Economics 101: Spring 2010
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS
Course web address: http://faculty.oxy.edu/whitney/classes/ec101

Welcome to Economics 101! The goals of this course are to introduce you to economics and to help you develop and apply the "economic way of thinking." The economic way of thinking is a framework for critical analysis that you can apply to a wide variety of personal and social issues. It is a way of thinking that can help you clearly focus on both the gains and losses at stake in specific situations as well as the winners and losers who have a stake in the outcome. Some of the questions we will address in the course include:

• How should you measure and compare the benefits and costs of your college education?
• What happens when the government restricts the behavior of market prices through rent controls, farm price supports, minimum wages and similar policies?
• How much pollution is "too much," and what should we do to reduce it?
• Women typically earn less than men, and disadvantaged minorities typically earn less than whites. Why? What intervention options do we have? What are the likely consequences of these options?
• How do Federal government spending and tax policies affect the nation's unemployment, inflation and economic growth?
• What is the "Fed," and why should we care about it?
• How did the U.S. shift from the world's largest creditor nation in 1981 to the world's largest debtor nation today, and what, if anything, should we do about it?
• How did we get into our worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and how can get out?

Economics 101 is structured to give you a wide range of opportunities to develop and practice your economic skills, through short writing assignments, problem sets, collaborative learning activities (where you work in groups with your classmates), and class discussions/presentations. By the end of the term, I hope you will be prepared to use the economic way to thinking to help make your own life more productive, responsible, and rewarding.

Economics 101 revolves around an examination of the market system--how it works, when and why it doesn't work, and what we can do to try to make it work better. Understanding the economic principles that govern markets will help you develop a method for coming up with well-reasoned answers to questions like those listed above. It will also improve your ability to read about current events in the popular press, understand the economic issues involved, and evaluate what is being said and done--in other words, to separate the sense from the nonsense.

Course requirements: Your basic grade will be distributed as follows:

Anticipated exam dates and assignment due dates are listed below in the course schedule. Assignments must be turned in on time in order to receive credit for them. Note: you must conscientiously complete all course assignments in order to pass the course. You are also expected to abide by the other general policies which apply to the course. To read them over, select the "Policies" link on the course home page. If you have specific physical or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. 

Class time will include a variety of interactive and collaborative learning activities which are impossible to "make up" by borrowing notes from a classmate or doing the readings on your own. So attendance is a crucial part of your overall course performance. As a result, once you miss four class meetings, each additional unexcused absence will lower your course grade by 0.1 of a letter grade. So, for example, if you miss seven classes, a final grade of 3.0 (B) will be reduced to a 2.7 (B-). I don't anticipate that any of you will end up in this situation, but I do want you to realize the significance of the penalty at stake.

Readings and materials: Each of the following is required for the course:

• Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Economics, 5th edition. Mason, OH: South-Western, 2008.
• A package of  3''x5" cards --be sure to bring some to each class.

    Additional course readings (Other) are available online and listed in the course schedule. For access to restricted course materials, enter:  Account name: _______________ and Password: _______________
    You should also read a daily news publication such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times or Wall Street Journal to keep up with current economic events. I have posted some online sources under the "News" and "Blogs" links at JW's Selected Websites <http://faculty.oxy.edu/whitney/bkmkfram.htm>.

Co-curricular activities: If you participate in a co-curricular activity--such as athletics or performing arts--that you believe might cause a conflict with any aspect of the class, then you must ensure that I receive (1) a schedule of events and (2) a schedule of all time commitments related to your activity for a typical week. Three acceptable options include: (1) email me the schedules yourself, with a CC to your activity coach/instructor (2) have your activity coach/instructor email me the schedules; or (3) email me a link to posted online schedules. The deadline for this information is the end of the first full week of classes.

