[ Basic Information | Objectives
| Online Course Resources |
| A. Course Requirements | B. Grading Policy
| C. Attendance Policy |
| D. Cheating and Plagiarism Policy | E. Snow
Policy | F. Disability Policy | G.
Schedule ]
G. |
Schedule (Spring 2002) |
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| I. | Introduction | |||
| 1. | 1/16 | Instructor presents information on course organization and content. | ||
| II. | The Market as an Economic Coordinator | |||
| 2. | 1/18 | Instructor presents lecture on the market as an economic coordinator. Read: "How a Market Economy Operates," by LLoyd Reynolds and "Economic Systems," by Heinz Kohler. | ||
| 3. | 1/21 | No class: Martin Luther King’s Birthday | ||
| 4. | 1/23 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Use of Knowledge in Society," by Friedrich von Hayek. | ||
| 5. | 1/25 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Entrepreneur," by Israel Kirzner. | ||
| 6. | 1/28 | Discussion: "Hurricane Hugo and The Spontaneous Coordination of the Market." | ||
| 7. | 1/30 | Discussion: The Market as an Economic Coordinator. Read: "Preface" and pages 1-3 of The Reason of Rules: Constitutional Political Economy, by Geoffrey Brennan and James Buchanan. | ||
| III. | The Firm as an Economic Coordinator | |||
| 8. | 2/1 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Nature of the Firm," by Ronald Coase. | ||
| 9. | 2/4 | Instructor leads discussion of "Vertical Integration, Appropriable Quasi-Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process," by Benjamin Klein, Robert Crawford, and Armen Alchian. | ||
| 10. | 2/6 | Instructor leads discussion of "Transaction-cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations," by Oliver Williamson. | ||
| 11. | 2/8 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost Approach," by Oliver Williamson. | ||
| 12. | 2/11 | Instructor presents lecture on transaction cost economics. Read: "Selection from The Wealth of Nations," by Adam Smith, "Transaction Cost Economics: An Introduction," by Chris Bell and "Rethinking Thinking," from The Economist. | ||
| 13. | 2/13 | Instructor continues lecture on transaction cost economics. | ||
| 14. | 2/15 | Student leads discussion of "Comparative Institutional Economics: The Governance of Rail Freight Contracting," by Thomas Palay. | ||
| 15. | 2/18 | Student leads discussion of "Vertical Integration and Long-term Contracts: The Case of Coal-burning Electric Generating Plants," by Paul Joskow. | ||
| 16. | 2/20 | Student leads discussion of "United States Steel’s Acquisition of the Great Northern Ore Properties: Vertical Foreclosure or Efficient Contractual Governance?," by Joseph Mullin and Wallace Mullin. | ||
| 17. | 2/22 | Student leads discussion of "The Maine Lobster Market: Between Market and Hierarchy," by James Acheson. | ||
| 18. | 2/25 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Limits of Firms: Incentive and Bureaucratic Features," by Oliver Williamson. | ||
| 19. | 2/27 | Schedule appointment to
discuss ideas for term paper the week of February 29-March 4 Instructor leads discussion of "The Boundaries of the Firm Revisited," by Bengt Holmstrom and John Roberts. |
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| 20. | 2/29 | Discussion: Transaction Cost Economics. | ||
| 21. | 3/4 | Discussion: What Contributes to a Quality Research Paper? | ||
| IV. | The Government as an Economic Coordinator | |||
| 22. | 3/6 | Instructor presents lecture on market failure. Read: "Problem Areas for the Market," by James Gwartney and Richard Stroup. | ||
| 23. | 3/8 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Problem of Social Cost," by Ronald Coase. | ||
| 24. | 3/11 | No Class: Spring Break | ||
| 25. | 3/13 | No Class: Spring Break | ||
| 26. | 3/15 | No Class: Spring Break | ||
| 27. | 3/18 | Instructor presents lecture on government failure. Read: "The Economics of Government Failure," by James Gwartney and Richard Stroup. | ||
| 28. | 3/20 | Instructor leads discussion of "Rent Seeking and Profit Seeking," by James Buchanan and "Rent-Seeking as a Negative-Sum Game," by Gordon Tullock. | ||
| 29. | 3/22 | Draft research proposal
due. Discussion: student research proposals. |
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| 30. | 3/25 | Student leads discussion of "Information Distortion and Competitive Remedies in Government Transfer Programs: The Case of Ethanol," by Ronald Johnson and Gary Liebcap. | ||
| 31. | 3/27 | Student leads discussion of "The Political Economy of Milk," by John Donahue. | ||
| 32. | 3/29 | Discussion: The Government as an Economic Coordinator. | ||
| V. | Institutional Choice and Economic Outcomes | |||
| 33. | 4/1 | Final research proposals
due. Instructor presents lecture on neoclassical welfare economics. |
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| 34. | 4/3 | Instructor leads discussion of "A Contractarian Paradigm for Applying Economic Theory," by James Buchanan and "The Constitutional Perspective," by Geoffrey Brennan. | ||
| 35. | 4/5 | Instructor presents lecture on acid rain and alternative policy strategies. Read: "Introduction" and "Overview of Control Strategies for Acid Rain" by Roger Raufer and Stephen Feldman. | ||
| 36. | 4/8 | Laboratory experiment on permits and pollution control. Read the handout and prepare to play "The Permits Game," by Mark Walbert and Thomas Bierma. | ||
| 37. | 4/10 | Continuation of laboratory experiment on permits and pollution control. | ||
| 38. | 4/12 | Instructor leads discussion of "The Clean Air Act Acid Rain Program: Lessons for Success in Creating a New Paradigm," by Joseph Goffman and Daniel Dudek and "The Market for Sulfer Dioxide Emissions," by Paul Joskow, Richard Schmalensee and Elizabeth Bailey. | ||
| 39. | 4/15 | Student leads discussion of "The Economics of Compensating Property Owners," by Richard Stroup. | ||
| 40. | 4/17 | Student leads discussion of "The Islamic Commercial Crisis: Institutional Roots of the Delay in the Middle East's Economic Modernization," by Timur Kuran. | ||
| 41. | 4/19 | Student leads discussion of "A Transaction Cost Analysis of Fiscal Federalism," by Chris Bell. | ||
| 42. | 4/22 | Discussion: Institutional Choice and Economic Outcomes. | ||
| 43. | 4/24 | No Class: NCUR | ||
| 44. | 4/26 | No Class: NCUR | ||
| 45. | 4/29 | Term papers due Student presentations of term papers (2). |
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| 46. | 5/1 | No Class: Annual Spring Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creativity | ||
| 47. | 5/3 | Student presentations of term papers (2). | ||
| 48. | 5/6 | Student presentations of term papers (2). | ||
| 49. | 5/8 | Student presentation of term paper (2). | ||
| 50. | 5/10 | Course review, de-briefing and assessment. | ||
| 51. | 5/15 | Cumulative exam | ||