ECONOMICS 30243Contending Perspectives in EconomicsFall 2016

Dr. John T. Harvey Fourth Floor Scharbauer Hall(817)257-7230 (office), (817)223-4497 (cell)j.harvey@tcu.edu

PURPOSE: A survey of major theoreticalapproaches in economics today, with emphasis onthe unique insights and applications of eachapproach, the theoretical underpinnings ofenduring disagreements among professional economists, and the process of ongoing debate andcross-fertilization among these contendingperspectives.

PREREQUISITES: At least three semester hourscredit in economics with a grade of 'C' or better.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: After the course, thestudent should be able to explain the basic premisesof each major school of thought in moderneconomics, know how those premises lead to theconclusions and policy recommendations of eachparadigm, and trace the main threads ofcontemporary debates.

REQUIREMENTS: Each student will have threeopportunities to demonstrate their understandingof the course material. The relative weights are asfollows:

First exam 30 pointsSecond exam 30 pointsFinal exam +40 points

100 points

The final is cumulative (though not over ALL thematerial we covered on exams one and two). Grades will be assigned as follows (parentheticalreferences are to the TCU UndergraduateStudies Bulletin definition of the performancenecessary for the assignment of each grade):

100 to 89.5 points A (Exceptional)89.4 to 79.5 points B (Superior) 79.4 to 69.5 points C (Satisfactory)69.4 to 59.5 points D (Poor)59.4 or less F (Failure)

Exams are essay and will test students’ knowledgeof the material covered in lecture and the reading,require them to construct coherent analyses ofevents or trends using the appropriate framework,and use evidence appropriately when asked toanalyze novel situations.

REMINDER: Economics majors must earn a C orbetter in order to count economics courses towardtheir economics degree (though as a “D” it can bean elective).

FINAL EXAM: The final for the 8:00amsection is 8:00am to 10:30am Thursday,December 15. The final for the 9:30amsection is 8:00am to 10:30am Tuesday,December 13. Only those students with morethan two final exams in a twenty-four hour periodare permitted to reschedule any finals. According to University policy, the studentmust prove that this exceptions applies andthis must be done prior to the last week ofregular class sessions before finalexaminations.

TEXT: Contending Perspectives in EconomicsA Guide to Contemporary Schools of Thought, John T.Harvey, 2015, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.Other readings available online.

GRADING ON IMPROVEMENT: I have alwaysthought it fair to raise a student’s grade when sheshowed significant improvement over the course ofthe semester. However, I am very uncomfortablewith arbitrarily determining the bonus. Oh happyday! I have come up with a formula to use in thisregard! Get out your calculator...

First off, because it is cumulative and will reflectyour knowledge of all the course material,improvement is linked to your final exam score. To determine your improvement bonus first convertall your scores into percentages (e.g., 90% insteadof 27/30). Then subtract your lower of your firsttwo exam scores from your final exam percentageand divide that total by 10. That is your bonus,and it will be added to your course total. Note thattheoretically the bonus can vary from 10percentage points (with a 100% on the final and a0% on either exam one or exam two) to 0 (with afinal exam score that does not exceed your lowestscore). There is no risk to this bonus–at worst, Iadd a zero to your course grade.

ABSENCES, SELF MOTIVATION, AND YOU: • From the first day of class, students have a list

of potential exam questions covering 80% ofwhat I can ask.

• They are free to work out the answers at homeand they are encouraged to send these to me soI can check them.

• I will go over and over these with the studentuntil we are sure that their set is absolutelyperfect.

• Happily, everyone passes my course!

One of the above statements is false. Sadly, it is thelast one! In fact, the average grades in my upper-level courses are consistently among the lowest (ifnot the lowest) in the department. The reasons are

simple: many students 1) never bother to do thestudy questions and 2) don’t come to class. Do notmake these mistakes! Trust me when I say that youwill never understand the material properly if youaren’t present for the lectures and you can’t learnthe material without sitting down and doing thehard work of answering the study questionsyourself. Getting the answers from someone else isnot useless, but it’s pretty close. Believe mewhen I tell you this because I have seen itover and over and over! This class is anightmare for those who have no self discipline.On the other hand, for those who are willing tocome to class and work hard, it’s difficult not toearn at least a B. Incidentally, among the worstoffenders are those repeating the course. I assumethey are of the attitude that they don’t need tocome to class because they’ve already taken thecourse once. No, they haven’t. Again, please don’tmake this mistake!

