Revised Course Schedule (Lecs. 5 onward) | Original Course Schedule (Lecs. 1 to 4 correct) | Ripped from the Headlines | Exams

Revised Course Schedule

Lecture	Class Materials	Assignments and Deadlines
5 9/23 Consumer Behavior	Read GLS, Chapter 4 Lecture Notes [LN 5]	Handouts Problem set 5 [PS 5] , [answers] Due Problem set 4
6 9/30 Individual and Market Demand	Read GLS, Chapter 5. Omit income Engel curves from 5.1, and skip Section 5.3. Lecture Notes [LN 6]	Handouts Problem set 6 [PS 6], [answers] Due Problem set 5
7 10/7 Tax Incidence	Read Gruber, Chapter 19, pages 557-586 [reading package] limited coverage of 19.4 Read introductions Chetty, Looney and Croft, “Salience and Taxation” NBER Working Paper 13330, 2007. [link] Bradley and Feldman, “Hidden Baggage: Behavioral Responses to Changes in Airline Ticket Tax Disclosure” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020. [link] Supplemental great policy example of sugary drinks the corporate tax as yet another application of the policy importance of this topic Lecture Notes [LN 7]	Handouts Problem set 7 [PS 7], [answers] Due Problem set 6
8 10/14	Midterm: in person, on paper	Due Problem set 7
9 10/21 Firms and Production	Read GLS, Chapter 6, but not 6.5 or 6.6 Supplemental The Economy, 7.1 to 7.7 Lecture Notes [LN 9]	Handouts Problem set 8 [PS 8], [answers] Due nada
10 10/28 Costs	Read GLS, Chapter 7, but not 7.5; we return to 6.5 Supplemental On variable costs in The Office On opportunity costs: Demsas, Jerusalem, “Buses Shouldn't Be Free”, The Atlantic, December 9, 2022. [link] Economies of scope vs. economies of scale: Hufford, Austen, “A Soap Maker Cracks the Code to 'Made in America'”, The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2023. [link] The Economy, 7.8 to 7.13 Lecture Notes [LN 10]	Handouts Problem set 9 [PS 9], [answers] Due Problem set 8
11 11/4 Competition	Read GLS, Chapter 8, but not 8.5. Lecture Notes [LN 11]	Handouts Problem set 10 [PS 10], [answers] Due Problem set 9
12 11/11 Market Power\\ Competition, cont'd	Read GLS, Chapter 8 Helpful examples Summary of recent research on competition, or lack thereof, in the generic drug market For those interested in price fixing Lecture Notes [LN 12]	Handouts Problem set 11 [PS 11], [answers] Due Problem set 10
13 11/18 Externalities \\ Market power	Read GLS Chapter 9 Helpful examples Summary of recent research on competition, or lack thereof, in the generic drug market For those interested in price fixing Lecture Notes [LN 13]	Handouts Problem set 12 [PS 12] , [answers] Due Problem set 11
Thanksgiving Break 11/25
14 12/2 Public Goods Externalities	Read GLS, Chapter 17, sections 17.1, 17.2, and 17.3 Gruber, Chapter 7, pages 184-189; Rosen and Gayer, Chapter 4, pages 54-70. Supplemental Leape, Jonathan, The London Congestion Charge, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2006 Lecture Notes [LN 14]	Handouts Problem set 13 [PS 13] , [answers] Due Problem set 12
Final In person	Confirmed: Tuesday December 16, 3:00 to 5:00 and 5:20 to 7:20 pm Location same as regular classroom
Done!	Enjoy your break.

