Class meets MWF 2:30-3:28 p.m. in 104 Classroom Building.
| Instructor: | Elaine Peterson | Office hours: | M-F 10:00-11:00 am |
| Office: | 101 B Classroom Building | Tues. 5:00-5:45 p.m. | |
| Office Phone: | 667-3327 | ...and by appointment | |
| Home Phone: | 529-3804 (Please, no calls after 9:00) | ||
| email: | epeterso@toto.csustan.edu |
Course Objectives: Facilitate development of student's understanding of the evolution of economic ideas, the breadth and the gaps in economic thought.
Texts: Stanley L. Brue, The Evolution of Economic Thought, 5th ed., Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX, 1994 and Martin C. Spechler, Perspectives in Economic Thought, McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1990.
Selected readings: from websites http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca:80/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html
and http://www.nobel.se/prize/database.html
and from David L. Prychitko, Why Economists Disagree:
An Introduction to the Alternative Schools of Thought, State University
of New York Press, Albany, 1997.
Grading: Class participation and short assignments
10%
Leadoff of class discussion
10%
Preliminary report on term paper topic
5%
Term Paper (15%) & presentation (10%)
25%
Midterm
25%
Final Exam
25%
Class participation and short assignments
Regular attendance is expected and reading should be
done prior to class discussion to enable participation. Students who must
miss a class should contact the instructor in advance or as soon as possible
and may need to make up work. Attendance will affect the class participation
portion of the grade. Short assignments may be announced in class or via
email. All students should check their email regularly and should be included
on a class discussion list. Any necessary changes to the schedule below
will also be announced in class or via email. To join the discussion list
for this class send an email message with only the word subscribe in the
body of the message to econ4010-1-request@wiz.csustan.edu.
The computer will automatically read the email address of the sender from
your message and add it to the discussion list. You may also wish to communicate
with your classmates through this discussion list. To send a message to
the discussion list for this class send a message to econ4010-1@wiz.csustan.edu.
Leadoff of class discussion
Each student should leadoff a class discussion at least
once during the semester. To leadoff a class discussion students should
volunteer in advance to be particularly well prepared for a particular
discussion in the schedule. They should discuss the reading in some detail
and bring up any points they found particularly interesting, worth discussing
in more detail, on which they have comments, or about which they have questions.
If more than one student wishes to lead a particular discussion the first
to volunteer will have that opportunity. Grading will be based on the thoroughness,
clarity, and apparent reflection on the ideas at hand. If a student leads
off more than one class discussion the higher grade will be counted for
the leadoff portion of their overall grade and the extra activity will
be taken into consideration in the class participation portion of their
grade. Students are encouraged to undertake this activity early in the
semester.
Term Paper
The term paper should briefly discuss the contributions
of a particular economic thinker and then summarize and analyze one particular
piece of their work. The paper should be approximately 10-15 double spaced
pages. In the interests of broadening students’ horizons and because some
economists would make better dissertation topics than semester term paper
topics, students are actively discouraged from choosing Adam Smith, Karl
Marx, or John Maynard Keynes. Your text, books such as Mark Blaug’s Great
Economists Before Keynes: An Introduction to the Lives & Works of One
Hundred Great Economists of the Past and Mark Blaug’s Great Economists
Since Keynes: An Introduction to the Lives & Works of One Hundred Modern
Economists which are on reserve in the library, and websites such as
http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca:80/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html
and http://www.nobel.se/prize/database.html
may be helpful in choosing an economist whose work you would find interesting.
Students should also feel free to consult with the instructor and keep
in mind that their topic must be approved by the instructor to receive
credit. All sources should be cited. Be careful to use your own words.
Plagiarism will result in a failing grade. Students are welcome to submit
preliminary drafts. Students may also discuss their papers together and
give each other helpful comments on their papers. If you receive substantial
help from another student in the class you should cite them in your paper.
In the economics field professional recognition is given for frequent citation,
similarly if your paper is good they will be given extra credit towards
the class participation portion of their grade.
Preliminary report on term paper topic
In the economics profession it is common to require the
topic of a paper for a conference to be submitted before the paper has
actually been written. Similarly in this class students are required
to submit in writing a preliminary report on the term paper topic
indicating the person whose work they have chosen to analyze and some of
the sources they plan to use. The paper subject must be approved by the
instructor. In the interests of avoiding redundancy in student presentations,
multiple students will not be allowed to cover the same economist. If more
than one student chooses a particular economist, the first to submit the
preliminary report will be approved.
Presentation
One of the most common ways economic ideas are currently
developed and disseminated is through their presentation at conferences.
