> What would you recommend, a course that shows economics > concisely (and thus covering more topic) or showing it light (with just the > core economic concepts like supply, demand, cost, utility... etc; less > topic but more fun into it)? Similarly, what could be the topics that would > be taught in a year's course?
I would cover the core concepts. Topics should include: 1. Basic conceps: utility, scarcity, economizing (optimizing), opportunity cost; factors of production: land, labor, capital goods; what is a "market" 2. Supply and demand; effects of price controls; elasticity 3. Production (cost, law of diminishing returns); accounting versus economic profit. Consumption (e.g. equality of MU/P). 4. Consumer and producer surplus; excess burden (deadweight loss); how the excess burden is affected by the elasticities of supply and demand 5. Theory of exchange; international trade (comparative advantage) 6. The capitalization of local externalities into site rents 7. Public choice 8. Time preference, interest rates (real and nominal), present value, asset prices as a function of yield, discount rate, and tax rate 9. Money and banking; central banking versus free banking; fixed versus floating currencies 10. National income accounting; aggregate supply and demand The macroeconomic determination of output and the price level (including the labor market determination of the real wage; the aggregate production function, and AS/AD) 11. The business cycle 12. Economic growth and development The main concept to be appreciated in economics is the implicit reality that lies beneath the superficial appearance of economic activity. Fred Foldvary ===== [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
