EIU 4115G:Pop Culture Economics SUMMER 2018

 

 

Dr. Ali R. Moshtagh

Phone: 581- 2916

Office: 2371 Coleman Hall

E-mail: amoshtagh@eiu.edu

 

Office Hours:

Course Description:

 

A study of the ways in which economics plays a role in individuals' lives as seen through the stories told in popular music, movies, and television programs. Students will explore how individuals, firms, governments, and society make decisions in attempt to achieve the greatest level of well-being possible in a world of limited resources.

 

Learning Objectives:

 

Required Textbook:

 

 

Grady Klein and Yoram Bauman, The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, [Volume One: Microeconomics], 1^st edition

 

Distribution of Points:

 

Final grade will be comprised of:

 

Short Papers	25 Percent
Midterm Exam	20 Percent
Term Paper & First Draft	15 Percent
Presentation of Term Paper	10 Percent
Class Participation	10 Percent
Final Exam	20 Percent

 

Methods of Evaluation

 

1.    Desire 2 Learn (D2L)

 

Throughout the course, you will be using Desire 2 Learn (D2L): https://www.eiu.edu/online/eiuonline

 

The Student class notes and other class assignments or materials will be available for download or submission on Desire 2 Learn.

To login into Desire 2 Learn, you need your EIU username and password: https://www.eiu.edu/eiuonline/

Information and tutorials about using Desire 2 Learn are available here: http://www.eiu.edu/online/student/index.php

 

Please contact me if you are having difficulties accessing the material available for this course.

 

2.    Exams

 

You will have two ON LINE (D2L) exams: one midterm and a final exam. The final exam is not cumulative. Each exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions, two short comments of comic strips, and one short essay. Each exam covers 4 chapters. Questions will be taken from lectures, class discussions, and the required textbook. The Midterm and Final Exams are each worth 20 percent of your final grade.

 

3.    Attendance and Class Participation

 

Regular attendance is necessary for you to understand the material covered in this course. Attendance and class participation are an explicit part of your grade (10 percent). Each day you are in class, you can earn UP TO 4 points: 1 point for attendance, and UP TO 3 additional points for class participation. At the end of each class I will grade you on your class participation. You will also earn class participation points by engaging in class experiments/games, if any. PLEASE BE ADVISED: attendance alone is not enough to get a good grade for class participation.

 

4.    Short Papers

 

You will have to write a short paper almost once a week or once every other week: at least one short paper for each chapter we cover.

This week,  I noticed something interesting as I watched this movie/TV show or heard this song that made me think of "this economic issue/concept".

The structure of the short paper should be

Title of the paper

Introduction: define the economic concept your story will cover (30%)

Describe the story as seen on TV / movie or heard in a song(30%)

Explain why and how your story conveys the economic concept (40%)

 

The short-paper grade is worth 25 percent of your final grade.

 

5.    Term Paper (and Draft of Term Paper)

 

First, you have to turn in the first draft of your paper. I will read it, write suggestions for improvement, and return it to you. Later, you will have to turn in the final version of your term paper.

6.    Term Paper Presentation

NOTE 1:

No exam grades will be eliminated. No exams will be made up unless arrangements have been made PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED EXAM DATE. Messages left on my voice mail will not be considered as proper arrangements.

NOTE 2:

Academic integrity - Students are expected to maintain principles of academic integrity and conduct as defined in EIU's Code of Conduct (http://www.eiu.edu/judicial/studentconductcode.hph). Violations will be reported to the Office of Student Standards.

NOTE 3:

Students with disabilities - If you are a student with a documented disability in need of accommodations to fully participate in this class, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services (OSDS). All accommodations must be approved through OSDS. Please stop by Ninth Street Hall, Room 2006, or call 217-581-6583.

NOTE 4:

The Student Success Center - Students who are having difficulty achieving their academic goals are encouraged to contact the Student Success Center (http;//www.eiu.edu/~success) for assistance with time management, test taking, note taking, avoiding procrastination, setting goals, and other skills to support academic achievement. The Student Success Center provides individualized consultations. To make an appointment, call 217-581-6696, or go to 9th Street Hall, Room 1302.

Midterm Exam: Thursday, 24 May, 2018

Part 1: An introduction to the Economic Problem Economics is everywhere Resources: Labor; Capital; Natural resources; Entrepreneurial ability Goods and services Trade-offs : Guns vs. butter; Efficiency vs. equality Part 2:  Trade-offs and Opportunity Costs Scarcity: The role of scarcity in forcing individuals to make choices Trade-offs Opportunity cost; Opportunity cost of going to college Sunk cost  Part 3: Using marginal analysis to make decisions Cost-benefit analysis CONSUMERS:  Utility, Allocating budget across goods, Demand FIRMS:  Costs of production, Revenue, Profit maximization, Supply, Demand and supply together Part 4: The effects of incentives on behavior "People respond to incentives" Selling your house: Real-estate agent Conflicting incentives, Incentives in the workplace Incentives in sports, Incentives in the markets Intentional vs. unintentional effects of incentives Rewards vs. punishments: Children; Effective policy

Part 5:  Gains from trade Trade can make everyone better off Absolute advantage, Comparative advantage Principle of comparative advantage Trade between individuals / countries Consumer and producer surplus Effects of a tariff Worker exploitation? Part 6: The efficiency of competitive markets Economic systems Government spending and taxation Market economies, Market efficiency Perfectly competitive market Effects of interference in competitive markets Part 7: Market Failure Market efficiency & market failure Imperfect competition: Monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopolistic competition Public policies toward firms with market power Externalities Public goods and common resources Imperfect / Asymmetric information Part 8: Standards of living across the world Standard of living Poverty Productivity – role and determinants Public policy to increase standard of living