Business, Economics and Society

Bus 200 - Summer 2009

San Jose State University

Rose Orchard Campus

 

 

Class Meetings: June 24, July 1, 8, 11 (Sat), 15, 22, 29, Aug 1 (Sat), 5, 12 – Thursday evenings 6pm-10pm, Saturdays 9am-1pm

 

Professor: Dr. Colleen Haight

Office: DMH 219

Phone: 408-924-5422 office; 650-580-1998 cell

E-mail: colleen.haight@sjsu.edu (best way to reach me)

Office hours: Thursdays starting at 5pm and/or by appointment (These will take place at Rose Orchard for your convenience)

Web site: www.chaight.com

 

Course Description and Objectives:

The basic goal is of course to satisfy a pre-requisite in your MBA program. The title of our text and the theme of the course is ÒThe Economic Way of Thinking.Ó Our text describes this technique of thinking as a set of concepts derived from one fundamental pre-supposition: All social phenomena emerge from the actions and interactions of individuals who are choosing in response to expected additional benefits and costs to themselves. Microeconomics deals with subjects like gains from trade, marginal thinking, supply and demand, elasticity, substitutes, price controls, comparative advantage, monopoly and competition. Macroeconomics deals with big-picture or economy-wide issues like inflation, prices indices, money supply, Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, and economic growth. We will survey topics in both micro- and macro- economics. In keeping with the theme of our text, we will emphasize concepts and thought experiments rather than mathematical modeling.

 

Textbooks:

 

Requirements and Grading Policy:

Students' grades for the course will be determined by scores on two mid-term examinations, a final examination, and a series of quizzes. Exams and quizzes will cover both reading assignments and additional material covered in class. Final grades will be determined as follows:

 

Homework Assignments:                 20%

Mid-term Exams:                            35%

Final Exam:                                    45%

 

Class attendance is not mandatory, however, students will be held responsible for all information presented in class, as well as the information in the readings, and presentations. In some cases, the lectures will cover material different from the reading, using the reading more as a point of reference from which to depart. Students who miss lectures should bear this in mind.

 

NO MAKE-UPS:  Students often overcome tremendous obstacles to complete the assignments listed above.  They may, for example, hire an expensive baby-sitter, antagonize their boss (or worse yet, their spouse), miss out on a potentially great date, or hijack a car to get to an exam or turn in their work.  I am not in a position to weigh one personÕs obstacles relative to others.  Therefore, there are no make-up assignments, quizzes or exams. 

 

Academic Integrity:

Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at

San JosŽ State University and the UniversityÕs Academic Integrity

Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work.

Faculty are required to report all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs.
The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf

 

 

Course Outline:

 

Class Session

Date

Discussion Topic

Corresponding Reading

Notes

 

1

24-Jun

The economic way of thinking. ÒGreedÓ and the invisible hand.

HBP Chp 1, Hazlitt 1-3

 

2

1-Jul

Demand, supply, marginal thinking, elasticity, interest.

HBP Chp 2-4

 

3

8-Jul

Comparative advantage and gains from trade, violent intervention, burden of taxes.

HBP Chp 5

 

4

11-Jul

Profit, loss, arbitrage, speculation, labor theory of value.

HBP Chp 6-7

Saturday Class

5

15-Jul

Competition, monopoly, price searching, anti-trust law.

HBP Chp 8-9

 

6

22-Jul

Externalities, public goods, and government programs.

HBP Chp 10

 

7

29-Jul

Macroeconomic aggregates and Unemployment

HBP Chp 12

 

8

1-Aug

Money and inflation. The Federal Reserve.

HBP Chp 14

Saturday Class

9

5-Aug

Economic growth

HBP Chp 13

 

10

12-Aug

Issues in political economy: globalization, debt, unfunded government liabilities.

HBP Chp 15-16

 

 

This schedule is merely a tentative plan and may be changed as the course progresses.