“It looks insanely complicated, and this is one of the reasons why the snug plastic cover it fitted into has the words DON’T PANIC printed on it in large friendly letters.” Hitchhikers Guide to the
Galaxy
“An economist is a man who states the obvious in terms of the incomprehensible.”
Alfred A. Knopf
ECON-603
Introduction to Economic Theory
Summer 2013
May 13 through June 27
Office Phone Number:
E-mail Address:
Virtual Office Hours:
(202) 885-3768 reynolds@american.edu
Wednesdays, 1-3
Fridays, 9-11
C OURSE D ESCRIPTION : This purpose of this course is to provide students with the tools they need to decode the “incomprehensible,” the economic theory that serves as the building blocks of the policy analysis done by economists. Students will learn the most common models in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, and use these models to evaluate the welfare consequences of a wide variety of market failures, government policies, and external shocks to the economic system. The course is designed for graduate students who have either (1) never had economics or (2) need an economics refresher.
C OURSE O BJECTIVES : The objectives of this course can be divided into those related to microeconomics and those related to macroeconomics. By the end of the semester, each student will be able to:
Microeconomics:
1.
Use the concept of comparative advantage to explain the gains from trade.
2.
Use partial equilibrium analysis to explain the change in the market equilibrium price and quantity due to changes in the determinants of demand and/or supply.
3.
Use welfare analysis to explain the efficiency and distributional consequences of government policies (including taxes, subsidies, and price controls), monopolies, and market failures (including externalities).
4.
Explain how a firm’s costs are related to the technology available to the firm in addition to the prices of its inputs into the production process.
5.
Explain how the market structure of an industry will determine the pricing and output (supply) decisions of the firm.
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Macroeconomics:
6.
Define and understand basic macroeconomic indicators such as Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), unemployment and inflation, and provide welfare interpretations of their movements.
7.
Use macroeconomic models to (including aggregate demand and aggregate supply, money supply and money demand, and IS-LM) to explain the impact of various fiscal and monetary policies in both the short-run and the long-run.
8.
Explain the determinants of long-run economic growth.
R EQUIRED R ESOURCES AND T ECHNOLOGY
Textbook . You are required to purchase access to EconPortal for this course. EconPortal for Krugman/Wells’ Economics, Second Edition in Modules is a learning environment that integrates an interactive eBook, activities, communication tools, an assignment center and grading system.
There are two ways to purchase your access to the course (including the digital textbook):
1.
Directly from the www.yourEconPortal.com website for US$99.99:

Click on the “Students Purchase Access Today” button, and then the
“Purchase” link next to Krugman/Wells’ Economics, Second Edition in
Modules .

You will be prompted to follow the on-screen instructions to find your course.
You will start by selecting the school's state/province, the school name, then your instructor, course, and/or section.

You will be asked to enter your name, email address and choose a password.

Enter your Credit Card information and you will be ready to go!
2.
Purchase an access card to the EconPortal in the AU bookstore. Use this option if you are paying with financial aid or Eaglebucks. Once you have purchased access, you need to register for an account. To sign in:

Point your browser to www.yourEconPortal.com

Click on the "STUDENTS REGISTER YOUR CODE" button

Click the “Register Your Code” link next to your textbook’s title

You will be prompted to follow the on-screen instructions to find your course.
You will start by selecting the school's state/province, the school name, then your instructor, course, and/or section.

