Dr. Agust A. Eiriksson Office: FOB 307 Phone: 812-866.7357 Office Hours: TH: 10-12 & by appointment. E-mail: eiriksson@hanover.edu HANOVER COLLEGE ECO 161: FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMICS 9:20 (Section B) ; 10:40 (Section C) M, W, F - Horner 104 REQUIRED TEXT: Robert C. Guell, Issues in Economics, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Useful study aids can be found at textbooks' website: www.mhhe.com/guell7e GRADING: Homework & in-class assignments 15% Exams: 3*15% 45% Take-home exam 25% Issue chapter presentation 15% In addition, participation may also be taken into account, particularly in borderline cases. Homework will be assigned, collected, and graded periodically. Homework MUST BE TYPED (unless noted otherwise). Late homework will not be accepted. In assigning letter grades the department's grading scale will apply: A+ 97% B+ 87-89% C+ 77-79% D+ 67-69% F below 60% A 93-96 B 83-86 C 73-76 D 63-66 A- 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 70-72 D- 60-62 COURSE OVERVIEW: Theories describing resource allocation in a market economy will be introduced. The individual behavior of both consumers and firms will be studied in the context of a market economy, along with an overview of basic principles related to national income determination and fiscal and monetary policy. Current issues in Economics will be explored and discussed with an emphasis on public policy implications. This course partially satisfies the Modern Societies under the LADR requirements and Historical and Social Perspectives under the CCR requirements. ACADEMIC HONESTY: Complete honesty is expected in all work submitted for this course. Penalties for academic dishonesty are stated in the Academic Catalog. These penalties, however, are the minimum penalties that can be imposed and instructors can impose stiffer penalties. In Eco 161, academic dishonesty will result in a dismissal from the course and a letter grade of an F.
PRESENTING AND LEADING A CLASS DISCUSSION OF AN ISSUE CHAPTER The textbook has a number of issue chapters covering a wide range of topics. You will present, with a partner, one issue chapter to your classmates and lead a discussion of the issues in that chapter. You have an entire class period (50 minutes) for your presentation which should have two parts. 1. The first 10 minutes should be a brief summary of the issue chapter. Highlight the most important topics and use visual aids if you like (handouts or something written on the board) 2. For the remaining 40 minutes you will lead a discussion of the issue chapter based on questions you and your partner have created in advance (see How to prepare section, below). A copy of these questions should be handed out to classmates prior to the presentation). Be attentive while your classmates discuss the questions, and follow up with additional questions/comments. You are in charge of the discussions and if the discussions digress it's up to you to bring us back. How to prepare for the presentation? Three business days prior to your presentation you need to e-mail to me 6-8 discussion questions from the issue chapter. You need to get together with your partner and discuss the chapter and create discussion questions. Both of you need to contribute equally in writing the questions and in presenting the chapter. Keep in mind that you are not writing exam questions, you are writing questions that should generate discussions (see paragraph in bold, below) The questions should apply the economic concepts and theories from the relevant textbook's core chapters. I will reply to your e-mail if you need to make any modifications to the discussion questions. You can distribute handouts with additional information (charts, tables etc.) that may help us understand the issue at hand. Be prepared to explain what exactly these charts and tables are showing. Feel free to stop by my office if you prefer and discuss your questions and/or the chapter in person. Good questions consist of some introduction (one or two sentences) followed by specific question(s). The introduction will help the audience to recall something specific from the issue chapter ; By doing this it will facilitate better discussions. Do not ask "What are the factors that shift the demand curve? - that would be an exam question and will NOT generate any DISCUSSIONS. Think very carefully about the questions (with your partner) and how you can get your classmates to participate in the discussions. -------------------------------------------- page 2
Week 1 Ch. 1: OPPORTUNITY COST Appendix 1A: GRAPHS Week 2-3 Ch. 2: SUPPLY & DEMAND Exam 1 (Week 3, Sept. 21). TENTATIVE FALL SCHEDULE: Week 4 Issues: Ch. 11: Federal spending Ch. 18: International finance and exchange rates Ch. 28: The economics of race and sex discrimination. Ch. 35: Poverty and welfare Week 5 Ch.3: ELASTICITY; CONSUMER AND PRODUCER SURPLUS Week 6 Issues: Ch. 17: International trade: Does it jeopardize American jobs? Ch. 21: The line between legal and illegal goods. Ch. 23: Health care. Ch. 24: Government provided health insurance. Ch. 27: The Economics of crime. Ch. 30: Farm policy. Ch. 21: Minimum wage. Ch. 38: Energy prices Week 7 Fall Break (M) EXAM 2 (Oct. 19). Week 8 Ch. 4: FIRM PRODUCTION, COST & REVENUE Week 9 Ch. 5: PERFECT COMPETITION & MONOPOLY. Week 10 Issues: Ch. 25: Economics of prescription drugs. Ch. 32: Ticket brokers and ticket scalping. Ch. 41: Unions. Ch. 42: Wal-Mart: Always low prices (and low wages) - always. Week 11 Ch. 7: INTEREST RATES AND PRESENT VALUE Issues: Ch. 22: Natural resources, the environment, and climate change. Ch. 29: Income and wealth inequality: What s fair? page 3
Ch. 33: The economics of K-12 education Ch. 34: College and university education: Why is it so expensive? Ch. 36: Social security. Ch. 37: Personal income taxes Ch. 39: If we build it, will they come? And other sports questions. Ch. 40: The stock market and crashes. Week 12 EXAM 3 (Nov. 19, Monday). Thanksgiving break (W and F). Weeks 13 & 14 Ch. 6: MACROECONOMY: GDP, INFLATION, UNEMPLOYMENT, RECESSION AND DEPRESSION Ch. 8: AGGREGATE DEMAND AND AGGREGATE SUPPLY Issues: Ch. 9: Fiscal policy. Ch. 10: Monetary policy. Ch. 12: Federal deficits, surpluses and the national debt. Ch. 14: The recession of 2007-2009: Causes and policy responses. Ch. 15: Japan s lost decade: Could it happen in the United States? Ch. 16: Is the (fiscal) sky falling? An examination of unfunded social security, Medicare, and state and local pension liabilities. Ch. 19: European debt crisis. Ch. 20: Economic growth and development. Ch. 26: So you want to be a lawyer: Economics and the law. Ch. 43: The economic impact of casino gambling. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL EXAM is a take home, due in the last week of classes. page 4
CELL PHONE POLICY & CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE * Use of cell phones in class is not allowed. Cell phones should be out of sight (in your bag, for example) and turned off. We are in a learning environment and pings and vibration from cell phones is an unwelcome distraction. Unauthorized use of cell phones in class will result in ONE LETTER GRADE reduction in final grade Turning around in your seat to check the clock. If you feel you must check the time, wear a watch, and discreetly check it. Flipping through your weekly planner, unless our conversation is currently revolving around some future due date or meeting time. Reading your mail, a newspaper, textbook, or class notes for another course. Please try to avoid any actions that your professor and your classmates might find rude and disruptive. Consider this section of the syllabus to be a first warning. If I notice these, or others not on the list but equally rude and/or distracting, I will promptly ask you to 1. leave the classroom or 2. sing a song (of your choice) for 30 seconds to your classmates. * Borrowed, with permission, and modified from Dr. Dodge s syllabi.. page 5