Lectures
Office HoursTuesday Wednesday Friday, 1:30-2:30pm
Tuesdays 2:30-4:00
Cornett B108
Course Outline.
How_to_study_economics
AnnouncementsSee Final Exam Info document for information on the final, including coverage and extra office hours.
Slides (see course outline for corresponding readings in optional text):
T1_intro_review T2_externalities T3_public_goods T4_inc_redist T5_healthcare T6_public_pensions T7_education
T8_tax_basics T9_income_tax
Problem Sets
pe_pset1 pe_pset1_soln
pe_pset2 pe_pset2_soln
pe_pset3 pe_pset3_soln
pe_pset4 pe_pset4_soln
pe_pset5 pe_pset5_soln
Additional Readings/Links
Review of Basic Consumer Theory
David Suzuki on
Externalities, Economics, and the Environment. Suzuki calls economics "a form of brain damage".
An economist
responds to Suzuki in the Globe and Mail.
Income Distribution and Taxing the Rich (a Globe and Mail article by Kevin Milligan at UBC)
The
2012 Nobel Prize in Economics
Healthy Lifestyles may not save taxpayers money (a Globe and Mail "Economy Lab" blog entry by Chris Auld)
An
episode from "This American Life" (National Public Radio) that discusses
non-cognitive skills development in kids.
This is a great episode. It deals with
economics, psychology, neuroscience, and policy. It's important for
people thinking about education policy, poverty, and welfare policy.
And it has lessons even for adults (like you) about how we learn and
how much control we have over our ability to learn, even as we get
older. And it gives you some insight into what I think is some of the
most exciting current research in the social sciences (this stuff is
way deeper than just research about education). It's also
hilarious in parts. The broad points from this clip (which is free to
listen to) will be
fair game for the final exam.
BC Budget calculator.
If you'd like to get a sense of where provincial revenues come from and
what the money gets spent on, here's an online tool you can play with.
Article
from The Economist on the fiscal cliff negotiations in the US. Focuses
on a discussion of whether marginal tax rates should be raised, with
some empirical evidence cited. Note how the discussion addresses
both the effect of marginal tax rates on economic activity and on
deadweight loss (even though DWL is not mentioned by name).
An interesting
piece
on tax distortions arising from construction-related taxes. The
comments are as interesting as the blog post itself, with people
chipping in various other examples of strange taxes and associated
behavioural responses. Cocktail parties full of economists might be
interesting after all.
Ken Burns did a great documentary called Prohibition a year or so ago,
about the period in US history when alcoholic beverages were
banned. It's well worth watching. Prohibiting a good is
equivalent to putting a very high tax on it. Even lower taxes can
lead to behaviours similar to those resulting from prohibition. The
economics and politics and sociology of Prohibition is fascinating.
Here's a
taste.
Exam Info
Midterm1_info
Practice_midterm1 Practice_midterm1_solns
Midterm1_grades
Post_MT1_comments
MT1_version1_solns
MT1_version2_solns
Midterm2_info
Practice_midterm2 Practice_midterm2_solns
Midterm2_grades
MT2_version1_solns
MT2_version2_solns
Practice_final
Final_exam_info
Blogs you might enjoy
Economy Lab (Globe and Mail)
Marginal Revolution
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative