Syllabus

Econ 100: Principles of Economics

Instructor: Dr. Moriah Bostian

Term: Fall 2017

Classroom: Howard 102

Time: MW 3:00 - 4:30

Office: Howard 324

Office Hours: MW 10:00 - 11:00; Th 3:30 - 4:30

  • If you are unable to attend my office hours, please email me to schedule an appointment

Email: mbbostian@lclark.edu

Course Website: https://sites.google.com/a/lclark.edu/econ-100-bostian/

Required Text:

Krugman and Wells (2015), Economics, 4th Edition.

Prerequisite: None

Course Description:

Principles of Economics introduces economic theory and methods for economic analysis. The course begins with microeconomics, the study of consumer and producer behavior. Key microeconomic topics include specialization, consumer choice, economic cost, markets with varying degrees of competition, and public goods. This serves as the foundation for macroeconomics, the study of entire economies, in the latter part of the course.

Key macroeconomic topics include an overview of the U.S. economy, unemployment, inflation, economic growth and fiscal and monetary policy. Throughout the course, emphasis will be given to contemporary economic issues and policy applications. A few examples include:

    • Minimum Wage Laws and Rent Controls: Who benefits and at what cost?

    • Obama Care (a.k.a. The Affordable Care Act) and Coverage Mandates

    • Climate Change and Carbon Pricing

    • Price Fixing in the Airline Industry

    • The Great Recession and Recovery

Course Objectives:

The objectives of this course are for you to:

    • Understand and apply economic principles to decision-making problems

    • Be able to explain how prices are determined in market systems

    • Become fluent in the language of economics

    • Be able to describe the U.S. economy and its key indicators

    • Use economic theory to evaluate economic policy

Student Responsibilities:

Fulfilling the objectives above will require each of you to engage in this course. Your primary responsibilities as a student are to:

    • Come to class. This course will utilize discussion, group activities and in-class exercises as learning methods. For these methods to be effective, you must be present. I will take attendance at the beginning of class daily, and will allow three absences during the semester. If you are absent more than three times, I will lower your final grade by one letter grade for each additional absence.

    • Participate in class. Participation includes staying abreast of assigned readings, contributing to class discussions and collaborating on in-class exercises.

    • Maintain the learning environment for others. I expect you to be a considerate member of our classroom community. This includes refraining from texting and cell phone use during class. If you plan to use a laptop to take notes in this class, please sit in the back row to avoid distracting other students.

    • Complete assignments on time. In this course, we will cover a set of topics that build sequentially. Your comprehension of and ability to apply course concepts at any point in the semester will depend on your understanding of previous material. I do not accept late work.

Tips for doing well in this course:

Here are a few helpful strategies for success in Principles of Economics:

    • Do not fall behind. As an introduction to both micro and macroeconomics, this course covers a breadth of material at a rigorous pace. As a general rule, plan to spend 2 - 3 hours outside of class on the readings and homework for each class session. If you are having trouble keeping up with the course, visit me in office hours to develop a better study plan.

    • Ask questions. Bring questions from the readings to class, raise your hand if you have a question during class, and visit me during my office hours to go over material outside of class.

    • Start working on the homework soon after class. The material will be more fresh, applying the concepts from class will help to solidify your understanding, and this also leaves you time to ask for help on difficult problems.

    • Start working with an Econ SAAB tutor early. The econ SAAB tutors are awesome. They were selected by the faculty for their mastery of economics and enthusiasm for working with you.

    • Form a study group. Get together with a few other people in class to work on homework problems, rehash the lecture and review for exams. Study groups are fun, supportive and a great way to fill in the gaps.

    • Take good notes in class. We will be solving problems, drawing graphs and outlining concepts at the board. If it goes on the board, it should go into your notes.

    • Start thinking like an economist! Apply economics to news stories you read, other classes you are taking and decisions you make about what to buy and how to spend your time.

Grading:

I will base your grade on two in-class midterm exams, five homework sets and a cumulative final exam as follows:

    • 20%, Homework

    • 25%, Midterm 1

    • 25%, Midterm 2

    • 30%, Final Exam

The homework problems will correspond to reading and examples from lecture, and are designed to build your understanding as we move through the course. You may (and I encourage you to!) work on the homework assignments with others. In this vein, I will accept joint homework assignments for groups of up to 4 students. Please submit one set of answers for your group.

The exams will include problems that are similar to homework problems and examples from class, as well as questions that challenge you to go beyond these exercises.

In addition to the homework problem sets, your homework grade includes one additional assignment: Econ Outside. Each of you will be assigned one day in the semester to locate a news article, blog posting, or podcast that relates to recent material from class and write a one-page commentary on the connections you see. I will create a class forum for these articles and your comments. I will post the assignment schedule at the end of the second week of class. I have provided a few suggested news sources on the class Resources page to help you begin your search.

Final letter grades will be based on the percentage of total points earned as follows:

Academic Integrity:

I expect everyone who is participating in this course to adhere to the college's academic integrity policy. The Lewis & Clark Academic Integrity Policy states:

"Acts of academic dishonesty involve the use or attempted use of any method or technique enabling a student to misrepresent the quality or integrity of his or her academic work. Academic dishonesty with respect to examinations includes but is not limited to copying from the work of another, allowing another student to copy from one's own work, using crib notes, arranging for another person to substitute in taking an examination, or giving or receiving unauthorized information prior to or during the examination. Academic dishonesty with respect to written or other types of assignments includes but is not limited to: failure to acknowledge the ideas or words of another that have consciously been taken from a source, published or unpublished; placing one's own name on papers, reports, or other documents that are the work of another individual, whether published or unpublished; flagrant misuse of the assistance provided by another in the process of completing academic work; submission of the same paper or project for separate courses without prior authorization by faculty members; fabrication or alteration of data; or knowingly facilitating the academic dishonesty of another."

Accommodations:

If you have a disability that affects your academic performance, you may request accommodations by submitting documentation to the Student Support Services Office in the Albany Quadrangle (x7156). After you have submitted documentation and filled out paperwork there for the current semester requesting accommodations, staff in that office will notify me of the accommodations for which you are eligible. You can find additional information about accommodation arrangements on the Student Support Services website.

Tentative Class Schedule:

I expect you to come to class having read the day's assigned material in advance. The tentative schedule of readings and topics are listed below. I will update this schedule as needed through the semester and notify you of any changes to these plans.