Economics103isageneraleducationcourseinSocial World. It ...
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Fall 2021 Econ 103 Introduction to Microeconomics Spring 2021 Syllabus & Course Schedule Meeting Times Lectures pre-recorded and available before and after class. Mon/Wed Q and A: 8:00am – 8:50am Thurs/Fri: Discussion section FAQ: Am I required attend my scheduled lecture time? NO! You can view lecture at your convenience. Scheduled lecture times are for Q and A with Professor Friedman. You should come but attendance is voluntary. Must I do other online videos? YES! On-line videos cover vital material. Must I do the textbook readings? YES! Quizzes and problem sets draw on readings even if they are not discussed in class. Required Texts Available as EBook and hard copy through: Microeconomics as a Social Science (2019 5 th edition) by Gerald Friedman ISBN 9781524966416 Real World Micro (2021, 28 th edition) by Dollars & Sense ebook: You can purchase access online.Go to perusall.com. Create an account. Select I am a student and enter the course code FRIEDMAN-EK82B. You can buy paper editions from Collective Copy, 71 South Pleasant, Amherst. You can order copies here FAQ: Do I need the current editions of the textbook? YES! New editions contain updated information pertinent to the coursework. Using older editions could hurt your grade! Professor Friedman Office: Zoom Office hours: Thursday 10-12 by appointment Email: [email protected] Students are encouraged to direct questions to Professor Friedman via email at the above address. About This Course Economics 103 is a general education course in Social World. It will help you to arrive at a better understanding of yourself and other people and involves writing and analytical and critical thinking as well as the development of technical skills. Econ 103 introduces the fundamental questions in social theory: the nature of society and the relationship between individuals and the community in the construction of an economic system. Theories are taught through both abstract models and examples that illustrate their use in practice and the implications of different approaches. We look at the meaning and value of economic growth, the relationship between individual wishes and market outcomes, the importance of market externalities and alternative ways to regulate them, the relationship between economic inequality and economic growth, and the meaning and role of social insurance. An underlying theme of Econ 103 is how our choice of economic theory informs our political choices: our preferred economic policy and the forms of our collective action. Students are invited to raise questions in semi-weekly Q and A sessions, and at weekly discussion sections with graduate-student Teaching Assistants. Students also have opportunities to develop their communication skills through short essays included as part of the problem sets addressing questions in economic theory, such as methodological individualism vs. social science, and the relationship between levels of inequality and economic welfare.
Transcript of Economics103isageneraleducationcourseinSocial World. It ...
Fall 2021
Econ 103Introduction to
MicroeconomicsSpring 2021 Syllabus & Course
Schedule
Meeting TimesLectures pre-recorded andavailable before and after class.Mon/Wed Q and A: 8:00am – 8:50amThurs/Fri: Discussion section
FAQ: Am I required attend my scheduled lecture time? NO!You can view lecture at your convenience. Scheduledlecture times are for Q and A with Professor Friedman. Youshould come but attendance is voluntary.Must I do other online videos? YES! On-line videos covervital material.Must I do the textbook readings? YES! Quizzes andproblem sets draw on readings even if they are not discussedin class.
Required TextsAvailable as EBook and hard copy through:
Microeconomics as a SocialScience
(2019 5th edition) by Gerald FriedmanISBN 9781524966416
Real World Micro(2021, 28th edition) by Dollars & Sense
ebook: You can purchase accessonline.Go to perusall.com. Create anaccount.
Select I am a student and enter the coursecode FRIEDMAN-EK82B.
You can buy paper editions from CollectiveCopy, 71 South Pleasant, Amherst. You can ordercopies here
FAQ: Do I need the current editions of the textbook? YES!New editions contain updated information pertinent to thecoursework. Using older editions could hurt your grade!
Professor FriedmanOffice: ZoomOffice hours: Thursday 10-12 by appointmentEmail: [email protected] are encouraged to direct questions to Professor Friedman via email
at the above address.
About This CourseEconomics 103 is a general education course in SocialWorld. It will help you to arrive at a betterunderstanding of yourself and other people andinvolves writing and analytical and critical thinking aswell as the development of technical skills. Econ 103introduces the fundamental questions in social theory:the nature of society and the relationship betweenindividuals and the community in the construction ofan economic system. Theories are taught through bothabstract models and examples that illustrate their use inpractice and the implications of different approaches.We look at the meaning and value of economic growth,the relationship between individual wishes and marketoutcomes, the importance of market externalities andalternative ways to regulate them, the relationshipbetween economic inequality and economic growth,and the meaning and role of social insurance. Anunderlying theme of Econ 103 is how our choice ofeconomic theory informs our political choices: ourpreferred economic policy and the forms of ourcollective action.
