ECONOMICS 4484 (Boldt) --- Spring 2009
COURSE TITLE: Seminar in Economics
COURSE WEBSITE: www.westga.edu/~dboldt/ECON4484/Econ4484sp09.htm
INSTRUCTOR: David Boldt dboldt@westga.edu Office Phone: (678) 839-4771
OFFICE HOURS: M-F 10 am-12 noon, T, TH 2:00-3:00 pm, and other times by arrangement. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail also.
REQUIRED BOOKS (UWG Bookstore):
1) A Short History of Financial Euphoria, John K. Galbraith, Penguin Books, 1990.
2) The Economic Naturalist, Robert H. Frank, Basic Books, 2007.
3) The Economics of Public Issues, 15th ed., R. Miller, D. Benjamin, and D. North, Pearson, 2008.
4) A Deadly Indifference, Marshall Jevons, Princeton University Press, 1995.
OTHER READINGS (will be provided in class)
PREREQUISITES: Economics 2105, 2106 and Senior Status
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The senior seminar is a capstone course for economics majors. This course requires that economic majors integrate and synthesize what they have learned in other economics courses. The course places significant emphasis on writing and oral communication skills. Specific objectives include:
· Comprehension of microeconomic concepts and the application to decision making (LG7, LG9)
· Comprehension of alternative macroeconomic approaches and application to current policy issues (LG7, LG8)
· Application of economic principles to public policy issues (LG7, LG10, LG11)
· Development of oral and written communication skills (LG1)
· Preparation for graduate or professional studies or job search after graduation
Note: A complete list of the learning goals (LG) for the Economics Department can be found at the department web site (www.westga.edu/~econ/lg_assessments.htm).
ASSESSMENT:
Learning objectives are assessed based on your performance on the following:
In Class Writing Assignments (exams)- During the semester, there will be three in-class examinations. Each of the first two in-class exams will count for 21 percent of your grade. The final examination will count for 15 points. In total, these in-class exams will count for 57 percent of your grade in the seminar.
Formal Oral Presentation- Each student will lead a discussion on one chapter in the book, The Economics of Public Issues (15th ed.). Chapters will be assigned on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Using power point, present a brief overview of the key concepts presented in the chapter. Also discuss one other reference on the topic in your presentation. The presentations should contain no more than 12 slides. Also, at the end of the presentation, I would like you to lead the class in a discussion on two of the questions contained in the back of the chapter. The power point presentation must be emailed to me by 11:00 am on the day of presentation so I can load the presentation on the classroom computer. Fellow classmates are expected to have read the chapter prior to the presentation and to be prepared to contribute to a classroom discussion. Factors impacting the grade include organization/content, knowledge/preparedness, quality of slides, and presentation flow/tone of voice/eye contact. This presentation counts for 12 percent of the course grade.
Response Papers--- After each guest speaker (or speakers), students are expected to submit a response paper. Each response paper should contain two sections: a summary of the main remarks of the speaker (s) and your analysis of the presentation. The papers must also include a title and presentation date. Please type your papers (double space, max 12 font). They should be about 1 page in length. These feedback papers will count for 6 percent of your grade. Due dates will be specified at a later date.
Exit Exam---Students will take an “exit exam” as part of this seminar course. This exam will test your knowledge of five areas of economics: basic economic concepts, microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and economic policy. The exam is scheduled for April 20. I anticipate devoting three classes prior to the exit exam for review. This examination will be graded by a committee of economics faculty. This examination will count for 10 percent of your grade. No notes or other materials may be brought into this exam.
Class Participation and Discussion--- This portion of your grade will be based on contributions to class discussion, brief presentations, and class attendance. Class participation and the short in-class presentations will count for 10 percent of your grade.
Resume---A professional resume must be turned in by the end of the semester (April 27). Please follow the format outlined by Karen Lingrell (Career Services). This assignment will count for 5 percent of your grade.
