Columbia University

Department of Economics
Principles of Economics
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
W1105x-1 Spring 2014
Office Hours: 1001C IAB
T/R 8:40-9:55
M: (10-11); W: (2-3)
501 SCH
e-mail: skg21
Sunil K. Gulati
tel: x44067
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Readings: The required textbook for the course is Principles of Economics by R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony OBrien (4th Edition;
Prentice Hall Publishers, 2013). You might also want to check out MyEconlab.com (details on the inside of the book cover) for
additional problem sets, etc. The text is in the University Bookstore and on reserve at Uris Library. You may also order an
electronic version of the text (less expensive) from www.coursesmart.com (a purchase code is available at the bookstore but you
can also just go directly to the site).
In addition, a regular reading of the New York Times or The Economist (you can get a discount at www.economistacademic.com -faculty ID 5618) would be helpful. A tentative outline of the readings required for each lecture is attached. Some changes are
possible during the course of the semester. You should make every effort to review (at least skim) the listed chapter(s) prior to
the relevant lecture and reread the chapter after the lecture. You will need to purchase an i>clicker (personal response
system) as we will be using it throughout the course. The clickers are available in the bookstore. Register your i>clicker
through the following lick (http://www.iclicker.com/registration/). For student ID, please use your UNI. More information on
the clickers will be provided during the first few lectures.
Lab Sessions: The lab sessions are an integral part of the course and will be used for reviewing distributed problem sets as well as
introducing topics not covered in class (or extending topics that are covered only tangentially in the lectures). The lab sessions
will be very similar, so if you miss your regularly scheduled session, you should attend another session during the same week.
These sessions (outlined in the schedule below) will be conducted by teaching assistants/preceptors. You must register (in the
normal way) for one of these sessions:
Section
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Day
Monday
Monday
Tuesday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Thursday
Friday

Time
3:00-3:50
6:10-7:00
1:10-2:00
6:10-7:00
11:00-11:50
5:10-6:00
12:00-12:50
7:10-8:00
11:00-11:50

Room
318 Hamilton
316 Hamilton
501A IAB
511 Hamilton
307 Pupin
407 Math
607 Hamilton
501 IAB
501B IAB

Instructor
Jesse Garrett
Meiping Sun
Ashna Arora
Yu Liu
Yu Liu
Nicole Dussault
Meiping Sun
Tanay Jaipuria
Ashna Arora

Teaching Assistants: Office hours and contact information for the teaching assistants are as follows:
Instructor
Ashna Arora
Yu Liu
Meiping Sun
Tanay Jaipuria
Nicole Dussault
Jesse Garrett

email
Aa3332
Yl2808
Ms4196
Tjj2112
Ned2116
Jg3067

Day/Time
T: 12-2
T: 3-5
M: 7-8; T: 7-8
R: 6-7
W: 10-11
M: 4-5

Room
1006A IAB
1006A IAB
1006A IAB
1006A IAB
1006A IAB
1006A IAB

Evaluation: Course grades will based be on (i) four assigned problem sets (8%), (ii) seven in-class quizzes (12%) (iii) a 75 minute
mid-term examination (30%) and (iv) a comprehensive final exam (50%). Exams will cover all assigned readings, lectures and lab
sessions. The (tentative) date for the mid-term is March 5; the final exam date (tentatively set for May 14) will be set in accordance
with the University calendar. Grade for the problem sets, quizzes and exams will be posted at Courseworks. Exams will be graded
collectively by graduate student teaching assistants. There are no extra credit opportunities.
Review Sessions: Prior to the mid-term and final exams, I will hold a review session covering most of the relevant material.
Previous copies of exams will be posted at Courseworks and discussed at these sessions.
Quizzes: Of the seven in-class quizzes, only the seven best scores will be counted. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes.
Quizzes will not be returned although solution sets will be posted at Courseworks one day after each quiz.
Problem Sets: No late assignments will be accepted. Problem sets are worth 5 points each and will be graded on a + (5 points),
(3 points), - (1 point) and 0 basis. Graded problem sets will be returned in lab sessions. Solution sets will be posted at
Courseworks one day after due dates. Problem sets must indicate your name(s), UNI and section # on the front page.
You may
work in pairs and submit joint solution sets. Simply copying another students (or groups) work is cheating. Columbias policy on
academic integrity is at http://www.college.columbia.edu/bulletin/universitypolicies.php.

Tentative Course Schedule

January 22
January 27
January 29
February 3
February 5
February 10
February 12
February 17
February 19
February 24

First Principles

Chapters 1, 2

Supply and Demand I

Chapter 3

No Lab Sessions

Lab Session: Supply/Demand Applications

Problem Set #1 Posted; Due February 5

Supply and Demand II

Elasticity

Lab Session: Elasticity Math & Applications

Theory of Consumer Behavior I

Theory of Consumer Behavior II
Lab Session: Behavioral Economics

Technology and Costs

Competitive Markets I

Lab Session: Two Variable Inputs

Problem Set #2 Posted; Due February 26

Competitive Markets II
Imperfect Competition I

Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 Appendix
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapter 15

Lab Session: Strategic Behavior/Basic Game Theory

February 26
March 2

Imperfect Competition II

Chapter 13*, 14*

Special Session: Mid Term Review

March 3

Distortions: Externalities/Public Goods

Chapter 5

March 5
March 10

MID TERM EXAM

Intro to Macro/Measuring Economic Activity

Chapter 19, 20

Lab Session: Monday/Tuesday Only

Lab Session: GDP Accounting/Price Indices

March 12
March 17, 19
March 24

Employment and Inflation/Macro History

SPRING BREAK
Economic Growth

Chapter 20; Handout

Chapter 22

Lab Session: Financial Statements

Problem Set #3 Posted; Due April 2

March 26
March 31

Short Run Income Determination I

Short Run Income Determination II
Lab Session: Algebra of Income Determination

April 2
April 7

Fiscal Policy
Money & Banking

Lab Session: Money Creation

April 9
April 14

FED and Monetary Policy

Aggregate Supply and Demand

Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 27
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 24

Lab Session: Aggregate Supply/Demand

Problem Set #4 Posted; Due April 23

April 16
April 21

Macro Policy Issues I

Macro Policy Issues II

Chapter 28
Chapter 28

Lab Session: Topics in Macroeconomics

April 23
April 28

International Trade
International Finance
Lab Session: Final Review

April 30
May 5

Income Distribution
Final Exam Review I

May 6/7/8-TBD

May 14

(tentative)

Chapter 9
Chapters 29, 30
TBD

Special Session: Final Exam Review II

FINAL EXAM

Tentative

Until the date for the Final Exam is confirmed, you should not rely on any tentative exam date listed.
Do not make departure plans that may conflict with the Final Exam.