Before I leave this topic, I want to assure theresponsible students in class that I do not make anyside deals with those who never show up.Irresponsibility does not qualify them for specialtreatment. Attendance is not “required” in theclass, but then neither is passing.

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Not onlyshould they be stowed during takeoff and landing,they simply aren’t needed in this class! You willnever need a calculator for my exams, so please donot bring one. Also, students wishing to have atranslator available must have only a paperdictionary (please let me check it before the exam). Sorry, I had an incident in the past that has forcedme to adopt this policy!

2

ACADEMIC HONESTY: I do my utmost to seeto it that those who are studying hard in my courseget full credit for their work and that they are notcheated by classmates. I do this primarily byremoving temptation and closely monitoring allexams. However, in the event that my vigilance isnot sufficient and a case of academic dishonestydoes come to my attention, I give my word to thehonest members of the class that the offendingparty will be penalized as outlined by Universitypolicy. Speaking of the latter, here is the officialTCU statement:

Academic Misconduct (Sec. 3.4 from the StudentHandbook) – Any act that violates the academic integrityof the institution is considered academic misconduct. Theprocedures used to resolve suspected acts of academicmisconduct are available in the offices of Academic Deansand the Office of Campus Life. Specific examples include,but are not limited to:

• Cheating: Copying from another student’s testpaper, laboratory report, other report, orcomputer files and listings; Using, during anyacademic exercise, material and/or devices notauthorized by the person in charge of the test;Collaborating with or seeking aid from another

student during a test or laboratory withoutpermission; Knowingly using, buying, selling,stealing, transporting, or soliciting in itsentirety or in part, the contents of a test orother assignment unauthorized for release;Substituting for another student or permittinganother student to substitute for oneself;

• Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchaseor obtaining by any means another’s work, andthe unacknowledged submission or incorporationof that work as one’s own offered for credit.Appropriation includes the quoting orparaphrasing of another’s work without givingcredit therefore.

• Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration withanother in preparing work offered for credit.

Students are not the only ones who should be heldto a moral standard in the process of determiningcourse grades. It is equally vital to the integrity ofthe course that the instructor maintain the highestlevel of honesty. I promise everyone that, first, nostudent will have a grade changed simply becausethey made inquiries regarding my evaluation. Norwill someone in our class receive a higher gradeone the basis of "need" (to keep a scholarship, tostay in school, to receive Economics credit, to notbe killed by parents, etc.). If those are to becriteria for the determination of grades, then theyshould appear in the syllabus as assignments. Furthermore, the exams will be graded blindly(i.e., no names) and, at the end of the semester,the one and only place I will look to calculatestudents' grades will be their cumulativeperformance on the tests. The standard I will applyin determining letter grades absolutely will be theone listed above, and I promise that it will bethe same for everyone. Finally, I feel verystrongly that it is each student's right to understandhow their grade was determined, and I am alwayshappy to fully explain any questions you may have.

3

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE: In my experience,most students already know exactly how toconduct themselves in a college classroom. Unfortunately, however, a steady deterioration inthe level of civility and manners is a trend atuniversities across the nation (including here atTCU). For that reason, I have taken the reluctantstep of requiring all students to sign an agreementregarding appropriate classroom behavior. Pleaseread it carefully as I will be taking it very seriously. Despite mentioning this every semester, I’m afraidthat there are still people who don’t understandhow terribly distracting their conversations are tothe rest of us. PLEASE don’t create an incident. Instructors are, by the way, empowered to havedisruptive students dropped from the class. I willalso be signing one for you, of which you willreceive a copy. Remember–everyone pays thesame tuition and has the right to be able toconcentrate on the lecture. Please let me know ifanyone is distracting you.

PICTURE DAY: By golly gosh, you are paying alot of money to come to TCU (well, someoneis)–you deserve to have your professors know yourname! So, on the second or third day of class I’llbe taking all your pictures (to which you’ll addyour names later) so that I can study, study, study. By exam one I should know everyone’s name ANDwhich face it goes with!

INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS:• B.A. Economics and Political Science, U.

of Tennessee 1983.• M.A. Economics, U. of Tennessee 1986.• Ph.D. Economics ( international,

macroeconomics, history of economics),U. of Tennessee 1987.

I have a PhD field in the history of economics,served for six years as director of theInternational Confederation of Associationsfor Pluralism in Economics, co-edited FutureDirections for Heterodox Economics(University of Michigan Press, 2008) with Dr.Garnett, and am currently working on a book forEdward Elgar publishing entitled ContendingPerspectives in Economics. My PhD focusedon Neoclassical economics, while I have pursuedPost Keynesian and Institutionalist research sincecoming to TCU in 1987. I am a frequent reviewerfor the Journal of Post Keynesian Economicsand the Journal of Economic Issues, and haveserved on the board of directors for the latter.

