Week 1
Tuesday, September 13 – introduction to EC155
- Ten ‘Principles of Economics‘ video clips
- Problem set #1 (found here) to be completed by Thursday, December 8
Thursday, September 15 – Ten Principles of Economics
- Mankiw, Chapter 1
-
David Brooks “If it feels right.” New York Times, September 15, 2011
- Resources from our textbook
Week 2
Tuesday, September 20 – Thinking like an economist
- Mankiw, Chapter 2
- The Economist – How does inequality matter?”
Thursday, September 22 – Interdependence and gains from trade
- Mankiw, Chapter 3
- Forest Service exercise
Week 3
Monday, September 26th 4:30 PM. Axinn 219. “Can Game Theory Provide a Mathematical Foundation for the Social Sciences? William Ferguson, Grinnell College
Tuesday, September 27 – Demand
- Mankiw, Chapter 4 (through ‘demand’)
Thursday, September 29 – Supply and demand together
- Mankiw, Chapter 4 (rest of chapter)
- “I’ll trade you a bag of chips, two cookies and $60,000 for your tuna fish sandwich.” online activity from econedlink
Week 4
Tuesday, October 4 – Making a case for thinking like an economist
- Roberts (The Invisible Heart), chapters 1- 8
- Problem set #2 due in class
Thursday, October 6 – first midterm exam – 7:00 – 10:00 PM – Hillcrest 103 (The Franklin Environmental Center)
Week 5
Tuesday, October 11 – Elasticities
- Mankiw, Chapter 5
- Slides for chapter 5
Thursday, October 13 - Supply, Demand and Government Policies
- Mankiw, Chapter 6
- Slides for chapter 6
Friday, October 14 – last day to drop a class
Week 6
Tuesday, October 18 – Consumers, producers, and the efficiency of markets
- Mankiw, Chapter 7
- Slides for Chapter 7
Thursday, October 20 – More on thinking like an economist
- The Invisible Heart, chapters 9 – 14
- Video from Nicholas Kristof, on sweat shops in Cambodia.
Friday, October 21
- Problem set #3 due by 5PM in Isham’s office (Franklin Environmental Center 214)
Week 7
Tuesday, October 25 – midterm recess
Thursday, October 27 – The Costs of Taxation
- Mankiw, Chapter 8
- Slides for Chapter 8
Week 8
Tuesday, November 1 – International trade
- Mankiw, Chapter 9
- “Free Trade Can Lift Labor Standards Abroad.” Layna Mosley, the New York Times, October 28, 2011.
- SolarWorld Files Complaint Against Chinese Panelmakers and Cell Manufacturers.
- Slides for Chapter 9
Thursday, November 3 – Externalities
- Mankiw, Chapter 10
- Slides for Chapter 10
Week 9
Tuesday, November 8 - More on thinking like an economist
- The Invisible Heart, chapters 15 – 21
- “It’s a Wonderful Life” – ending
- Harvard students walk out of Greg Mankiw’s class
- Problem set #4 due in class
Thursday, November 10 – midterm exam – 7:00 – 10:00 PM – Twilight Auditorium
Week 10
Tuesday, November 15 – Public Goods and Common Resources
- Mankiw, Chapter 11
- Tierney, John. 2000. “A Tale of Two Fisheries.” The New York Times (August 27, 2000.)
- Slides for Chapter 11
Thursday, November 17 - The Design of the tax system
- Mankiw, Chapter 12
- Slides for Chapter 12
Week 11
Tuesday, November 22
- Video interview with Joseph Stiglitz (April 2011) – part 1 and part 2
- Video of Joseph Stiglitz at Occupy Wall Street (October 2011)
- “The Wrong Inequality.” David Brooks, The New York Times (October 31, 2011)
- “What Do Young People Around the World Have in Common? No Jobs” Tim Fernholz, Good (November 15, 2011)
Tuesday, November 24 – Thanksgiving Break
Week 12
Tuesday, November 29 – Poverty, the environment, and human rights
- “200 years of rapid development” Hans Rosling (video)
- The Poverty Lab: Transforming Development Economics, One Experiment at a Time – The New Yorker, May 17, 2010
- “More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World: But what if the experts are wrong?” Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. Foreign Policy MAY/JUNE 2011
Thursday, December 1 – The cost of production
- Mankiw, Chapter 13
- Slides for Chapter 13
Week 13
Tuesday, December 6 – Firms in competitive markets
- Mankiw, Chapter 14
- Slides for Chapter 14
Thursday, December 8 – Income inequality and poverty
- Mankiw, Chapter 20
- Economist Dambisa Moyo in an interview with Tavis Smiley (Feb. 23, 2011)
Recommended review problems (“Problems and Applications”) for the final exam:
- Chapter 13: 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12
- Chapter 14: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11
Final exam – Saturday, December 17, 9:00 – 12:00 AM, McCardell BiHall 216
