AT Micro/Macro Economics

WEEK'S EYE OPENER: I envy the beasts two things--their ignorance of evil to come and their ignorance of what is said about them. Voltaire KEY DATES: On Friday, Dec. 6, your stock selection paper is due. On Monday, Dec. 9, you will have a MICRO FINAL based on all the previous quizzes you have taken. There will be 50 questions and an essay  drawn from the chapters on Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition and  Oligopoly and Antitrust Policy. You be assigned the essay question on Friday of this week and write it as a take-home assignment over the weekend. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Professor Becker will speak in room 102/104 during the open period on inequality in education. THE LONG PERIOD: video of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Arab Warren Buffett. CLASS ONE: we will review the chapter on Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition. HOMEWORK: please read the section on oligopoly in chapter 15. CLASS TWO: we will discuss the reading. HOMEWORK: please read the section on antitrust policy in chap

DAY 1: Discussion of Colander chapter 14 (monopolies). Additional discussion question to consider:  For over a century, the United States has had anti-trust laws on the books, which forbid the formation of monopolies in high-volume industries and prevent corporate mergers that would result in a large share of a given market. Are such laws beneficial to the economy as a whole? DAY 2: We will watch Charlie Rose's interview with Alwaleed bin Talal, the single largest international investor in the US stock market. A discussion of the perception of the US economy from an international perspective will follow. REMINDER: The stock selection/value investing paper is due on Friday, December 6. Enjoy the break!

WEEK'S EYE OPENER: Sweet are the uses of adversity KEY DATES: 1. On Friday, Nov. 22, you will have a quiz on the Colander chapter on Perfect Competition, the Ariely chapter on The Cost of Social Norms , and the Harvard Business School Case Study: Gender Equity. 2. On Friday, Dec. 6, your stock selection paper is due. 3. On Monday, Dec. 9, you will have a MICRO FINAL On Thursday, Dec. 12, Professor Becker will speak in room 103/4 during the open period. CLASS ONE: we will discuss the Colander chapter on Perfect Competition. HOMEWORK: the Ariely chapter on The Costs of Social Norms. CLASS TWO: we will discuss the reading. HOMEWORK: read the handout, Harvard Business School Case Study: Gender Equity C;ASS THREE: we will discuss the reading. HOMEWORK: prepare for a quiz. There will be an essay on one of the two non-Colander readings. CLASS FOUR: QUIZ. HOMEWORK: please read the Colander chapter on Monopoly

LONG: Economist article "Why Would Anyone Want to Host the Olympics?" DAY 1: Discussion of Colander chapter 11 (Production & Cost Analysis 1). HOMEWORK: Read Colander chapter 12 (Production & Cost Analysis 2). DAY 2: Discussion of Colander chapter 12. HOMEWORK: Read Wheelan chapter 6 (Productivity & Human Capital). DAY 3: Discussion of Wheelan chapter 6. HOMEWORK: Study for the quiz. DAY 4: Quiz on materials from the week. Multiple choice questions will be drawn from chapters 11 & 12 of Colander. The essay prompt comes from Wheelan chapter 6. It is as follows: Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker believes that human capital is responsible for 75% of the wealth of modern economies. What is meant by "human capital," and would you agree that it is as important to the health of a nation's economy as Becker claims? During this week, you should also be laying the groundwork for your value investing paper, which is due by December 6.