ECON 4650 - Public Choice                                              Spring 2024

Instructor: Bonnie Wilson

Email: bonnie.wilson@slu.edu 

Office:  DS 369b   

In-person office hours (when classes are in session):

• Wednesdays, 12:00 - 1:00, except the first Wednesday of the month (02.07, 03.06, 04.03, 05.01)

• Fridays, 12:00 - 1:00 

Virtual office hours: Make an appointment in advance here; Zoom link

Syllabus

Materials/Assignments

• Introduction

  • Buchanan, What Should Economists Do?  Questions; prepare for 01.17

  • Buchanan, Politics without Romance.  Questions; prepare #1-2 for 01.19; add #3-5 for 01.22

  • practice problems; submission form; submit prior to class on 01.26 

• Origins of the state

  • Social contract theory/contractarianism.  Questions; prepare for 01.29

  • Constitutional economics.  Buchanan and Tullock, ch. 5-6 in The Calculus of Consent.  Questions; prepare #1-5 (ch. 5) for 02.02; add #6-11 (ch. 5) for 02.05; add #1-2 (ch. 6) for 02.07; add #3-6 (ch. 6) for 02.12; add #7-9 (ch. 6) for 02.14 

  • Olson, Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development.  Questions; prepare #1-2 for 02.16; add #3-4 for 02.19

  • practice problems; we'll work through these together in class on 02.21

~~~~~~~~~~ Exam 1 material cut-off ~~~~~~~~~~

• Olson, Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development.  Questions; add #5 for 02.26; add #6-9 for 02.28; add #10-12 for 03.01

• practice problems; submission form; submitted in class on 03.04

• Faction and collective action 

  • Madison, Federalist #10. Questions. Prepare #1-3 for 03.06; add #4-5 for 03.08

  • Olson, The South Will Fall Again. Questions. Prepare #1-3 for 03.18; add #4-6 for 03.20; add #7 for 03.22

  • practice problems; submission form; submitted in class on 03.25  

• Rent seeking

  • Tullock, The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopolies, and Theft; The Transitional Gains Trap. Questions. Prepare #1-3 for 03.27; add #4-6 for 04.03; add #7-8 for 04.05

  • Classroom license lottery game [in class on 04.08] 

  • Stigler, The Theory of Economic Regulation.  Questions.  Prepare #1-4 for 04.10; add #5-7 for 04.12

  • Yandle, Bootleggers and Baptists.  Questions. Prepare #1-3 for 04.15

  • practice problems; submission form; prepare for 04.17

~~~~~~~~~~ Exam 2 material cut-off ~~~~~~~~~~

• Yandle, Bootleggers and Baptists.  Questions. Prepare #4-6 for 04.24

• McChesney, Rent Extraction. Questions. Prepare #1-4 for 04.26; add #5-8 for 04.29 

• Munger, Is Capitalism Sustainable? Questions. Prepare for 05.01 

• practice problems; submission form. Submit in class on 05.03 

• Wrap-up

  • Brennan and Buchanan, Is Public Choice Immoral?  Questions. Prepare for 05.06

Spreadsheet

• As I record scores, I will post updated versions of the course spreadsheets.  Scores are listed the by last four digits of your ID, and sorted numerically by ID.  If you have questions or concerns, and especially if you spot any recording errors, please let me know.

• Spreadsheet; updated 05.04

• Exam 1 histogram

• Exam 2 histogram

• Final and semester totals histogram

Announcements

• Regular and extra in-person office hours in preparation for exam 1:

  • Tuesday, 02.20, 10:00 - 1:00

  • Wednesday, 02.21, 12:00 - 1:00

  • Thursday, 02.22, 10:00 - 1:00

• Regular and extra in-person office hours in preparation for exam 2:

  • Tuesday, 04.16, 10:00 - 12:00

  • Wednesday, 04.17, 12:00 - 2:00

  • Thursday, 04.18, 10:00 - 1:00

• Extra in-person office hours in preparation for the final exam:

  • Thursday, 05.09, 10:00 - 12:00

  • Friday, 05.10, 10:00 - 12:00

Links

• Arnold Kling, The Three Languages of Politics; EconTalk episode [referenced on 01.17]

• The role of the economist in a free society.  Pete Boettke [01.26]

  • Mises to Knight

  • Madmen, intellectuals, and academic scribblers

• What the Wilt Chamberlin example is supposed to prove

  • Nozick, Wilt Chamberlin, and Theories of Justice

  • What rights does Robert Nozick have?

• Giving away money costs more than you think

• Titles for me but not for thee (transitional gains trap); property rights as escape from a transitional gains trap

• Tullock and Dred Scott

Old Exams

• spring 2024; exam 1 (multiple choice solutions); exam 2 (multiple choice solutions)

• spring 2023:  exam 1 (multiple choice solutions); exam 2 (multiple choice solutions)

• spring 2022:  midterm exam (multiple choice solutions) 

Exam Dates

• In-class exam 1:  Friday, February 23

• In-class exam 2:  Friday, April 19

• Final exam:  Monday, May 13, 8:00 - 9:50 am