Students are invited to raise questions in semi-weeklyQ and A sessions, and at weekly discussion sectionswith graduate-student Teaching Assistants. Studentsalso have opportunities to develop their communicationskills through short essays included as part of theproblem sets addressing questions in economic theory,such as methodological individualism vs. socialscience, and the relationship between levels ofinequality and economic welfare.
Fall 2021
Course RequirementsProblem Sets – Worth 65%There are four problem sets worth 65% of your final grade. You are encouraged to work together on the problemsets with another student in your TA-section and hand in a single copy of the numerical problems (for which bothcontributing students will get the same grade); you should hand in your own essay questions.
Quizzes – Worth 20%23 quizzes will be given for each class beginning with Class 4 (September 15 ). Quizzes are on the Moonami pageand will be opened after class and remain open until the next class when I will flip a coin to determine if the quizwill count. (I will ask for student volunteer to call the coin flip; sign up here.) Following probability, 11 quizzeswill be graded and your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. If 12 quizzes are graded, we will drop two.
Moonami Discussions – Worth 15%Beginning with the first class, there are 15 discussion topics. (In some cases, topics cover more than one class.)For each topic, by the closing date given in the description, give a response to the question and respond to at leastone other student, and you will get 1 point.
Academic IntegrityIf you find the work is overwhelming, please get help from your TA or from Professor Friedman
● For the problem sets, again we encourage you to work with another student from your section, butkeep in mind collaboration and cheating are different. Also, it should go without saying that you should notcopy last year’s problem sets…. The problems change so copying last year’s will be obvious. (People do it:don’t be that dumb . . .)
If you are caught cheating you will be subject to draconian University disciplinary action.
Some things to do when things get hard● Be sure to read the relevant materials in the textbooks and review the lectures and videos● The Moonami site has a section of special videos entitled “Various Helps.” Check them out!
And let Professor Friedman know if you find them useful or useless.● Your TA holds office hours. He or she will let you know; and they will be posted.
● Send an email and meet with Professor Friedman.
Fall 2021
Class
No.Date Topic Readings Moonami Videos and
PowerPoint Slides
Quizand
Discussion
1Sept 1
WedIntroduction: Orientation. Is
it all about supply anddemand?
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 1
Real World Micro, chs. 1.1-1.2
Welcome to Economics103 D1
Sept 6 Mon NO CLASS ON LABOR DAY
2
Sept 8Jewishholiday:lecture
WedIf we are so rich, why aren’twe happy? Problems with
markets.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 2
Real World Micro, chs. 3.1, 6.2Money Buys More Happiness
NY Times: The Kids Are NotAlright
Work-life balance: What reallymakes us happier
Wealth and happinessWhat is it successful
economy?History of GDP
D2
3
Sept 13
MonMarginal utility and
downward sloping demandcurves.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 3
Real-World Micro, chapters3.4-3.6
Marginal Utility
4Sept 15
Wed The elasticity of demand,and consumer surplus
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 3
Elasticity of demandElasticity with graph
Quiz 1D3
5Sept 20
MonDo aggregate demand curvesreally slope down? Shifting
demand curves.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 3
Individual and aggregatedemand Quiz 2
6
Sept 22
Wed
Supply: Firms andproduction.
Marginal productivity.Marginal cost.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 4
Real World Micro,chs. 4.1-4.3“The Key to the Productivity
Puzzle”
Econ 103: MPL and MC Quiz 3D4
7
Sept 27
Mon Supply curves under perfectcompetition.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 4
Econ 103: ComparativeAdvantage
Quiz 4Econ 103: MarginalRevenue
8Sept 29
Wed Productivity change and longrun supply curves.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 4 Productivity in the short
and long runQuiz 5
D5
9
Oct 4PS 1!
Mon
Marginal Revenue andMonopoly: Rents, profits and
producer surplus undermonopoly and perfect
competition.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 4
Real World Micro, Chapter 5Google is a monopolyBreak up the beer monopoly
Supply curves andMarginal Revenue
MonopolyMore on monopoly
Quiz 6
10
Oct 6
Wed
Shifting supply and demandcurves: Using market
outcomes to identify shifts insupply and demand.
