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.

WEEK'S EYE-OPENER: I carry my adornments on my soul. I don't go dressed up like a popinjay but inwardly I wear my ornaments. Cyrano de Bergerac KEY DATES: 1. On Friday, Dec. 6, your stock selection papers are due. 2. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Professor Becker will speak to us during the open period. THE LONG PERIOD; we will play an overconfidence game given to us by Charles Brobinskoy. CLASS ONE: we will discuss chapter 3, The Cost of Zero, in Dan Ariely's book.  HOMEWORK: prepare for a quiz on the chapters on Comparative Advantage and International Trade (chapters 9 and 10). You will also have to answer the following question: Would you invest in a hedge fund? In your answer, please use some of the following vocabulary: hedge, margin, leverage, fee structure, long and short, market inefficiencies, arbitrage, alpha and beta, commissions, and mutual funds. CLASS TWO: QUIZ. HOMEWORK: review the handout that includes two model stock selection papers and some literature on value i...

Mr. Janus' classes will have the quiz during the extra half hour of the long period. It will either be on US transferable advantage or why the public often doesn't like trade.

DAY 1: Discussion of Colander, Microeconomics ch10 (International Trade Policy). Please note that the chapter number may be different in earlier editions of the text. Make sure you are reading the chapter with the title "International Trade Policy." HOMEWORK: Read Wheelan, Naked Economics ch12 (Trade & Globalization). DAY 2: Discussion of Wheelan ch12. HOMEWORK: Read the article on hedge funds ("The Jones Nobody Keeps Up With"). This is in preparation for a guest talk on day 4.) Also, prepare for the mini-quiz. The prompt is below. DAY 3: We will begin the class with a mini-quiz. You will have to write a short essay on the following prompt: Chapters 9 and 10 of Colander talk at length about transferable comparative advantages, especially in relation to the United States. Please identify one transferable comparative advantage the United States is currently holding. What does the future look like for this comparative advantage? Do you expect it to strengthen or to...