Advanced Placement Economics

Instructor: Mr. Graham Long E-mail: glong@bcps.org Class website: sites.google.com/site/inthelongrunecon Class blog: inthelongrunecon.blogspot.com School phone: (410) 887-0808 Free period: First

Economics is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor to draw the correct conclusions. --John Maynard Keynes Economics is a subject profoundly conducive to cliche, resonant with boredom. On few topics is an American audience so practiced in turning off its ears and minds. And none can say that the response is ill advised. --John Kenneth Galbraith

IntroductionWhile most Americans view economics as some sort of business science involving money or the stock market, at its core economics is a social science. Specifically, economics attempts to explain the central problem of existence: how do we satisfy our unlimited wants with limited resources? As the quote by John Maynard Keynes suggests, economics is primarily a way of thinking, and throughout this course you will be learning to view the world through a completely different lens. Economics itself is not a doctrine; it is not an ideology; it is a methodology with which you can look at any and all situations and derive the most optimum outcome. There are times in this course where we may have discussions with which you will disagree (indeed, the probability of that occurring is extremely high), but you will be expected to argue against those conclusions using economic data and thinking. And there will be a lot of discussions, because economics (unlike many disciplines) is applicable to your everyday life. After all, it is the study of choice, and has a day ever gone by in which you did not make a choice? However, despite this omnipresence, many people approach economics in the way described by John Kenneth Galbraith. Any discussion of economic concepts is met with glassy eyes, heads on desks, and perhaps a bit of drool. This is unfortunate, and one of the policies of this course will be to keep it grounded in as many real world applications as possible. This way, you do not walk out of the course feeling like economics is nothing but the study of graphs and money. As your instructor, I hope that you find the study of economics to be both fascinating and practical (unlike the people in the cartoon on the cover of this syllabus). It is also important to note that you are taking this course at a watershed moment in the history of economics; the paradigms concerning the role of government, the ideal structure of the economy, and the decisions of individuals and business are in a state of flux, and new ideas are being bantered about with a rapidity not seen since the Great Depression. It will be difficult (and I would argue impossible) to find a day pass during this year in which economics will not dominate the news. As scholars, I encourage you to take advantage of this, and try to relate our class discussions with what is going on in current events as much as you can. Not only will it help you learn the material better (meaning a higher A.P. Test score), but you might also (dare I say?) enjoy the content more.

Course StructureThe course will be divided into two parts. In the first half of the course, you will study the principles of Microeconomics, roughly defined as the economics of individuals and firms (i.e. the individual components of an economy). In the second half of the course, you will study the principles of Macroeconomics, which is the study of the economy on a grand scale (the interactions of all the firms, individuals, and government working together). While there is some overlap between the two, and they share the same fundamental principles and assumptions, Micro and Macro are two independent units of study. Hence, there are two different A.P. Tests: one for Micro and one for Macro. The expectation is that you will take both. 1

Course GradingYour grade for the course will be comprised of the following components, with these weights: Exams and Quizzes: 40%The predominant grade for this course will come from exams and quizzes. The philosophy behind this is twofold. First, a high stakes environment where exams are vitally important better replicates the reality of the A.P. Exam, which is (for better or worse) the focal point of the course. Second, it will prepare students for their courses in college, which are often determined almost entirely by one or two exam grades. Students can expect a comprehensive exam at the end of every unit that will closely mirror the A.P. Exam in length and format. Additionally, small quizzes will be administered frequently as checks for understanding.

Problem Set: 20%Approximately once every two weeks (although it could be more if the spirit moves me), students will complete problem sets. These will consist of a series of questions relating to the past several days of material. These questions mirror the style of the free-response problems that students will see on the A.P. test. Students will have several days to work on these problems. The purpose of these problems is to provide further practice for students to become familiar with economic concepts, as well as the format of the test. Sets will be particularly examined for the strength of their economic reasoning, and for the accuracy of their graphs.

Economic Memos: 20%Most nights throughout the semester, you will have some sort of reading assignment. And on most days, you will have some sort of Economic Memo or reading check when you come into class the next time. Memos may take one of two forms. In the first form, they will be questions in which you will be asked to summarize or explain key ideas from the previous night's reading. These are not intended to be exhaustive essays, nor are they intended to be rich in detail; in fact, they will hardly ever fill one side of a 8 x 5 index card. They differ from quizzes largely in format; quizzes are multiple choice and (occasionally) A.P. free-response style, while memos are simple writing assignments. Alternately, I will simply collect your homework assignment from the previous night and check it for accuracy.

Blog Posts: 10%Every two weeks, you will be participating in an online discussion via the class blog (address on the front of the syllabus). The purpose of these blog posts is to have you interact with your classmates, both the ones in your section and in the other section. At the beginning of each two week period (generally on a Monday) I will post some sort of question, article, or discussion topic to which you will respond. Students will go to the blog, read the stimulus as well as any comments from their peers, and submit their own. Students are expected to make TWO contributions to each question, but more are encouraged if your cup of ideas runneth over. The blog question will be closed on Friday at midnight. Also, please note that all of your posts are time stamped, so I will know who waited until Friday evening at 11:56 to make both of their posts. Please do not be this person. Posts should be approximately 200 to 300 words long (double to triple the length of this paragraph), although longer posts are welcomed. The post should also contribute to the topic in some way; a long-winded I agree! will not suffice. The blog is intended to be a discussion forum, so expressing differences in opinion is encouraged as long as it remains civil. My hope is that the topics we discuss will lead to much debate and interaction, and there are sure to be differences of opinion which will come forth. The blog might also help you clarify some of the topics we discussed in class, and expose you to ideas you did not have prior. Also, the posts are not graded for spelling, so you may lol or j/k to your heart's content.

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Position Papers: 10%Two times during the year, you will write a position paper explaining your beliefs on economic issues. For your first paper, you will analyze the efficiency of selling human organs. The second paper will see you evaluate the effectiveness of the New Deal. Each paper should be approximately 3-5 pages and display economic insight, reasoning, and analysis. You will likely become emotionally engaged in these topics, and will have an opportunity to state your own opinion on the topic. More information on these Position Papers will be provided in due time.

Grade DeterminationGrades will follow the standard A-B-C-D-E format.

A B C D E

100-90 80-89.99 70-79.99 60-69.99