Our goal is to see how learning to think like an economist can illuminate the world of public policy. We’ll start with the key building blocks of economics – the four big ideas of cost-benefit analysis, opportunity cost, marginal analysis, and interdependence — and see how these tools can guide you to making better decisions. We will then explore supply and demand and use this to better understand international trade, externalities and environmental problems, the labor market, inequality and poverty, how businesses set prices, how to make strategic decisions, and how to respond to imperfect information, risk and uncertainty. Throughout, we’ll see how the same ideas that illuminate the world of markets are essential to understanding just about every domain of public policy, and along the way, we’ll see that they can help you make better decisions in your everyday life.
This is a core course restricted to Ford School students only.
Discussion Section:
555.002 - Fridays, 10:00-11:20am, 1110 Weill
