This course is intended for graduate students in the International Affairs program [or similar programs] who have had NO [recent] prior economics; it will serve as sufficient prerequisite for other economics courses that require ECO 2013 and 2023 as prerequisites [e.g. ECO 5111, 5205, 5705, 5715].
Text: John B. Taylor, Economics, 2nd edition (1998) and Studyguides [Macro and Micro (recommended)].
Objectives: At the end of the course, students should:
(1) have acquired familiarity with the main concepts and
theories of mainstream Western economic theory;
(2) be able to understand, analyze, and assess the validity
of an economic argument in mainstream serious journalism (such as the Wall
Street Journal, the Economist, etc).
(3) be able to apply economic reasoning to real world
problems and situations.
Requirements:
The major requirement will be brief twice-weekly Ahomeworks@ based on the problems at the end of each chapter in the text. For each class meeting, specified questions will be assigned, with particular ones (not all) to be turned in for grading. The intent is to spend most of each class session discussing the homework problems, with additional explication of the text material or lecturing held to the minimum, and usually only in response to class request. In addition, there will be a take-home final exam, open-book but time limited. Homeworks will be graded; course grades will be based on best twenty homeworks, 60%; final, 30%; and attendance and participation, 10%. In all there should be 25 homeworks, the best 20 will count.
Outline:
The text has 34 chapters, which implies that we must move fast if we are to cover most of it. We will omit one chapter for sure, namely 16; but we will try to cover the major points of the other 33. As necessary, I will issue guidance as to which sections within chapters can be skipped or treated more superficially; my intent will be to cover the material almost entirely in the same order as the book, according to the following tentative schedule:
M 24 A: Intro, Chapter 1.
W 26 A: Chapters 1, 2.
M 31 A: Chapters 3, 4
W 2 S: Chapter 5 M 7 S: Labor Day, no class
W 9 S: Chapter 6
M 14 S: Chapter 7
W 16 S: Chapters 8, 9
M 21 S: Chapter 10, 11
W 23 S: Chapter 12
M 28 S: Chapter 13
W 30 S: Chapter 14
M 5 O: Chapter 15
W 7 O: Chapter 17
M 12 O: Chapter 18
W 14 O: Chapters 19, 20
M 19 O: Chapters 21, 22
W 21 O: Chapter 23
M 26 O: Chapter 24
W 28 O: Chapters 25, 26
M 2 N: Chapters 27, 28
W 4 N: Chapter 29 M 9 N: No class, Dr Cobbe out of town;
W 11 N: No class, Armistice Day
M 16 N: Chapter 30
W 18 N: Chapter 31
M 23 N: Chapter 32 W 25 N: No class, evening before Thanksgiving
M 30 N: Chapter 33
W 2 D: Chapter 34
Take-home final will be due on either Friday 4 December or Monday 7 December; which, style, and time available will be discussed with the class.
Disabilities. Students with disabilities requiring academic
accommodations should (a) register with and provide documentation to the
Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), (b) bring a letter to the instructor
from SDRC indicating the need for accommodations, and (c) discuss this
need with the instructor. This should be done by the end of the first week
of classes. This and other class materials can be made available in alternative
formats to accommodate needs.