Extra Credit Possibilities: Attend an economics/international lecture. To receive credit, the lecture must be approved beforehand and you will need to submit a "response paper." Another extra credit option would be to attend a workshop offered by Career Services. Options include an interview skills seminar, "dressing for success," or how to make effective use of a job fair. You would need to submit a response paper to get extra credit for one of these seminars. You may not count a resume seminar for extra credit since this workshop will be conducted in class.
(topics will be updated
during the semester---check course web site)
Date Topic
Part
I Fiscal Policy/Health
Economics/Booms and Busts/Economic Naturalist
Jan
7 Introduction to Course
Jan 12 Fiscal Policy (handout)
Jan 14 Fiscal Policy (handout)
Jan 21 Health Care Economics---Guest Speaker, Chuck
Sorrento
Jan 26 Booms and Busts in the Economy (Galbraith)
Videos:
1) Crash Course Ch. 15 Bubbles (http://chrismartenson.com/crashcourse);
2) End of Wall Street: What Happened (http://online.wsj.com/video/end-of-wall-street-what-happened/1F02EFEC-569A-4FED-9BF9-D89CD6E57AD0.html),
3) End of Wall Street: Why it Happened (http://online.wsj.com/video/end-of-wall-street-why-it-happened/1DA45E1F-800B-408E-9523-D122F9680B5C.html)
and 4) End of Wall Street: What’s Next (http://online.wsj.com/video/end-of-wall-street-what-happens-next/1242ED39-063B-4B9E-9DD7-292B4C66D1A0.html)
Jan 28 Booms and Busts in the Economy (Galbraith)
Feb 2 Economic Naturalist topics (Frank: Introduction, Ch. 1)
Feb 4 Economic Naturalist topics (Frank: Ch. 3, 4)
Feb 9 Economic Naturalist topics (Frank: Ch. 7, 9)
Feb
11 No Class- attending conference
Feb 16 Test #1 (Topics and assigned readings
Jan. 7-Feb 9). Open notes but no books
or articles.
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Part II Student Presentations on Economics of
Public Issues/Other Topics
Feb 18 Presentations—Malik (20); Le (2); Boldt (29)
Feb 23 Presentations--- Alabi (11); Brown (28); Dube
(4); Stearns (6)
Feb 25 Presentations—Hart (19); Mitchell (25); Reeder (15); Sanya (30)
Mar 2 Presentations—Evans
(13); Hess (27); James (18); Logsdon (17)
Mar 4 MBA/Economics Graduate School Forum-Guest Speakers (Kim Holder,
Jon Anderson)
Mar 9 Presentations—Donaldson (24); Ezeala
(16); Head (22); Turner (5)
Mar 11 Presentations—Abdullah (8); Bones (14);
Sutton (12)
Mar 23 Test #2 (Topics in The
Economics of Public Issues)
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Part
III Other Topics
(Global Food Crisis, Retirement Planning, Career Planning, Exit Exam, Final,
etc.)
Mar 25 Global Food Crisis (handout)
Mar 30 Career Services---Guest Speaker, Karen
Lingrell
Apr 1 No Class (Honors Day)
Apr 6 Student Presentations—Economic Naturalist Topic
Apr 8 Microeconomics Review
Apr 13 Macroeconomics Review
Apr 15 Exit
Exam (no notes allowed)
Apr 20 Economics of the Dairy Industry---Guest Speaker, Amanda Trice, Southeast
United Dairy Industry Association, Inc.
Apr 22 Investing and Careers in Financial Planning---Guest Speaker,
Michael Stone, Edward Jones
Apr 27 Saving and Investment---Guest Speaker,
Leland Gustafson
Apr 29 Commercial and Other Banking Issues---Guest Speaker, Jason F. Holstun, VP SunTrust
May 4 (Mon, 11 am)-Final Exam (Economics Novel—Deadly
Indifference, other topics)
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