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Office Hours: Anytime, anywhere after mutual agreement (604-960-329)
Resources:
Study Guide for
this course
Real world economics essay: for inspiration, read sample 1 or sample 2, check sample problems tackled in Robert Frank's "Economic Naturalist" (read NYT article about it) or check my own collection of puzzles. Please, when writing the essay, use this template.
The Concise
Encyclopedia of Economics
Students are also encouraged to read daily articles at Ludwig von Mises Institute website (mises.org) where they can also find ample supply of other texts that can be adopted as useful resources for this course - use the searching device or a study guide.
You may also check out this blog or listen to these podcasts to get a sense of how economists think.
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Course Outline and Specific Reading |
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Introduction and Plan |
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1. |
Introduction to Economics 1.1 What is Economics and What Is It for? 1.2 Methodology of Economics - Fédéric Bastiat: That Which is Seen and That Which is Not Seen ("broken window fallacy" - illustration of the need to take into account the full effects) 1.3 Logic of Choice - Russell Roberts: The Concept of Opportunity Cost 1.4 Dealing with Scarcity |
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Consumer Theory 2.1 What is it for? 2.2 The model: “Robinson & Friday” Economy 2.3 Law of Demand and the Demand Curve 2.4 Factors Influencing Quantity Demanded 2.5 Price Elasticity of Demand |
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Producer Theory I. 3.1 What is it for? 3.2 The model: “Robinson & Friday” Economy 3.3 Law of Supply and the Supply Curve 3.4 Factors Influencing Quantity Supplied 3.5 Price Elasticity of Supply |
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Market and Equilibrium 4.1 What is Market and Equilibrium? 4.2 Changes in Equilibrium - S&D Equilibrium (PPT presentation, courtesy of unknown author) 4.3 Market and Efficiency 4.4 Interference in the Market 4.5 Market Failures |
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5. |
Producer Theory II. 5.1 Profit Maximization Assumption 5.2 Decisions of How Much to Produce 5.3 Decisions of How to Produce: Efficiency in Production 5.4 Theory of the Firm (or Why Are Firms?) |
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Market Structure 6.1 Perfect and Imperfect Competition 6.2 Monopoly 6.3 Oligopoly - see the (very) real-world application of game theory 6.4 Monopolistic Competition 6.5 Real-world Competition |
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7. |
Input Markets 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Demand for Inputs 7.3 Supply of Inputs 7.4 Supply of Labor and Labor Market 7.5 Supply of Land and Land Market 7.6 Financial Capital |