Introduction to Economics

Welcome

• What is this course?
• How it works
• First economics activity

What Is Economics?

• Economics: how societies allocate scarce resources
• These choices shape growth, inequality, wellbeing
• Tradeoffs, incentives, constraints

What is a scarce resource?

• Course cap: 25 per section

• 25 interested students

• Seats are scarce
• What’s a fair way to allocate?
  • Hint: It’s definitely not our current waitlist system
  • But is lottery better?
  • The first 25 in the room on day 1?
  • Paying for seats?
  • Those with social security numbers ending in prime numbers?

If you are not currently enrolled, see me from 3-4pm in my office today (Blodgett 134)

Why Study Economics?

• You will vote, work, consume, pay taxes
• Policy debates = tradeoffs, not slogans
• Economics helps sort evidence from noise

How This Course Works

• Participation: earn tokens
• Flex passes: built-in flexibility
• System: rewards good-faith effort

Don’t be like my dog

How to succeed in this course

• Read the syllabus
• Be ready for class jobs (explained soon)
• Ask questions!
• Come to office hours:
  • Mine: T 3–4pm, Th 10:55–11:55am (Blodgett 134)
  • Intern (Cate Fox): W 3–4:30pm (Blodgett 122)
• Office hours: best with specific questions; don’t come unprepared

Grading

• Grades breakdown:

• You’ll use this table to make your case for your final grade in a letter to me
• I reserve the right to adjust grades up

Problem Sets

• Graded for “completion” + “revision”
• ~2 weeks per set; submit on Moodle
• Solutions posted 24 hrs after due
• Revise missed questions (w/grade on first page) within 3 days
• Full pass: submit + revise missed; Half pass: partial/no revision; Fail: not submitted
• Goal: Maximize learning, minimize point-stress

Class Jobs

• Earn up to 10 job points (1pt = 1% of grade, max 10%)
• Points for good-faith participation; no one job required
• Types:
  • Last Class Recap
  • Note Taker
  • Materials Summary
• Each class: random selection for jobs or cold call
• Also: post/answer questions on Moodle (max 5 pts); no spam/trolling
• Graded 0 (none), 0.5 (minimal), 1 (good)
• Other ways to earn at my discretion

Flex Passes

• Each student: 5 Flex Passes (course currency)
• Each can be used for:
  1. 1-day late Pset
  2. Potential exam question (shared)
  3. +1% exam bump
• Managed through class market website (see Moodle)
• You can earn up to 8 passes at once
• How to earn extras? We’ll discuss soon

First Economics Activity

• Economists design market rules/institutions
• Good design = aligns incentives; bad design = loopholes/gaming
• We’ll quickly design a way to earn participation or flex passes
• Example: Earn a flex pass for:
  1. Submitting exam question
  2. Making a short podcast on an econ topic

One-Minute Writing

Share your idea with a small group

Small Group Discussion

• Share your ideas in groups (3–4)
• Pick the strongest proposal
• Be ready to explain why it works

You Just Did Market Design

• Identified incentives
• Considered constraints
• Anticipated consequences

Discussion Norms

• Be concise and precise
• Assume good intent
• Disagree respectfully

A Guiding Principle

“Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others.” - Jon Postel, internet protocols pioneer

• Speak carefully; listen generously

The CORE Econ Textbook

• Free, open-access
• Global and historical approach
• Real data, real institutions

CORE aims to make sense of

GDP per capita growth over time

Income per capita by country

Income per capita by country

Average temperature change over time

Average temperature change over time

Images are from Core Unit 1.

And understand the forces that shape them

Industrial Revolution taken from Core Unit 1

Logistics

• Readings and other materials and announcements online
• Participation tracked transparently
• Ask questions—anytime!

Looking Ahead

• Why growth took off
• Why inequality persists
• How institutions shape outcomes