0.0 ECON 110.01 Introduction to Economic Theory Syllabus

Economics 110, Section 1: Introduction to Economic Theory

Professor Christiaan Hogendorn
Spring 2012

Syllabus

SW = Joseph Stiglitz and Carl Walsh, Economics, 4th Edition, Norton, 2006, or 3rd Edition.
Chapter numbers are from 4th edition, with 3rd edition in [brackets].
Items marked with ! are not yet available.

Course Policies and Grading

I. Introduction
Jan. 30 M 1. A Brief History of Economics
SW: 1 [1]
Review: SW: 2 Appendix [2 Appendix]
Feb. 1 W 2. Money, Inflation, and "Why is Economics the Dark Side?"
SW: 28 pp. 615-620 [25 pp. 518-523]
SW: 23 all [23 pp. 472-479]
BLS Consumer Price Index Data

II. Economic Policy Using Supply and Demand
Feb. 6 M 3. Markets for Goods and Services
SW: 3 [4]
EIA Petroleum Data
Feb. 8 W 4. Analysis in the Supply and Demand Model
SW: 4 [5]
Feb. 13 M 5. Consumer and Producer Surplus
SW: 10 [10] read up to General Equilibrium
Feb. 15 W 6. Quantity Controls and Taxes
Review discussion of taxes in SW 4 [5] and SW 10 [10].
Tax Rates
Feb. 20 M 7. International Trade
SW: 19 [18]
Feb. 22 W 8. Externalities and the Environment
SW: 18 [21]

III. Firms
Feb. 27 M 9. The Nature and Value of a Firm
SW: 9 [9]
Feb. 29 W
Leap Year Day!		 FIRST MIDTERM
Covers classes 1-6, Problem sets 1-3.
March 5 M 10. Production and Costs
SW: 6 [7]
March 7 W 11. The Perfectly Competitive Firm
SW: 7 [8]
SPRING BREAK
March 26 M 12. The Imperfectly Competitive Firm
SW: 12 [12]
March 28 W 13. The Labor Market
SW: 8 [9]
April 4 W 14. The Capital Market and the Real Interest Rate
SW: 39 [17]
Old Bond
April 4 W 15. Imperfect Factor Markets (NOT COVERED)
SW: 16 [15] (NOT COVERED)
April 9 M 16. Introduction to Macroeconomic Models
SW: 21, 22 [22, 23]
SW: 24 [24]
BEA GDP Data
Nationmaster GDP Data

IV. Introduction to Macroeconomics
April 11 W 17. Savings, Investment, Government
SW: 25, 26 [26]
IMF Savings and Investment Data
April 16 M 18. Growth
SW: 27 [27]
Eswar Prasad, Raghuram Rajan, and Arvind Subramanian, "The Paradox of Capital," Finance and Development, 44(1), March 2007.
BLS Productivity Data
Background: Dani Rodrik, "Making Room for China in the World Economy," American Economic Review, 2010.
April 18 W 19. Central Banks
SW: 28 pp. 618-632 [25 pp. 518-528]
Phil Davies, "Right on Target: A behind-the-scenes look at open market operations, the Fed's big stick of monetary policy," The Region, December 2004: 39-48.
Background: Interview with Gary Gorton, Yale University finance economist on the growth and collapse of shadow banking, The Region, December 2010.

V. Fluctuations
April 23 M 20. Money and the Real Economy
SW: 28 and 34 [25 and 34]
Federal Reserve Money Supply Data
Niel Willardson, "Actions to Restore Financial Stability," The Region, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, December 2008.
April 25 W SECOND MIDTERM EXAM
Covers classes 7-17, Problem sets 4-8.
April 30 M 21. Unemployment and Business Cycles
SW: 29 [28]
NBER Business Cycles
BLS Unemployment Data
May 2 W 22. Aggregate Demand and Inflation
SW: 31 [30]
May 7 M 23. Inflation and Unemployment
SW: 37 [31]

May 9 W 24. Household Choices Revisited
SW: 5 Appendix [6 Appendix]

May 14 M Review Session
1pm-3pm, PAC 001

May 16 W FINAL EXAM SITTING 1
2-5pm PAC 004
May 17 T FINAL EXAM SITTING 2
2-5pm PAC 002