ECONOMICS 499
SYLLABUS, Spring 1998
MWF 10-11am 358 PACB

Instructor: Reed Olsen

Office: 365 Cheek Hall

Phone: 836-5379

E-Mail: RNO174F@MAIL.missouristate.edu

Web Sites: Economics Department, Dr. Olsen's course material

Office Hours: TTH 9 to 11 am; and by appointment.

Textbooks: Thomas Wyrick, The Economist’s Handbook.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

1. There will be 10 assignments throughout the course of the semester that will result in either a written or oral (or both) report from the student. These assignments will help develop skills useful to economists in a variety of different areas:
   
   
   1. Gaining access to existing knowledge – these assignments will teach students how to find economic data and economic research.
   2. Exhibiting the ability to understand and summarize existing knowledge – assignments that teach students how to read, summarize, and write or give oral reports regarding existing economic research or data.
   3. Developing the ability to think analytically, especially from an economic concept – these assignments will require that students read and economically analyze the content of news articles, public policy debates, and so forth.
   4. Learning to do original research and report that research in a written paper – this will consist of a single assignment resulting in a paper of 15 to 25 pages of in-depth economic analysis on an original topic chosen by the student. The assignment will require the student to analyze the topic both theoretically and empirically.
      

2. The student will be required to take a general economics examination designed to assess both the student’s general economics knowledge and economics program accomplishments in adding to the student’s economic knowledge.
   
   
3. The grading for the course will be as follows:
   

4. Each student will be required to obtain a VMA (IBM mainframe) account. If you are already registered in the course, all you need to do is go to the student computer lab in either Glass or Cheek Hall and open your account with the lab attendant. Your registration in the course should authorize your eligibility for the account. Please set up your account early in the semester. We will be using SAS on the IBM VMA computer for empirical work in the course.
   
   
5. Course policies are as follows:

There will be no extra credit nor will you be allowed to turn in late assignments. You are responsible for making sure that you turn in the assignments at appropriate times. As this is the first time I’ve taught the class, I do not have a comprehensive schedule of when each assignment will be due. As a result, the student must make sure he keeps up on when assignments are due. Attendance will not be taken at other times, though regular attendance will have a positive impact on your grade. You should note that attendance is especially important for this class, where classroom participation will be expected. Occasionally, we will not hold class in order to give students time to complete assignments. These will be announced the week before in class.

6. COURSE CALENDAR. As this is the first time I’ve taught this course, I do not have dates set yet for particular assignments. The assignments will be given periodically throughout the semester. The student must attend class in order to know when assignments are given. I will place all assignments on the web, with their due date, as I give out the assignments. I plan on spending about the last 4 or 5 weeks giving students the ability to do their final project, which means that the additional 9 assignments will be given approximately every week or so. The two general economics examinations will be given to students during the regular final exam period – Monday, May 10^th, 8:45 to 10:45 am. The final project will also be due at, or before, the final exam period.
   
   
7. READING LIST. The following reading list is given to inform you of the topics we are likely to cover in the class and the reading assigned for each topic. However, the reading list is not inviolate and may be changed as circumstances warrant. We will discuss in class periodically exactly where we are in the reading list as well as (perhaps) the assignment of additional readings. Numbers in the reading list refer to chapters from the textbook.

Back to Dr. Olsen's Curriculum Page