{This
is not part of the syllabus below, but an inserting explanatory note by the
professor that indicates further content of the course, as well as nicely
presenting his goals – A.C. “The texts used are heterodox to the
bone, being built around critical treatments of core theory and basic
economic performance. Each semester, I add significant outside materials and
self-constructed/written tutorials as they become relevant in terms of a
running critique of current events that take place during the course of the
semester. These materials are "spontaneous" and do not appear in
the syllabi but are major parts of each course. I also include the video
"Capitalism Hits the Fan" as a part of the spontaneous materials. So
my courses are always running along two tracks, simultaneously--the formal
syllabi material as well as the spontaneous, running critique of contemporary
events and processes. This allows me to satisfy the usual academic niceties of
course content and conduct while, at the same time, making the course relevant
to the social provisioning process as it unfolds in front of our eyes during
the course of the semester. This makes it fun and relevant, keeping me coming
back to teaching, year after year.”}
MACROECONOMIC THEORY
Econ 3023.1
William M. Dugger Spring 10
The
MWF
CH
252
INSTRUCTOR:
William M. Dugger, Ph.D.
Office: CH 226
Office Hours: MWF 8-9, or call me: 361-2951
Email: william-dugger@utulsa.edu
Grade: Exam 1............one-third
Exam 2............one-third
Exam 3............one-third
A=90-100 percent
B=80-89 percent
C=70-79 percent
D=60-69 percent
N O
E X T R A C R E D I T
DO NOT MISS EXAMS.
CLASS ATTENDANCE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND IS MONITORED
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course deals with national income, employment, unemployment, inflation, interest, international trade and growth. Orthodox and Heterodox economics will both be covered. Fundamental measurements of the economy, such as Gross Domestic Product, inflation and unemployment, will be explored. I hope you will learn political economy(what it used to be called before it was tamed) at its very best. Included in our studies will be such wonders as The Paradox of Thrift, The Neutrality of Money, and The Bathtub Theorem. The first wonder will appeal to the thrifty; the second to the greedy; the third to the dirty. So there will be wonders for all. The textbook by Cohn provides the best critical treatment of macroeconomics in print. Give it some effort and it will reward you handsomely with understanding.
TEXTBOOK: Steven Mark Cohn. 2007. Reintroducing Macroeconomics: A Critical Approach.
|
Week Beginning |
Topics for the Week |
Reading Assignment |
|
Jan 11 |
Introduction, Paradigms, Thinking Outside the Box |
Chapters 1-2 |
|
Jan 18 (no class Monday) |
NeoclassicalParadigm: Monetarism |
Chapters 3-4 |
|
Jan 25 |
Say’s Law, Equation of Exchange |
Chapter 5 |
|
Feb 2 |
The Neutrality of Money and the Lazy Fairy |
Chapter 6 |
|
Feb 8 |
EXAM 1 |
|
|
Feb 15 |
Remeasuring: GDP, inflation, unemployment |
Chapters 7-8 |
|
Feb 22 |
Paradox of Thrift, Keynesian Cross, Bathtub Theorem |
Chapter 9 |
|
Mar 1 |
Money |
Chapters 10-11 |
|
Mar 8 |
EXAM 2 (ON WEDNESDAY) |
|
|
Mar 15 |
Spring Break |
|
|
Mar 22 |
Agregate Supply and Demand in a Global Economy |
Chapter 12 |
|
Mar 29 |
Social Structures of Accumulation |
Chapter 13 |
|
Apr 5 |
International Issues |
Chapter 14 |
|
Apr 12 |
Free Trade Issues |
Chapter 15 |
|
Apr 19 |
Policy Issues |
Chapter 16 |
|
Apr 26 |
Last Day of Class:Review |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exam 3 is on Monday May 3 at
SUGGESTED
Practical Response to Economic Depression:
Nick Taylor, American Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work, 2008
On Keynesian Economics:
John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest
and Money, 1936
Charles Kindleberger, Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crisis, 1978
Robert Lekachman, Keynes' General Theory, 1960
Lynn Turgeon, Bastard Keynesianism, 1997
On Various Macro Issues of Contemporary Interest:
Samuel Rosenberg, American Economic Development Since 1945, 2003
Samuel Bowles, David M. Gordon,
and Thomas E. Weisskopf, After the
William M. Dugger, editor, Against Inequality, 1996
Robert Eisner, How Real is the Federal Deficit? 1986
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall:
William Greider, Secrets of the
Howard J. Sherman, The Business Cycle, 1991
Howard J. Sherman, The Roller Coaster Economy, 2010.
L. Randall Wray, Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies: The Endogenous Money Approach, 1990
Wallace C. Peterson, Silent Depression: The Fate of the American Dream, 1994
Dean Baker, Getting Prices Right: The Debate Over the Consumer Price Index, 1997
Frederick R. Strobel and Wallace c. Peterson, The Coming Class War, 1998
Robert Pollin, Contours of Descent:
On Orthodox/Monetarist Economics:
Milton Friedman, A Program for Monetary Stability, 1959
Irving Fisher, The Purchasing Power of Money, 1911 and The Theory of Interest, 1930
Paul Peretz, Editor, The Politics of American Economic Policy Making, 2nd ed., 1996
Martin H. Wolfson, Financial Crises, 2nd ed., 1994
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, 2007
The Labor Market Perspective:
James K. Galbraith, Created Unequal, 1998
Thomas I. Palley, Plenty of Nothing, 1998
Truman F. Bewley, Why Wages Don’t Fall During A Recession, 2000. (Important both for its research method and its topic)
Michael D. Yates, Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy, 2003
Louis Uchitelle, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences, 2006
William M. Dugger and Jim Peach, Economic Abundance: An Introduction.