You will enter the access code that came with your textbook or that you purchased separately. You will also be asked to enter your email address, choose a password and you will be ready to go!
If you have any trouble during the registration process, please call 1-800-936-6899 or email us at techsupport@bfwpub.com.
Blackboard . Students are expected to have regular, reliable access to AU’s Blackboard site. You will need this to review lecture notes and other study materials. If you don’t check your University e-mail on a regular basis, make sure you have your blackboard e-
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mail address forwarded to your preferred e-mail address. Minimum technical requirements and software needed to access course content include:
Platforms Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7; Mac OS X
Hardware
Browsers
Internet
Connection
1 GB Ram, 1 GB Free Disk Space, Sound Card
Mozilla Firefox (Recommended) or Internet Explorer 7 or 8 (in compatibility mode)
Broadband Recommended
Microsoft Powerpoint, Adobe Reader, and Mathematica Player (can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.wolfram.com/products/player/ ).
Piazza: This term we will be using Piazza for class discussion. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from classmates, the TA, and myself.
Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, I encourage you to post your questions on Piazza. If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com
.
Find our class page at: https://piazza.com/american/summer2013/econ603e01l/home
O FFICE H OURS .
I will be holding virtual office hours in the course Collaborate classroom (accessible via blackboard) and on Skype (kara.m.reynolds) on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 and Fridays from 9:00 to 11:00 . I am also happy to schedule private meetings with students at a time of your convenience, either in my office, over the phone, via skype, or in a private Collaborate classroom. With your permission, “discussions” that take place in Collaborate about particular problems or concepts will be archived and posted for other students.
T
IME
C
OMMITMENT
.
As you know, this class is taught entirely online, never meeting in the traditional sense of regularly scheduled lectures but instead “meeting” regularly in cyberspace on our class Blackboard site in discussion boards and during the virtual office hours discussed above. The online format requires students to engage in much more proactive and self-guided learning, and you may find it even more time intensive than a traditional class. You should plan to invest a minimum of 15 hours each week to the course, reading the textbook and other readings, reviewing lecture videos, posting on discussion board and completing homework assignments. This is the same amount of time you should be spending on your regular semester course, condensed into the seven week summer schedule.
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Each week will consist of two learning modules. For each module, you should
1.
Read the assigned reading from the e-textbook on the EconPortal website.
2.
Review the lecture segments and powerpoint slides on the course blackboard site.
3.
Read the economic policy examples from the course blackboard page.
4.
Complete the EconPortal problem sets and the Discussion Questions for the week
Feel free to ask me, or your fellow classmates, questions at any point during the week about the material or the assignments. Group pages have been set up on the course
Piazza website, and you are welcome to use the Collaborate classroom for group discussion.
G
RADING
Your grade will depend upon your participation in discussion boards, homework assignments, and two exams, according to the following point schedule:
Discussion Board Participation
Homework Assignments
Midterm (Due June 6, 11:45pm)
Final Exam (Due June 27, 11:45pm)
15
25
25
35
Points <60 60-69 70-73 74-76 77-79 80-83 84-86 87-89 90-93 100-94
Grade F D C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A
Homework: Students must complete the end-of-the-week exercises in the EconPortal.
These problem sets reinforce definitions and check your understanding of economic concepts properly. Students are welcome (and encouraged) to collaborate with their classmates on homework assignments.
Note that you have two chances to answer each question. All assignments must be submitted via the course EconPortal site by 11:45pm on the date indicated in the course schedule below; no late assignments will be accepted.
Discussion Board: As noted above, we will be using Piazza for class discussion. At the end of each module, students are expected to read the assigned policy article or video, and answer the posted questions on their group discussion board on Piazza.
Piazza answers are like Wikipedia: all members of the group can contribute to them.
Collaboratively edited questions and answers are far easier to read and comprehend than a long thread of comments. In other words, while the first group member will set the stage for the answer, subsequent members must refine and elaborate upon what other students have written. You are encouraged to include a graphical analysis of your point when relevant. To attach graphs to your posts, you can draw the graph on paper and upload a picture or a scan of the graph, or create your graph using software online tools
(try the drawing tools in powerpoint or www.lucidchart.com
). Individual student contributions will be graded according to the rubric below.