Similarly in this class students are required to present their term
paper work to their classmates. The presentation should briefly cover the
contributions of a particular economic thinker and then summarize and analyze
one particular piece of their work. Since time for presentations will be
limited students are advised to plan their presentations carefully. Students
should feel free to use any visual aids they feel will facilitate understanding
of their presentation such as overheads or handouts. These can be particularly
helpful if you are nervous. Grading of presentations will be based on organization,
thoroughness, clarity, apparent thought on material as well as timing and
handling of class comments and questions.
Exams
Students are encouraged to work together in studying,
but not during exams. Cheating will result in a failing grade. Exams
will involve essays. Essays should be well organized and thorough to indicate
understanding and thought regarding the material covered. Examples of practice
essay questions used last year can be found through the course web page
for this class http://www.csustan.edu/Econ/Peterson/econ4010.html
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| Class | Topic | Readings |
| W Sept. 9 | Introduction & Overview | Brue Ch. 1 |
| F Sept.11 | Mercantilism | Brue Ch. 2 & Spechler Ch. 2 |
| M Sept. 14 | The Physiocrats | Brue Ch. 3 |
| W Sept.16 | Prelude to Classical Economic Thought | Brue Ch. 4 |
| F Sept. 18 | Classical Economic Thought Overview | Spechler Ch. 3 |
| M Sept. 21 | Adam Smith | Brue Ch. 5 |
| W Sept.23 | Thomas Malthus | Brue Ch. 6 |
| F Sept. 25 | David Ricardo | Brue Ch. 7 |
| M Sept. 28 | Jeremy Bentham, Jean-Baptise Say, and Nassau William Senior | Brue Ch. 8 |
| W Sept.30 | John Stuart Mill | Brue Ch. 8 |
| F Oct. 2 | Early Socialist Thought | Brue Ch. 9 |
| M Oct. 5 | Karl Marx
Tentative Guest Speaker Dieter Renning |
Brue Ch. 10 & Spechler Ch. 4 |
| W Oct. 7 | Karl Marx | Brue Ch. 10 & Spechler Ch. 4 |
| F Oct. 9 | Marginalism | Brue Ch. 12 |
| M Oct. 12 | Marginalism (continued)
Preliminary report on term paper topic due |
Brue Ch. 13 |
| W Oct. 14 | Marginalism (continued) | Brue Ch. 14 |
| F Oct. 16 | Midterm Exam | |
| M Oct. 19 | Discussion of Midterm exams | |
| W Oct. 21 | Alfred Marshall, Neoclassicist | Brue Ch. 15 & Spechler Ch. 5 |
| F Oct. 23 | Alfred Marshall, Neoclassicist (continuation) | Brue Ch. 15 & Spechler Ch. 5 |
| M Oct. 26 | Modifications of Neoclassical Economics | Brue Ch. 16 |
| W Oct. 28 | Modifications of Neoclassical Economics | Brue Ch. 17 |
| F Oct. 30 | Historical School | Brue Ch. 11 |
| M Nov. 2 | Institutionalism | Brue Ch. 19 & Spechler Ch. 8 |
| W Nov. 4 | Institutionalism & John Maynard Keynes | Brue Ch. 21 |
| F Nov. 6 | John Maynard Keynes & The Keynesian School | Brue Ch. 21 & 22 |
| M Nov. 9 | The Keynesian School | Brue Ch. 22 |
| W Nov. 11 | Welfare Economics | Brue Ch. 20 |
| F Nov. 13 | Mathematical Economics | Brue Ch. 18 |
| M Nov. 16 | Development & Growth Theories | Brue Ch. 23 |
| W Nov. 18 | Student Presentations | |
| F Nov. 20 | Student Presentations | |
| M Nov. 23 | Student Presentations | |
| W Nov. 25 | Student Presentations | |
| F Nov. 27 | Thanksgiving Break no class | |
| M Nov. 30 | New Classicism | Brue Ch. 24 |
| W Dec. 2 | Milton Friedman "The Role of Monetary Policy", The American Economic Review, March 1968, p.1-17. | Friedman article |
| F Dec. 4 | Why Do Economists Disagree? | Prychitko Introduction |
| M Dec. 7 | Alternative Economic Thought: The Feminist Challenge | Prychitko Essay 12 (Woolley) |
| W Dec. 9 | Goffe & Parks "The Future Information
Infrastructure in Economics"
http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eprints/mic/papers/9605/9605001.abs |
Internet article |
| F Dec. 11 | Summary & Conclusions(last class) Term Paper due | Brue Ch. 25 |
| FINAL EXAM MONDAY DECEMBER 14 1:50 p.m.-3:50 p.m. C104 (Comprehensive) | ||