Course Outline - COMM 220 Fall 2015

Analysis of Markets
COURSE OUTLINE
COMM 220 BB F AL L 2015
Gregory Lypny
[email protected] pareto.concordia.ca
MB 11.307 (514) 848-2424 ext. 2794
Lecture every Tuesday, 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. in MB 2.210

Office hours by appointment every Friday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Tutorial every Friday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in MB 2.285
COMM 220 BB Fall 2015
Course Outline
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About COMM 220

Analysis of Markets is an undergraduate economics course that looks at some of the benefits
and problems of capitalism through the functioning of its markets. The premise is that having
choice is goodfreedom in the bigger contextas it applies to trade. The difference between
Markets and other introductory microeconomics courses is that well flip back and forth between markets for real goods and financial goods. Our discussions will draw on economic theory, a set of readings, class notes, homework quizzes, and sometimes, market experiments. The
goal is to get you thinking about economics scientifically.
Course materials
You can get all of the materials for this course, except for the readings, from my cloud cubby.
Check the cubby regularly.
Textbook
Varian, Hal R., Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 9th Edition, W.W. Norton and
Company. New York, 2014. ISBN 0-393-97830-3. Earlier editions are okay too. The textbook is
recommended but not required because I dont teach from a textbook.
Grading
Test
Assignment
Final exam
35%
10%
55%
Tuesday, October 27, 2015; in-class, multiple-choice, topics 1 through 5

Tuesday, November 15, 2015 by 5 p.m.; upload to Moodle
Same format as the test
There is no makeup for the test; if you dont write it, the weight will be added to the final exam.
Late submissions of the assignment will not be accepted. You must pass the final exam (a grade
of 50%) in order to pass the course.
Homework
Ten quizzes and miscellaneous exercises will be posted for you to work on.
Software
Install Wolfram Mathematica from the MyConcordia portal or Wolframs CDF Player app.
Code of Conduct
Read about academic integrity and the code of conduct. Plagiarism or any other kind of cheating will not be tolerated.
Course Outline
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Topics
1. Building economic models (1 lecture)
Kahneman, Daniel; Jack L. Knetsch, and Richard H. Thaler, 1991, The Endowment Effect,
Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1):193-206.
Behaviourists at the Gate, The Economist, May 10, 2003, 367,(8323):82.
2. Utility Theory (1 lectures)

Chapters 1 to 5 in Varian.
Camerer, Colin F. and Ernst Fehr, 2006, When Does Economic Man Dominate Social Behavior, Science, 311:47-52.
Kahneman, Daniel and Richard H. Thaler, 2006, Utility Maximization and Experienced
Utility, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1):221-234.
Thaler, Richard, H., 2000, From Homo Economicus to Homo Sapiens, Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 14(1):133-141.
Blatant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption, The Economist, August 4, 2007,
384(8540):67.
Happiness (and How to Measure It), The Economist, December 23, 2006, 381(8509):13.
Economics Discovers Its Feelings, The Economist, December 23, 2006, 381(8509):35.
Why Johnny Can't Save for Retirement, Fortune, March 21, 2005, 151(6):202.
3. Welfare and general equilibrium (1 lecture)

Chapters 6 to 9, 14 to 16, 30, and 32 in Varian.
Gode, D. and S. Sunder, 1997, What Makes Markets Allocationally Efficient? Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 112(2): 603-630.
Roth, Alvin, E., October 2007, The Art of Designing Markets, Harvard Business Review, 118126.
Peck, Don and Ross Douthat, Does Money Buy Happiness? The Atlantic, January-February 2003, 291(1):42.
Winds of Change, The Economist, November 4, 2006, 381(8502):102.
Course Outline
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4. Information (two lectures)

Chapters 11 through 13 in Varian.
De Bondt, Werner and Richard H. Thaler, 1989, Anomalies: A Mean-Reverting Walk Down
Wall Street, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3(1):189-202.
Dimson, Elroy; Paul Marsh, and Mike Staunton, 2004, Irrational Optimism, Financial Analysts Journal, 60(1):15-25.
Shiller, Robert, 1990, Speculative Prices and Popular Models, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(2):55-65.
Thaler, Richard, 1987, Anomalies: The January Effect," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1(1):
197-201.
Thaler, Richard, 1987, Anomalies: Seasonal Movements in Security Prices II: Weekend,
Holiday, Turn of the Month, and Intraday Effects," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1(2):
169-177.
Galbraith, John K., The 1929 Parallel, The Atlantic, January 1987, 259(1):62-66.
How Far is Down?, The Economist, July 27, 2002, 364(8283):76.
Bubble Bubble, The Economist, March 25, 2000, 354(8163):84.
To Infinity and Beyond, The Economist, October 6, 2007, 385(8549):100.
Dismal Science, Dismal Sentence, The Economist, September 9, 2006, 380(8494):90.
5. Production and finance (1 lecture)