Learning disabilities: In cooperation with the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE), I am happy to make recommended accommodations for students with learning disabilities which might pertain to any course requirement. If this is relevant to your situation, please drop by to discuss it with me so we can work out the details.
    Please note that students with documented disabilities who are registered with Disability Services are required to present their accommodation verification card to the instructor at the beginning of each semester or as soon as possible thereafter. Students who experience significant physical or mental impairments can contact Disability Services at (323) 259-2969 to learn about available services and support.

Academic Honesty: Intellectual honesty is essential to the academic enterprise. Occidental College assumes that students and faculty will accept and respect the principle of academic honesty. Fundamental to academic honesty is a spirit of honor. A spirit of honor thrives when students challenge each other to attain the highest levels of scholarship and civility, report infractions, and participate in an academic disciplinary hearing if required. Examples of unacceptable conduct include cheating and plagiarism. While I don’t anticipate any difficulties, if this or similar misconduct occurs, it will be met with disciplinary action. Please see the student handbook for more details. Here is the link to the website which covers Occidental's policy on academic honesty: http://www.oxy.edu/student-handbook/academic-ethics/academic-ethics

Tips:
    1. Try to find other students to work with. When doing your problem sets, try working through problems on your own first, then try to help each other out. Educational research consistently shows that students working together learn better than students working alone.
    2. I invite and encourage you to come see me outside of class. No appointment is necessary to visit me in my office during regular office hours. If you wish to meet with me at other times, just call me (at 2750) or email me (at whitney@oxy.edu) to set up an appointment.
    3. Check your campus email between every class session. Whenever I want to get in touch with the class, I use campus email. I expect you to check your email, so I don't let students use failure to check email as a reason for missing an important message, task or deadline.
    4. Check the course website between every class session. I require many readings besides the text, and they are posted online at the course website. You can find lots of other useful information there too: announcements and deadlines, answer keys to problem sets, all class handouts, class notes, etc.

Course schedule:
	I. Introduction: economics and the economic way of thinking
Dates:	Wed, Jan.20 - Fri, Jan.29
Text:	Mankiw: Chapters 1; 2
Deadlines:	Wed, Jan.27: Brief assignment: The Sullivan case due

	II. The micro economy IIA. Market fundamentals: supply and demand
Dates:	Fri, Jan.29 - Fri, Feb.5
Text:	Mankiw: Chapter 4
Deadlines:	Wed, Feb.10: Problem set 1 due     Fri, Feb.19: Quiz 1

	IIB. A closer look at microeconomic markets
Dates:	Fri, Feb.5 - Fri, Feb.12
Text:	Mankiw: Chapters 5; 7
Deadlines:	Wed, Feb.24: Problem set 2 due

	III. The microeconomic role of government
Dates:	Wed, Feb.17 - Mon., Mar.15
Text:	Mankiw: Chapters 6; 8; 10; 11; 15 (311-316, 322-339); 17; 18; 19; 20
Deadlines:	Fri, Mar.5: Writing assignment: the consequences of price ceilings due     Wed, Mar.17: Problem set 3 due     Wed, Mar.24, 5:00-7:00 PM: Midterm

	IVB. Aggregate demand (AD) and aggregate supply (AS)
Dates:	Mon, Mar.29 - Wed. Apr.7
Text:	Mankiw: 33
Deadlines:	Fri, Apr.9: Problem set 5 due     Fri, Apr.16: Quiz 2

	V. The macroeconomic role of government
Dates:	Wed, Apr.7 - Wed, Apr.21
Text:	Mankiw: Chapters 12; 34 (787-793); 26 (575-581); 29; 34 (777-787 (skim)); 26 (581-583); 34 (793-798); 36

	VI. The global economy
Dates:	Fri, Apr.21 - Wed., Apr.28
Text:	Mankiw: Chapters 31; 32 (skim); 3; 9
Deadlines:	Wed., Apr.28: Problem set 6 due     Fri, Apr.30, 10:00 AM: Final writing assignment due     Week of Mon, May3 - Sat, May8: Final exam