Introduction to Econ 210a: Why
Are We All Here?
J. Bradford DeLong
U.C. Berkeley
Why Assign Readings? Why Ask You to
Write?
• Why not just dump a bunch of data on you,
and ask you to make sense of it?
• Why assign these readings? How should
readings be chosen?
• Why ask you to write about the readings—
briefly, briefly—before class?
• Why a big paper rather than a midterm and a
final exam?
Why Gather Us All Here W 1-3?
• Self study/distance learning/MOOCs—why
aren’t we doing that?
• The 10-40-80 Rule…
• That means you gotta talk—or this course is
going to be much less useful than it could and
should be…
• The instant-correction-of-misapprehensions
principle…
Boilerplate I
• Introduction to Economic History: Economics
210A
– Brad DeLong and Barry Eichengreen
– Spring 2014 University of California, Berkeley
– Wednesday 1:00-3:00 p.m. 597 Evans Hall
Boilerplate II
• Economics 210a is required of Ph.D. students in the first year of the
graduate program. The course is designed to introduce a selection
of themes from the contemporary economic history literature ( not
to present a narrative account of world economic history).
Emphasis is on the insights that history can provide to the practicing
economist.
• Class meetings consist of a mixture of lecture and discussion.
Because discussion will focus on issues raised by the assigned
readings, readings should be completed before class.
• Your grade will be based 50 percent on one-page memos due at the
beginning of each class meeting, and 50 percent on the research
paper (where the latter 50 percent will be based both on the
synopsis you submit prior to spring break and the paper you submit
at the end of instruction). Extra credit will be given for informed,
constructive classroom discussion.
Boilerplate III
• A memo on each week’s readings is due at the beginning of the
class during which those readings are discussed. You will find the
memo questions on Professor DeLong’s and Professor
Eichengreen’s 210a subpages:
– http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/econ-210a-spring-2014/
– http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/webfac/eichengreen/e210a_spring1
3/e210b.shtml
• Typically the week’s question will be posted on the Thursday six
days before the class meeting when your memo is due. The memo
is due at the start of the class meeting.
• Your memos should be one-page, and certainly no more than two
pages (12-point type). They cannot be exhaustive or provide
definitive answers. But they can explain why a question is
important, and they can draw on assigned readings in an effort to
answer it.
Boilerplate IV
• Your research paper is due on Friday May 9th.
– The paper should not exceed 25 pages.
– The deadline will not be changed
– Plan in advance.
• Discuss your paper topic during office hours
• Submit a brief paper prospectus before spring
break
• An economic history paper
What Is an Economic History Paper?
• Not a summary
• Method of economics, question of history
• What is “historical substance” anyway?
– What is the economic past? One answer is a period when
economic institutions were significantly different from today.
You, as author and researcher, have to make the case.
(comparisons of past and present are fine).
• Types of papers:
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–
–
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Comments
Historical roots or parallels
Find a dataset
Test a hypothesis
An interesting event