ClassInfo

This is an intermediate course in microeconomics that focuses heavily on the economic tools relevant for public policy discourses. Eligible students are (1) those who have already taken an Introduction to Microeconomics course, (2) those who took the one-credit crash course in economics at HHH in the fall, or (3) those who are eager to learn and willing to put in the extra time needed to internalize a new way of looking at the world.

The primary textbook is "Microeconomics, 6^th Edition". Jeffrey M. Perloff. This is a nice resource for your policy library, and since it's an earlier edition, used copies can be purchased quite cheaply on Amazon. Another required book for this course is Arthur Okun's "Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff." You can also find inexpensive used versions of this short book online. Additional readings will also be assigned as per the syllabus.

One primary goal of the class is to help students establish the foundation necessary to become informed consumers of policy literature with an economic conceptual framework. Through this course, students will build intuition around major economic concepts, such as opportunity cost, preferences and utility, supply and demand, elasticity, market power, etc. Students will also learn how to analyze intermediate-level economic models: what assumptions the models make, what outcomes they suggest under these assumptions, and what happens once the assumptions are relaxed.

The other main goal of the course is to prepare students for success in PA 5805 and the PA
5022 courses (this class is a prerequisite for these courses). The material covered will provide you with the skills to succeed in classes such as Public Policy of Labor and Pay, Economics of Social Insurance Programs, etc.

I will determine grades based on the exams, problem sets, and participation (percent contribution of each to the final grade will be listed in the syllabus). Participation will reflect the student's attendance to lecture and labs as well as preparation for and contribution to group discussions.

Our class meets three times a week, two lectures plus a "lab" session. Lecture will consist of either a thorough overview of the new material or a group discussion of a policy topic we have been reading about. The lab session will be used exclusively for practicing new concepts using sample problems that are similar (but not identical) to the problem set. There will be one midterm exam mid-semester and one final exam, each sit-down tests covering one-half of the course material.

This is an intermediate course in microeconomics that focuses heavily on the economic tools relevant for public policy discourses. Eligible students are (1) those who have already taken an Introduction to Microeconomics course, (2) those who took the one-credit crash course in economics at HHH in the fall, or (3) those who are eager to learn and willing to put in the extra time needed to internalize a new way of looking at the world.

The primary textbook is "Microeconomics, 6^th Edition". Jeffrey M. Perloff. This is a nice resource for your policy library, and since it's an earlier edition, used copies can be purchased quite cheaply on Amazon. Another required book for this course is Arthur Okun's "Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff." You can also find inexpensive used versions of this short book online. Additional readings will also be assigned as per the syllabus.

One primary goal of the class is to help students establish the foundation necessary to become informed consumers of policy literature with an economic conceptual framework. Through this course, students will build intuition around major economic concepts, such as opportunity cost, preferences and utility, supply and demand, elasticity, market power, etc. Students will also learn how to analyze intermediate-level economic models: what assumptions the models make, what outcomes they suggest under these assumptions, and what happens once the assumptions are relaxed.

The other main goal of the course is to prepare students for success in PA 5805 and the PA
5022 courses (this class is a prerequisite for these courses). The material covered will provide you with the skills to succeed in classes such as Public Policy of Labor and Pay, Economics of Social Insurance Programs, etc.

I will determine grades based on the exams, problem sets, and participation (percent contribution of each to the final grade will be listed in the syllabus). Participation will reflect the student's attendance to lecture and labs as well as preparation for and contribution to group discussions.

Our class meets three times a week, two lectures plus a "lab" session. Lecture will consist of either a thorough overview of the new material or a group discussion of a policy topic we have been reading about. The lab session will be used exclusively for practicing new concepts using sample problems that are similar (but not identical) to the problem set. There will be one midterm exam mid-semester and one final exam, each sit-down tests covering one-half of the course material.