Economics 2: Spring 2014
J. Bradford DeLong, and...
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/econ-2spring-2014/
Economics 2: Spring 2014:
Course Intro
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/econ-1-spring-2012/
January 22, 2014, ???
???, U.C. Berkeley
Things to Notice About This Course I
• This is one semester
– Everywhere else this is a two semester course:
– We go fast
• This is the University of California at Berkeley
– Certainly the finest public university in the world
– Perhaps the finest university in the world
– Others could be in your seats
• They would take advantage of the opportunities here
• Don’t waste your opportunity here
Things to Notice About This Course II
• This is Econ 2
– Econ 1 here—because it is one semester—goes fast
– We go faster
– We do more
• This is a lecture hall
– A pre-Gutenberg educational technology for a postGutenberg age
• There is a Course Policies document
– Read it
iClicker
• Power light shows when
you turn it on
• Question: Do you know
what an iClicker is?
– A. Yes
– B. Not yet
Administrative Matters
iClicker
• Power light shows when
you turn it on
• Question: Do you have an
iClicker?
– A. Yes
– B. No
Administrative Matters
iClicker
• Power light shows when
you turn it on
• Question: Have you
registered your iClicker at
iclicker.com?
– A. Yes
– B. Not yet
Administrative Matters
Who Are You?
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A. First-year
B. Second-year
C. Third-year
D. Fourth-year
E. Other
Who Are You? II
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A. Republican
B. Democrat
C. Communitarian
D. Authoritarian
E. Libertarian
Have You Taken Economics Before?
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A. Yes, and I remember a lot from it
B. Yes, and I remember some things from it
C. Yes, but I remember nothing at all from it
D. No
E. I’m not sure...
Do You Expect to Take More
Economics Courses After This One?
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A. Yes
B. No
C. NO!!
D. Maybe…
E. Depends on my grade…
Winter Break Assignment Quiz
Winter Break Assignment I
• Winter Break Reading: Before you show up here
in the spring for Econ 2, please:
– Read: Partha Dasgupta, Prologue to Economics: A Very
Short Introduction
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/10/prologue-topartha-dasgupta-economics-a-very-shortintroduction.html
– Read and Consider: Possible Discussion Questions for
Partha Dasgupta, Economics: A Very Short
Introduction
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/10/possiblediscussion-questions-for-partha-dasgupta-economics-
Winter Break Assignment II
• Also read:
– The "Introduction" and chapters 1 through 5 of Book I (i.e., I:15) of Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the
Wealth of Nations (available for free on the web or free for
Amazon Kindle or Apple iBooks; you can also buy a copy)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm
– Pp. 1-31 of Paul Seabright, In the Company of Strangers: A
Natural History of Economic Life (ISBN #: 978-0691146461
Publisher: Princeton) http://www.amazon.com/CompanyStrangers-Natural-History-Economic/dp/0691146462/
– Pp. ix-69 of Milton Friedman and Rose Director Friedman, Free
to Choose (ISBN #: 978-0156334600 Publisher: Mariner)
http://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-Statement-MiltonFriedman/dp/0156334607/
Winter Break Assignment III
• Yes, there was a quiz…
• And then, before your first section meeting:
– Read: Partha Dasgupta, Economics: A Very Short
Introduction
http://www.amazon.com/Economics-A-VeryShort-Introduction/dp/0192853457
Next Steps…
• Assignment for Section 2:
– 400-word introductory letter to your GSI
• Further reading:
– Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers
– Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of
the Wealth of Nations
• Python[?]
• Lecture
– Intellectual history
– Introduction to microeconomics
What You Should Know…
• This is a go-faster, do-more course…
• Grades will be equivalent to what you would
get if you had decided to take Econ 1 instead…
• Can’t slack off and wait until the end of the
semester to get a handle on this course—
there is just too much to do…