4

PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS WITHDISABILITIES: Texas Christian Universitycomplies with the Americans With Disabilities Actand with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of1973 regarding students with disabilities. Nootherwise qualified individual shall be denied accessto or participation in the services, programs andactivities of TCU solely on the basis of a disability.The University shall provide reasonableaccommodations for each eligible student who (a)has a physical or mental impairment thatsubstantially limits a major life activity, (b) has arecord or history of such an impairment, or (c) isregarded as having such an impairment.

Each eligible student is responsible for presentingrelevant, verifiable, professional documentationand/or assessment reports to the Coordinator forStudents with Disabilities. Information concerninga student’s disability is treated in a confidentialmanner in accordance with University policies aswell as applicable federal and state laws.Documentation presented to the Coordinator shallbe reviewed by appropriate Universityprofessional(s) to verify the existence of adisability. Further documentation may be requiredfrom the student to substantiate the claim of adisability or to assist the University in determiningappropriate accommodations.

Eligible students seeking accommodations shouldcontact the Coordinator as soon as possible in theacademic term for which they are seeking

accommodations. The Coordinator shall prepareletters to appropriate faculty members concerningspecific, reasonable academic adjustments for thestudents. The student is responsible for deliveringaccommodations letters, conferring with facultymembers, and returning validation of the receipt ofinformation to the Coordinator. The Coordinatorshall consult with the student and with Universityfaculty and staff to ensure delivery of appropriatesupport services and shall serve as liaison betweenthe student and the faculty member as needed.

Students who wish to appeal a decision regardingappropriate accommodations shall do so in writingto the Affirmative Action Officer, who shall decidethe appeal. The Affirmative Action Officer’sdecision may be appealed within 7 calendar days inwriting to the Provost, whose decision may beappealed in writing within 7 calendar days directedto the Chancellor. At any step during such anappeal, the person deciding the appeal mayconfidentially consult with appropriateprofessionals/advisors within or outside theUniversity.

The Coordinator for Students with Disabilities maybe contacted at the Center for Academic Services,Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297710,Fort Worth, Texas 76129, (817) 257-7486.

5

MAKEUP EXAMS: Our class will meet on thelast regularly scheduled day of class (Tuesday,December 6) at our regular class time to take anymakeups necessary. The student need not contactthe instructor with an excuse to take a makeup. Simply miss the regular exam day and you areentitled to take the makeup. It must be for alegitimate reason, but I am letting you make thatcall. Only one exam may be missed in thismanner, however. Before any other such incidentsI must be contacted before the time of the exam. There is no guarantee that the excuse, which mustrepresent an emergency, will be honored (I willconsider the circumstances and may consult thedepartment chair, dean, and/or Campus Life). Inaddition, if you already know or could have knownthat you will be absent for exam two, then thisalready counts as your one missed test. You wouldneed a documented excuse for not showing up forexam one.

COMING TO EXAMS LATE: Something thathas just started happening recently is peoplecoming to exams late so they can have more time.That is your choice, but bear in mind: 1) ifsomeone has already finished the test and left, youwill not be able to take the test (you must take it asa makeup, unless you already need to take amakeup in which case you earn a zero); 2) I willnot be able to review anything I have alreadyshared with the class up to that point; and 3) yourexam still ends at the same time.

6

ASSIGNMENTS

Week

#1 End Aug 25

#2 End Sep 1

#3 End Sep 8

#4 End Sep 15

#5 End Sept 22

#6 End Sep 29

#7 End Oct 6

#8 End Oct 18

#9 End Oct 25

#10 End Nov 1

#11 End Nov 8

#12 End Nov 15

#13 End Nov 22

#14 End Dec 1

#14.5 End Dec 6

Topic

Introduction to course (grading, assignments, philosophy, etc.)

Philosophy and Methodology of Economics

The Neoclassical School

The Marxist School

*****EXAM ONE***** (Sep 22)

The Austrian School

The Post Keynesian School

" " " "

" " " "

*****EXAM TWO***** (Nov 1)

The Institutionalist School

" " " "

New Institutionalism

Feminist Economics

*****Makeup Exams***** (see above)

*****Study Days*****

*****FINAL EXAM***** (see above)

7