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4 3 2 1 demonstrates explains economic concepts clearly and correctly; has minimal errors in graphical notation. explanations are unclear; there are significant errors in economic reasoning or graphical analysis. familiarity with the topic or material, but does not set up graphical analysis correctly and/or has errors in definitions or basic explanations.
Makes a minimal contribution to the topic under consideration.
Exams: Exams are open-book and open-note, however you must not seek or accept help from (or provide help to) other people while taking the exams. You should also not quote directly from any resources. You are welcome to use calculators, word processors, spreadsheets or other drawing tools on the exam. The midterm will cover the microeconomics learning modules. The Final is cumulative. Exams must be submitted to the course blackboard site by 11:45pm on the date indicated in the course schedule below. No late exams will be accepted. Students who must miss an exam due to a family or medical emergency, and can document that emergency, should contact me as soon as possible about reweighting their grade.
A CADEMIC I NTEGRITY : Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University’s
Academic Integrity Code. By registering, you have acknowledged your awareness of the
Academic Integrity Code, and you are obliged to become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as defined by the code. Violations of the Academic Integrity Code will not be treated lightly, and disciplinary actions will be taken should violations occur; the standard sanction for violations is failure of the course.
As noted above, students are welcome to work with their classmates on homework assignments or discussion board answers. Exams are open-book and open-note, however you must not seek or accept help from (or provide help to) other people while taking the exams. If you do not follow these rules precisely and completely, you are in violation of
AU’s rules of academic integrity. Please see me if you have any questions regarding the academic violations described in the Code in general or as they relate to particular requirements for this course.
L EARNING WITH D ISABILITIES
If you are a student with physical or other disabilities and experience difficulty with this course, please do not hesitate to contact me. A range of services may be available to you through the University to help you meet course requirements. The Academic Support
Center ( http://www.american.edu/ocl/asc/ ) offers resources and consultations for all students, including those with learning disabilities and ADHD. Disability Support
Services ( http://www.american.edu/ocl/dss/ ) offers technical support for students with physical, medical or psychological disabilities.
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If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please notify me in a timely manner with a letter from the Academic Support Center or Disability Support Services so that we can make arrangements to accommodate your needs.
S
TUDENT
E
VALUATION OF
T
EACHING
: Near the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to evaluate this online class and your learning experience by completing an online Student Evaluation of Teaching. The evaluation contains the same set of questions used in assessing classroom-based courses, with the addition of four questions specifically applicable to online learning. As with any other face to face course, you are strongly encouraged to participate in this evaluation of your educational experience. A high participation rate is critical to AU’s ability to continually improve and strengthen the quality of the University’s learning opportunities.
C OURSE S CHEDULE :
D
ATE
L
ECTURE
T
OPICS
/R
EADINGS
A
SSIGNMENTS
/D
UE
D
ATES
Week 1
May 13-
May 19
Week 2
May 20-
May 26
Module 1:
An Introduction to Economic Theory:
Comparative Advantage
(KW, Modules 1, 3-4, and Appendix)
Module 2: How Markets Work: Supply and
Demand
(KW, Modules 5-7, 46-48)
Module 3: The Role of Government (Part I)
(KW, Modules 49, 50, 8, 81)
Module 4: The Role of Government (Part
II)
(KW, Modules 74, 75, 76)
Discussion Board:
Introduction Exercise
Discussion Board:
“Creating and Keeping
American Jobs”
Discussion Board: “How the US Oil/Gas Boom
Could Shake Up Global
Order”
EconPortal Assignment #1
Due May 19
Discussion Board:
“Understanding the Milk
Cliff”
Discussion Board: “The
Cobra Effect”
(Freakonomics Podcast)
EconPortal Assignment #2
Due May 26
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Week 3
May 27-June
2
Week 4
June 3-June 9
Module 5: Supply Redux: The Competitive
Market)
(KW, Modules 52-60)
Module 6: Market Power
(KW, Modules 61, 62, 64, 67)
Module 7: Economic Indicators
(KW, Modules: 2, 10-15)
Week 5
June 10-June
16
Module 8: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate
Supply
(KW, Modules: 16-19)
Module 9: The Financial Sector
(KW, Modules: 23, 25-29)
Week 6
June 17-June
23
Week 7
June 24-June
27
Module 10: Macroeconomic Policy
(KW, Modules: 20-21, 30-32, 35-36)
Module 11: The IS-LM Model
Module 12: Economic Growth
(KW, Modules: 37, 38, 39, and 40)
Final Exam
Discussion Board: Industry
Cost Structure
Discussion Board:
“Mavericks, Monopolies and
Beer”
EconPortal Assignment #3
Due June 2
Midterm
Due June 6
Discussion Board: “How To
Drown in Three Feet of
Water”
EconPortal Assignment #4
Due June 9
Discussion Board: “Even If
You’re All Powerful, Its Hard to Fix the Economy”
Discussion Board: “The Credit
Crunch of 2007-2008”
EconPortal Assignment #5
Due June 16
Discussion Board: “Obama,
Ryan and Two Dead
Economists”
Discussion Board: The IS-LM
Model
Discussion Board: “Can a
Poor Country Start Over?”
EconPortal Assignment #6
Due June 23
Final Exam,
Due June 27
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