An introduction to microeconomic theory and its application to contemporary economic problems. Topics include supply, demand, and price determination; consumer and producer behavior; market structure; and government policy and the role of government in a free society.
* Everything is subject to change. Last updated 04/22/26 *
| Lectures [ textbook ] | Landsburg Armchair | Hazlitt 1 Lesson | Crash Course Economics | Problem Sets (PS) | Quizzes (due date) | Other Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Overview of economic analysis | Intro; Ch. 1-3 (skip sec. on GE, pp. 29-31) | Ch. 1-3 | #1 | PS 1 | key | Q-1 (due 1/29) | Rotfeld, Libraries, learning, and dirty sandals Williams, Economic lunacy |
| 2. Economics and the big picture | #3 | Hayne, Why does Johnny so rarely learn any econ? Higgs, Hate corporations and love governments... Stapleton, You're afraid of power, not Trump | ||||
| 3. Specialization, productivity, and trade | Ch. 5 | Ch. 7, 8 | #2 | Sullum, Trump: | ||
| Appendix 3 | ||||||
| 4. Supply, marginal cost, and the firm | #24 | PS 2 | key | Q-2 (due 2/10) | |||
| 5. Demand, marginal benefit, and the consumer | PS 3 | key | Q-3 (due 2/10) | ||||
| 6. Market equilibrium and price adjustments | #4 #18 (thru 8:30) | PS 4 | key | Q-4 (due 2/17) | |||
| Exam 1 — Tuesday, February 17 Covers: Walker text, chs. 1-6 + assigned Landsburg & Hazlitt book chs. + "Other Readings" | ||||||
| 7. Economic efficiency in markets | Ch. 4, 8 | Ch. 14, 15, 22 | #19 | PS 5 | key | Q-5 (3/12) | Williams, Socialist promises |
| 8. Price controls and resource allocation | Ch. 16-19 | #20 | WSJ, The rent control slums of New York Stossel, In praise of price gouging | |||
| 9. Elasticity and drug control policy | Ch. 10 | #18 (8:30-11:00) | ||||
| 10. Excise taxes and deadweight losses | Ch. 7 | #20 | PS 6 | key | |||
| 11. Protectionist trade policies | Ch. 21 | Ch. 10-12 | #15 | Bastiat, A petition Krugman, In praise of cheap labor (in-class) International Trade Commission tariff search | ||
| Exam 2 — Thursday, April 2 Covers: All material since Exam 1 | ||||||
| 13. The federal income tax system | PS 7 | key | Textbook updated income tax information Stossel, Tax myths | ||||
| 12. Market failure: externalities and public goods | #21 | PS 8 | key | Stossel, Thanksgiving Stossel, Enough crony capitalism! The Economist, State and Market | |||
| < Miscellaneous readings > | Ch. 6, 12, 15, 17 | Ch. 25 | ||||
| Exam 3 — Tues., Apr. 21 Covers: All material since Exam 2 | ||||||
| Final Exam — Tues., Apr. 28, 8:30-9:30am Covers: All lecture material from Walker textbook, and material covered on problem sets and quizzes Does Not Cover: Landsburg or Hazlitt books, or "other readings" | ||||||