Original Course Schedule

Lecture	Class Materials	Assignments and Deadlines
1 8/26 Intro, Supply and Demand	Read GLS, Chapters 1 and 2, skimming 2.5 multiple equilibria in the vanilla market, courtesy of NPR Supplemental More detail on vanilla Returning to equilibrium: Hall, Jonathan, John J. Horton and Daniel T. Knoepfle, “Ride Sharing Markets Re-Equilibrate”, NBER Working Paper No. 30883, February 2023. [link] Lecture Notes [LN1]	Handouts Problem set 1 [PS 1], [answers] Use Numbers 1 of 2 [UN 1 of 2] Ripped from Headlines instructions [link]
2 9/2 Elasticity	Read GLS, Section 2.5 Alvarez et al, “Price and income elasticities of demand for cigarette consumption...” Public Health, 2020. [link]. read only introduction, discussion at end look at Figure 1 and Table 1 skim the rest as useful Lecture Notes [LN 2]	Handouts Problem set 2 [PS 2] , [answers] Due Problem set 1
3 9/9 Supply and Demand and Policy	Read GLS, Chapter 3, but not 3.4 or 3.5 Consumer surplus from Wikipedia: “Net Benefits: How to quantify the gains that the internet has brought to consumers”, The Economist, 2013 [link], and GW [subscriber version] that requires vpn Supplemental Planet money podcast on cheese price floor Estimates of consumer surplus from Uber: economist and layperson versions Lecture Notes [LN 3]	Handouts Problem set 3 [PS 3], [answers] Use Numbers 2 of 2 [UN 2 of 2] Due Problem set 2 Use Numbers 1 of 2
4 9/16 Consumer Behavior	Read GLS, Chapter 4 Lecture Notes [LN 4]	Handouts Problem set 4 [PS 4] Due Problem set 3
5 9/23 Individual and Market Demand	Read GLS, Chapter 5. Omit income Engel curves from 5.1, and skip Section 5.3. Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 5 [PS 5] Due Problem set 4 Use Numbers 2 of 2
6 9/30 Tax Incidence	Read Gruber, Chapter 19, pages 557-586 [reading package] limited coverage of 19.4 Read introductions Chetty, Looney and Croft, “Salience and Taxation” NBER Working Paper 13330, 2007. [link] Bradley and Feldman, “Hidden Baggage: Behavioral Responses to Changes in Airline Ticket Tax Disclosure” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020. [link] Supplemental great policy example of sugary drinks the corporate tax as yet another application of the policy importance of this topic Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 6 Due Problem set 5
7 10/7 Firms and Profit	Read GLS, Chapter 6, but not 6.5 or 6.6 Supplemental The Economy, 7.1 to 7.7 Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 7 Due Problem set 6
8 10/14	Midterm: in person, on paper	Due Problem set 7
9 10/21 Costs	Read GLS, Chapter 7, but not 7.5; we return to 6.5 Supplemental On variable costs in The Office On opportunity costs: Demsas, Jerusalem, “Buses Shouldn't Be Free”, The Atlantic, December 9, 2022. [link] Economies of scope vs. economies of scale: Hufford, Austen, “A Soap Maker Cracks the Code to 'Made in America'”, The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2023. [link] The Economy, 7.8 to 7.13 Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 8 Due
10 10/28 Competition	Read GLS, Chapter 8, but not 8.5. Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 9 Due Problem set 8
11 11/4 Market Power	Read GLS, Chapter 9; omit Lerner Index Helpful examples Summary of recent research on competition, or lack thereof, in the generic drug market For those interested in price fixing Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 10 Due Problem set 9
12 11/11 Pricing (Subject to change)	Read GLS, Chapter 10 Dean, Sam, “The truth about LA's most notoriously expensive gas stations,” Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2022. [link] Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 11 Due Problem set 10
Thanksgiving Break 11/18
13 11/25 Externalities	Read GLS, Chapter 17, sections 17.1, 17.2, and 17.3 Gruber, Chapter 7, pages 184-189; Rosen and Gayer, Chapter 4, pages 54-70. Supplemental Leape, Jonathan, The London Congestion Charge, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2006 Lecture Notes	Handouts Problem set 12 Due Problem set 11
14 12/2 Public Goods	Read Two podcasts on public goods Lighthouses, Autopsies, and the Federal Budget, [link] How to Stop an Asteroid, [link] Lecture Notes	Due Problem set 12
Final In person
Done!	Enjoy your break.

Ripped from the Headlines

• Assignment instructions
• Sign-up Google sheet with sign-up and linked articles

Exams

• Midterm
  • Midterm review Wednesday October 8, 6 to 8 pm. Room TBD. We will zoom record.
  • 2023 midterm for review: [midterm]
  • I will not be posting answers, but please ask questions
  • 2025 midterm answers: [link]
• Final
• Final review session Thursday December 11, 6 to 7:30 pm. Room MPA 305. We will zoom record.
• 2023 final for review: [final]. Note that this year's class covered slightly different material.
• I will not be posting answers, but please ask questions