what I think is most important. So, the frequency of questions on the exams that comes from what I lecture on will be higher than other sources of materials. However, I attempt to design the exams so that you can reveal your understanding of all the assigned material.  This includes the lectures, the reading, suggested problems, old exam questions, everything, and your ability to integrate the material. Also recognize that this course has prerequisites that I take quite seriously.  Exam questions may also come from the material you should have mastered in these prerequisites.
2. If you are having problems, please seek out help early. Email me and we will arrange a day and time to meet through our course software. In meeting, please be prepared, having gone over the lectures and other material. If you have missed any classes, make sure you have made up the work.  Often students find it useful to form small study groups.
3. Some students slack off. The readings, after all, seem pretty minimal. They aren't! Economics is deceptive. The only way to learn it is to keep going over it, work  problems, and THINK about what you are doing at each step. I suggest that you first read through all the material. This will help you to begin to think about economics. Go over the lectures and think about what problems I raise and what problems are raised in the readings. Pace yourself throughout the semester. A good exercise is to pick up the newspaper and come up with alternative explanations of various "business" and "economic" news. Furthermore, let me urge you to read as much of the material as possible early on in the course. You will find this will help you develop a perspective on the course material and lead to a better understanding of the material.
4. Study ahead. Do not wait until after I have lectured on something to read the material work on it yourself. Come to class  prepared! Otherwise, you are fooling yourself.
5. The emphasis in this class is on developing your ability to apply analytical techniques and on your understanding of fundamental concepts. Exams will emphasize this. They will assume you have a complete understanding of all the material, and will ask you to apply what you have learned to "new" circumstances. In approaching the multiple choice questions on the exams, answer the question (i.e., solve the problem) before looking at the choices.
6. The course material builds on earlier work. It is essential that you master every part of the material. I will integrate the material as we go along, but you will be ahead of the game if you make extended efforts to learn and integrate it yourself.
7. The University has established severe penalties for cheating. The Univeristy’s policy on academic integrity is found at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml