Preparing for Econ 1 - Grasping Reality with Both Hands
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Grasping Reality with Both Hands The Semi-Daily Journal of Economist J. Bradford DeLong: Fair, Balanced, Reality-Based, and Even-Handed Department of Economics, U.C. Berkeley #3880, Berkeley, CA 94720-3880; 925 708 0467; delong@econ.berkeley.edu.
Economics 210a Weblog Archives DeLong Hot on Google DeLong Hot on Google Blogsearch May 08, 2010
Preparing for Econ 1 And now that one semester is... dead and staked... it is time to start preparing for the next one. U.C. Berkeley: Fall 2010: Econ 1 starts its journey down the slipway... Instructor: J. Bradford DeLong, delong@econ.berkeley.edu, 9257080467. Head Section Leader: Michael Urbancic. Books: Partha Dasgupta, Economics: A Very Short Introduction Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (available for free on the web or free for Amazon Kindle or Apple iBooks; you can also buy a copy) Paul Seabright, In t The Company of Strangers: A Natural History of Economic Life Milton Friedman and Rose Director Friedman, Free to Choose Karl Case, Ray Fair, and Sharon Oster, Principles of Economics (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009) (9th ed., but 8th or 7th will do fine) (recommended) Hardware: iClicker (optional: for those of you who want to earn a few extra-credit points) Resources: http://www.myeconlab.com FAQ: Q: Why so many books? A: This is Berkeley, the best public university in the world. If you are not in the rapid-informationassimilation-and-processing business, this is not the university for you. Q: Why is the textbook only recommended? A: We--that is, Laura Tyson, Bob Reich, and Brad DeLong--are writing our own. We will be handing out our draft chapters. But there is something to be said for having a net under you the first time you perform on the flying trapeze... Q: Doesn't that mean that we are guinea pigs--experimental animals? A: Yes, but the life of an experimental animal can be a very interesting and fulfilling one. Q: Will we flunk? A: Probably not--although the curve will not be especially high. Grading: 33% final, 33% midterms, 20% problem sets (0, late, check-, check, check+), 5% in-section presentations, 5% outside readings and reports, 4% section participation... Miss one midterm, other midterm double-weighted... +5% extra credit for iClicker Q: What will we be doing in sections? A: A number of things. Exercises will be distributed in lecture, and some section time will be spent doing them and going over them. Some timd will be spent going over the (right) answers for the weekly problem sets, and prepping for the exams. There will be the inevitable clean-up in section for those times when the lecturer has totally lost his mind, or just been maddeningly vague and unclear. There will be in-section oral presentations on assigned additional outside readings from the news--and there will be one- or two-page reports on those readings. There will be discussions. There may be section-specific online discussions as well. There will definitely be in-section discussion and review of the in-lecture iClicker questions. All students should make their section leaders their friends: they will, after all, be grading them. Schedule: Lectures: MW 12 @ Wheeler Auditorium. Sections: Various. Macroeconomics Depression Economics: M Aug 30: The Great Recession of 2008-2010 W Sep 1: Depression Economics W Sep 8: Financial Crises and the Housing Bubble
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/05/and-now-that-one-semester-has-be‌d-it-is-time-to-start-getting-ready-for-the-next-one--econ-1-fall.html
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Preparing for Econ 1 - Grasping Reality with Both Hands
5/25/10 11:33 AM
Inflation Economics: M Sep 13: Inflation Economics W Sep 15: The Federal Reserve and Macroeconomic Management Budget Economics: M Sep 20: The Government's Resources and Promises: The National Debt and Budget Balance W Sep 22: Fiscal Crisis, Capital Flight, Hyperinflation Growth Economics: M Sep 27: Total Output and Factors of Production: Technology, Organization, Labor, Capital, Education, Resources W Sep 29: Sources of and Limits to Growth M Oct 4: MIDTERM EXAM W Oct 6: Economic Knowledge as the Ultimate Free Lunch Microeconomics Choice and Organization: M Oct 11: Economic Behavior: Choice, Scarcity, and Exchange W Oct 13: Markets and Other Allocation Procedures M Oct 18: Working with Supply and Demand W Oct 20: Production and Equilibrium in the Short Run and the Long Run M Oct 25: General Equilibrium and the "Efficiency" of "Perfect" Competition Market Power: W Oct 27: Monopoly M Nov 1: Oligopoly W Nov 3: Monopolistic Competition M Nov 8: MIDTERM 2 EXAM Market Failure: W Nov 10: Externalities M Nov 15: Uncertainty and Asymmetric Information W Nov 17: Increasing Return and Information Goods M Nov 22: Poverty and Income Distribution Political Economy: M Oct 20: The "Mixed Economy" W Dec 1: The Economic Theory of Politics M Dec 5: Economic Policies and Problems Today W Dec 7: Economic Policies and Problems Tomorrow Tying Up the Threads: F Dec 10: FINAL REVIEW F Dec 17: FINAL EXAM 11:30-2:30 Brad DeLong on May 08, 2010 at 03:48 PM in Berkeley: Teaching | Permalink Favorite
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Comments Cathy said... You really do plan in advance, don't you? Reply May 08, 2010 at 04:09 PM Measure for Measure said... Hoo-boy. It would be best to give a talk to the students on "Skimming", as well as contrasting "Low grade ore" (probably Smith and Seabright, in this class) with "High grade ore" (Case, Fair, the lectures *and the problem sets*) which merit close study. Reply May 08, 2010 at 05:51 PM Sora said... Your students are exceptionally lucky. Where were you when I was an undergrad taking econ 1? Reply May 08, 2010 at 08:46 PM Mark C said... Love the... "If you are not in the rapid-information-assimilation-and-processing business, this is not the university for you." And to echo Sora, even though I was an Int'l Econ major as an undergrad, I would have really preferred taking your course... Reply May 09, 2010 at 08:52 AM EL said... Or life as a lab rat can be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Reply May 09, 2010 at 01:47 PM Ken D. said in reply to Mark C... That line struck me as well. Setting aside the Berkeley jingoism (justified or not) and the world-class professor, and it is still a sentence to contemplate for any young person planning to take on an ambitious college academic program. Reply May 09, 2010 at 04:54 PM Comment below or sign in with TypePad
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http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/05/and-now-that-one-semester-has-be‌d-it-is-time-to-start-getting-ready-for-the-next-one--econ-1-fall.html
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Preparing for Econ 1 - Grasping Reality with Both Hands
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5/25/10 11:33 AM
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Galbraith: The danger posed by the deficit 'is zero'
economics DeLong
Me:
Washington Post (blog) - May 12, 2010 ... as demonstrated by both economic history and public knowledge of Ben's opposition to higher inflation rats(google Brad DeLong and 3% inflation target). ... Related Articles » « Previous Next »
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http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/05/and-now-that-one-semester-has-be…d-it-is-time-to-start-getting-ready-for-the-next-one--econ-1-fall.html
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Preparing for Econ 1 - Grasping Reality with Both Hands
5/25/10 11:33 AM
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