Eco 405: Seminar in Economic Theory and Policy Spring 2009 Course Syllabus. Class website:

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1 Eco 405: Seminar in Economic Theory and Policy Spring 2009 Course Syllabus Instructor: Office: John Kane 121 Penfield Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00 3:00 Wednesday 2:00 3:00 Thursday 2:00 3:00 (and by appointment) Class website: The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of selected topics in economic theory and policy. Since this course is designed for seniorlevel economics majors, it is designed to apply the basic microeconomic and macroeconomic theory developed in our introductory and intermediate theory courses to the analysis of contemporary policy issues. The material covered in this course should provide both greater depth and breadth to the student s understanding of economic theory. Since this is a seminar course, each student is expected to actively participate in the course. This participation will include: - presenting course material to the class and serving as a discussion leader at least twice during the semester. - writing a paper on a topic related on a policy area (this might include those areas listed below, but need not do so). The results of this study will be presented to the class at the last scheduled class meeting before the final exam. - actively participating in class discussions. It should be obvious that this requires that each student complete all assigned readings prior to each class. Class attendance is clearly a necessary condition for this participation. In addition to the above requirements, there will also be two essay exams. The final grade in this course will be determined using the following formula: class participation 20% class presentations 15% project 15% midterm exam (3/16) 25% final exam (Monday, 5/18) 25% All required readings are available online through links provided on the class website. (The specific readings may change based upon the interests of those in the class.)

2 College Policy on Intellectual Integrity Intellectual integrity on the part of all students is basic to individual growth and development through college course work. When academic dishonesty occurs, the teaching/learning climate is seriously undermined and student growth and development are impeded. For these reasons, any form of intellectual dishonesty is a serious concern and is therefore prohibited. The full intellectual integrity policy can be found at I. Introduction: Market Efficiency Francis M. Bator, The Simple Analytics of Welfare Maximization, The American Economic Review, Vol. 47, No. 1. (March 1957), pp II. Market Failure Francis M. Bator, The Anatomy of Market Failure, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, (August 1958), pp III. Unbalanced Growth William J. Baumol, Macroeconomics of Unbalanced Growth, The American Economic Review, Vol. 57, No. 3. (Jun., 1967), pp IV. Economics of War Dora L. Costa and Matthew E. Kahn, "Cowards And Heroes: Group Loyalty In The American Civil War," NBER Working Paper, (December, 2001) Dora L. Costa and Matthew E. Kahn, "Forging a New Identity: The Costs and Benefits of Diversity in Civil War Combat Units for Black Slaves and Freemen,"NBER Working Paper, William D. Nordhaus, "The Economic Consequences of a War with Iraq," Cowles Foundation Working Paper, Yale University, December Steven J. Davis, Kevin M. Murphy, and Robert H. Topel, "War in Iraq vs. Containment," NBER Working Paper, March, Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz, "The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict," NBER Working Paper, February, Frederick W. Kagan, "The U.S. Military's Manpower Crisis," Foreign Affairs, New York: Jul/Aug Vol. 85, Iss. 4; pp

3 V. Professional Sports Sherwin Rosen and Allen Sanderson, "Labor Markets in Professional Sports, The Economic Journal, Vol. 111, No. 469, Features. (Feb., 2001), pp. F47-F68. VI. Health Care Issues VII. Social Choice Theory Kenneth Arrow, A Difficulty in the Concept of Social Welfare, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 58, No. 4. (Aug., 1950), pp Duncan Black, On the Rationale of Group Decision-Making, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 56, No. 1. (Feb., 1948), pp Amartya Sen, The Impossibility of a Paretian Liberal, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 78, No. 1. (Jan. - Feb., 1970), pp VIII. Economics of the Family Gary S. Becker, Altruism in the Family and Selfishness in the Market Place, Economica, New Series, Vol. 48, No (Feb., 1981), pp Gary S. Becker, A Theory of Marriage: Part I, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 81, No. 4. (Jul. - Aug., 1973), pp Gary S. Becker, A Theory of Marriage: Part II, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 82, No. 2, Part 2: Marriage, Family Human Capital, and Fertility. (Mar. - Apr., 1974), pp. S11-S26. Gary S. Becker; Elisabeth M. Landes; Robert T. Michael, An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 85, No. 6. (Dec., 1977), pp IX. Economics of Education Gary S. Becker, Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 70, No. 5, Part 2: Investment in Human Beings. (Oct., 1962), pp Frederic L. Pryor and David Schaffer, "Wages and the University Educated: a Paradox Resolved," Monthly Labor Review (July, 1997), pp

4 X. Gender Wage Discrimination Gary S. Becker, Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor, Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1, Part 2: Trends in Women's Work, Education, and Family Building. (Jan., 1985), pp. S33-S58. Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, Gender Differences in Pay, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, No. 4. (Autumn, 2000), pp Claudia Goldin and Cecilia Rouse, "Orchestrating Impartiality: The Effect of 'Blind' Auditions on Female Musicians" American Economic Review (September 2000) Claudia Goldin, "The Rising (and then Declining) Significance of Gender," Department of Economics, Harvard University, Working Paper, May 2002 Claudia Goldin, From the Valley to the Summit: The Quiet Revolution that Transformed Women's Work, NBER Working Paper no , (March 2004) Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, and Ilyana Kuziemko, "The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the Gender Gap in College." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (Fall 2006), pp XI. Minimum Wage Laws and Unemployment David Card and Alan Krueger, Minimum Wages and Unemployment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The American Economic Review, Vol. 84, No. 4. (Sep., 1994), pp Robert Valletta, The Minimum Wage, Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco Economic Letter, October 11, 1996 David Card and Alan Krueger, Time-Series Minimum Wage Studies: A Meta-Analysis, The American Economic Review, Vol. 85, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundredth and Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association Washington, DC, January 6-8, (May, 1995), pp John Kennan, The Elusive Effects of Minimum Wages, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 33, No. 4. (Dec., 1995), pp David Neumark and William Wascher, Minimum-Wage Effects on School and Work Transitions of Teenagers, The American Economic Review, Vol. 85, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundredth and Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association Washington, DC, January 6-8, (May, 1995), pp Richard Freeman, The Minimum Wage as a Redistributive Tool, The Economic Journal, Vol. 106, No (May, 1996), pp Margaret O'Brien-Strain and Thomas MaCurdy, Increasing the Minimum Wage: California's Winners and Losers, Public Policy Institute of California, (May

5 2000) XII. Social Security Martin Feldstein, The Missing Piece in Policy Analysis: Social Security Reform, The American Economic Review, Vol. 86, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundredth and Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association San Francisco, CA, January 5-7, (May, 1996), pp XIII. Additional topics (as time permits) Note: If you have a disabling condition that may interfere with your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Office of Disabled Student Services, 226 Hewitt Union. Phone: dss@oswego.edu