Friedman, MicroeconomicsChapter 5
Real-World Micro, chs. 2.1,2.4-2.7
How clothing giants Gap andBenetton succeeded and failed
Econ 103 Changes inSupply and Demand
Quiz 7D6
Fall 2021
Oct 11
Mon NO CLASS ON COLUMBUS DAY
11
Oct 13
WedPrices and regulations: when
can regulation improvemarket outcomes?
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 5
Real-World Micro, chs. 2.1-2.3,4.4
Effect of raising the minimumwage:Debate on raising minimum wageMinimum wage and smallbusinesses
Price controls, regulation,and elasticity Quiz 8
12
Oct 18
Mon
Supply: Adam Smith andsupply curves
Economics is a socialscience where institutions
matter.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapters 1, 6
Real-World Micro, chs. 1.3-1.7
The division of labormakes economics a social
theory
Quiz 9D7
13Oct 20
Wed
Transactions costs,bargaining, power, andproduction possibility
frontiers
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 6
Real-World Micro, chs. 7.2-7.5
Econ 103: ProductionPossibility Frontier Quiz 10
14Oct 25
Mon Capitalism: production foruse and production for profit
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 7
Real-World Micro, chapter 10
Econ103 CapitalismQuiz 11
D8Econ 103: Comparative
Advantage
15Oct 27PS 2! Wed Caring labor
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 7
Real-World Micro, chs. 4.7, 7.6Econ 103: care labor Quiz 12
D9
16
Nov 1
MonPublic goods, prisoner’s
dilemmas, and the problemof externalities.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 6
Real-World Micro, chapter 6Diane Coyle, “Apocolypse
When?”
Econ 103: PrisonersDilemma
Econ 103: ExternalitiesGawker: Must Watch:
Golden Balls ContestantWins With Most Ballsy
Move Ever
Quiz 13D10
17 Nov 3 Wed Coase's Theorem: What is it,and does it work?
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapter 6 Quiz 14
18
Nov 8
MonIncome inequality.
Citizenship and the marketeconomy.
Friedman, MicroeconomicsChapter 8
Real World Micro, chapter 8.The racial wealth gapSix facts about inequality in theUS:Washington Post, “Sharing theWealth”Washington Post, “Secret TroveIlluminates the Lives ofBillionaires”
Income Distribution in theUS
Utilitarianism
Quiz 15D11
19
Nov 10
WedIs inequality good? Okun
and leaky buckets, and whyhe is wrong.
Friedman, Microeconomicschapter 8
Real World Micro, chapter 9.Katharina Pistor, “if wealth is
justified so is a wealth tax”
The 1%The 99%
The Democratic Economy
Quiz 16D12
20Nov 15PS 3! Mon
Marginal productivity oflabor and the neoclassical
demand for labor.
Friedman, Microeconomics,chapter 9
Real World Micro, chapter 4.5
Econ 103: MarginalRevenue Product
Quiz 17D13
Fall 2021
Marginal revenue product oflabor;
Wage = MRP.
21
Nov 17
Wed
Labor supply and demand,home production,
compensating differentials,and immigration.
Friedman, Microeconomics,chapter 9 Econ 103, labor supply
and immigration Quiz 18Real World Micro, chapters 4.6,7.4
22Nov 22
Mon
Do wages really equal MRP?Ford and efficiency wages:
quits, incentives, humancapital.
Friedman, Microeconomics,Chapters 9 and 10
Quiz 19D14
THANKSGIVING RECESS BEGINS AFTER CLASSES ON NOV 23
23
Nov 29
MonPower in labor markets:discrimination and the
economics of care.
Friedman, Microeconomics,chapter 10
Real World Micro, ch. 7.5“Why Mark Wahlberg earns more”“Lookism: Beauty trumps brains”Male and Female brains
Econ 103: Discriminationand Crowding Out
Nikki Glaser explainseconomics of gender
The Pink TaxThe Data behind
Hollywood Sexism
Quiz 20
24
Dec 1
WedEfficient financial markets;
risk, uncertainty, interestrates Friedman, Microeconomics,
chapter 11
Enron: the smartest guysin the room
Financial Markets I: Riskand Uncertainty
Quiz 21D15
25
Dec 6
Mon Asymmetric information andfinancial market failure
Insurance
Quiz 22Asymmetric Information
Efficient marketsDeregulation
26
Dec 8
Wed Government and insurance
Friedman, Microeconomics,chapter 12
Friedman, “Dog Walking”Costs of Inequality in UKIncome inequality and its cost
Social versus privateinsurance
Quiz 23A democratic economyHow Inequality Hurts
Dec 13PS 4DUE
Mon
