COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Department of Economics

ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics

Spring 2018

Time and Venue:

Econ UN1105-002, M and W, 5:40-6:55pm, 301 Pupin Laboratories
Contact Details:
Instructor: Nicola Zaniboni
E-mail: nz2236
Office Hours: IAB 1028A, Mondays 3:45-5:15pm

Overview
The main objective of this class is to introduce you to basic economic concepts, models and
ideas, while providing the tools (terminology, methodology and problem-solving skills) to better
understand how the economy works. We will study both microeconomics, which looks at the
choices of individuals (households and firms) and their interaction in different types of markets,
and macroeconomics, which looks at the aggregate behavior of the economy and is concerned
with issues such as long-run economic growth and business cycles. The role of economic policy
will be discussed throughout.

Readings
The required textbook for the course is Economics by R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony P. O’Brien
(6th Edition; Pearson-Prentice Hall). The text can be found at the University Bookstore and on
reserve at the Uris Library. It is recommended that you at least skim the relevant chapter(s)
prior to the lectures (as indicated in the course outline).
Moreover, to get the most from this class, you are encouraged to regularly read newspapers
that have extensive economics-related coverage (Examples include the The Economist, The New
York Times, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal.) You should try and interpret the news
in terms of the concepts we develop in class. This will help your understanding of the material
by stressing the applicability of the models to the real world.

Assessment (Weight toward final grade in brackets)

(i) Problem Sets (15%)
(ii) Midterm exam (35%)
(iii) Final exam (50%)
There are no extra credit opportunities.

Midterm exam:
Pending schedule changes, the midterm exam is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, during
lecture time. No make-up exam for the midterm will be offered. Instances where absence from
the midterm is excused are serious medical emergencies (documented by a physician’s note) or
other exceptional circumstances, e.g. serious family emergencies (accompanied by a note from
your Academic Dean). In those instances (and only in those instances), the corresponding
weight (35%) will be shifted to the final exam.

Final exam:
The date for the final will be set in accordance with the University calendar. Please do not make
any travel/departure plans before the date for the final is confirmed. In general, the final exam
cannot be rescheduled. However, if you have 3 final exams in a 24-hour period, by Columbia
College policy, you have the right to reschedule one. Because of the logistics involved, I will only
consider requests that are made at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date. In sum: Make
sure you check your final exam schedule in a timely manner and are aware of conflicts.

Exams will cover all assigned readings, lectures and lab sessions, and they are closed
book/closed notes.

Recitation sessions and Teaching Assistants (TAs)

In addition to lectures, you will attend one weekly lab session. These sessions are a very
important (and integral) component of the course. They will help you review the material and
occasionally expand on topics covered in the lectures. The sessions will be conducted in smaller
groups by the teaching assistants (TAs) of the class. You must register for one of the sessions, as
usual, through SSOL. The general catalog name is UN1155 Principles of Economics-Disc. Please
make sure you register for this general “class”. The list of session times specific to this section
will then be posted on the course’s page at Courseworks/Canvas, along with contact
information and office hours for the teaching assistants. Graduate TAs will collectively grade
exams and problem sets.

Problem Sets
- There will be weekly homework assignments, typically posted on Thursdays, and due
the following Thursday. While they are part of your overall grade, mostly they are
important as a way to help you review and understand the material.
- Problem sets are graded on a + (5 points),  (3 points), - (1 point) and 0 basis. The
lowest two scores will be dropped.
- You may (in fact you are encouraged to) discuss assignments with your classmates and
work together on them, but you have to hand in your own solution set (merely copying
other students’ work is considered cheating).
- No late assignments will be accepted (and no make-up will be offered). No extensions.
No exceptions. So please make sure you plan ahead (true emergencies can of course
happen that prevent you from working on an assignment/turning it in on a given week –
dropping the lowest scores helps address those cases)
- Please hand in a hard copy (no electronic submissions) of your problem set using the
mailbox assigned to this class in the Economics department’s main office (more detailed
instructions will follow). Please indicate your name, UNI and section number (2) on the
front page.
Broad Course Outline (subject to changes/adjustments) and relevant textbook chapters
Week Topics Readings
1/17 Introduction and basic concepts Ch. 1, 2
1/22, 1/24 Demand and Supply, Efficiency Ch. 3, 4
1/29, 1/31 Elasticity, Market failures Ch. 6, 5
2/5, 2/7 Consumer behavior Ch. 10, 10A
2/12, 2/14 Firm behavior Ch.11, 11A
2/19, 2/21 Competitive markets, Monopolistic competition Ch. 12, 13
2/26, 2/28 Monopolistic competition, Monopoly Ch. 13, 15
3/5 Midterm Review
3/7 MIDTERM EXAM
3/19, 3/21 Intro to Macroeconomics, Measuring the macroeconomy Ch. 19, 20
3/26, 3/28 Measuring the macroeconomy (cont.), Economic growth Ch. 20, 21/22
4/2, 4/4 Savings/Investment, Short run fluctuations (Aggregate Ch.21, 23
Expenditure model)
4/9, 4/11 Aggregate Demand and Supply, Fiscal Policy Ch. 24, 27
4/16, 4/18 Money and Banking, Monetary Policy Ch. 25, 26
4/23, 4/25 Monetary Policy (cont.), Inflation/Unemployment trade-off Ch. 28
4/30 Final Review
TBD FINAL EXAM