Chapters 18, 19, and 31 in Varian.
Montgomery, Cynthia, 1994, Corporate Diversification, Journal of Economic Perspectives,
8(3):163-178.
Beyond Shareholder Value, The Economist, June 28, 2003, 367(8330):9 [Survey].
How to Pay Bosses, The Economist, November 16, 2002, 365(8299):86.
Access all Areas, The Economist, August 7, 2004, 372(8387):73.
The New Jobs Migration, The Economist, February 21, 2004, 370(8363):11.
The Great Hollowing-Out Myth, The Economist, February 21, 2004, 370(8363):48.
When Battles Commence, The Economist, February 21, 2004, 370(8363):80 [Special report
on mergers and acquisitions].
Course Outline
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6. Government intervention (1 lecture)

Chapter 6 in Varian.
Pro-market, Not Pro-business, The Economist, June 28, 2003, 367(8330):12.
A Simple Lesson in Economics, The Economist, February 1, 2003, 366(8309):49.
The Avuncular State Libertarian Paternalism, The Economist, April 8, 2006, 379(8472):76
[Special report].
A Blunt Instrument (The Minimum Wage), The Economist, October 26, 2006.
In Higher Education, A Free-for-all Does not Work, The Economist, October 28, 2006,
381(8501):8 [Survey: Lessons from the Campus].
7. Market failure (1 lecture)

Chapters 35 and 36 in Varian.
Shulman, Seth, Patent Absurdities, 1999, The Sciences, 39(1):30-33.
Stavins, Robert, 1998, What Can We Learn from the Grand Policy Experiment?: Lessons
from SO2 Allowance Trading, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(3):69-88.
Genetic Patent Singles Out Jewish Women, Nature, July 2005.
An Eye for an A, The Economist, March 7, 2002, 362(8263):92.
D-graded, The Economist, September 1, 2001, 360(8237):27.
A Great Leap Forward, The Economist, May 11, 2002, 363(8272):105.
Signal Failure, The Economist, May 3, 2003, 367(8322):83.
On the Same Wavelength, The Economist, August 14, 2004, 372(8388):57.
Doing Well and Doing Good, The Economist, July 31, 2004, 372(8386):61.
Stopping Spam, The Economist, April 26, 2003, 367(8321):66.
Make 'em Pay, The Economist, February 14, 2004, 370(8362):74.
Scholars for Dollars, The Economist, December 11, 2004, 373(8405):69.
Crook, Clive, A Matter of Degrees, The Atlantic, November, 2006, 298(4):25.
Course Outline
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8. International markets (1 lecture)

Froot, Kenneth and Richard H. Thaler, 1990, Anomalies: Foreign Exchange, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(3):179-192.
McCurrencies, The Economist, May 27, 2006, 379(8479):94.
Trade Winds, The Economist, November 8, 1997, 345(8042):85.
9. Intertemporal markets (1 lectures)

Chapter 10 in Varian.
Thaler, Richard, 1990, Anomalies: Savings, Fungibility, and Mental Accounts, Journal of
Economic Perspectives, 4(1):193-205.
Benartzi, Shlomo and Richard Thaler, 2007, Heuristics and Biases in Retirement Savings
Behavior, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(3):81-104.
Home Truths, The Economist, November 10, 2001, 361(8247):104.
Living in Never-never Land, The Economist, January 11, 2003, 366(8306):70.
Why Johnny Cant Save for Retirement, Fortune, March 21, 2005. [reprise]
10. Markets for risk (1 lectures, time permitting)

Chapters 11 through 13 in Varian.
Risk Management for the Masses, The Economist, March 22, 2003, 366(8316):91.
Doomsday Derivatives, The Economist, October 19, 2002, 365(8295):95.
Course Outline
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Other Information
Grade Conversion
I reserve the right to adjust the class average by adding or deducting the same fixed amount
from everyones grade, which would leave your numerical grade rank in the class unchanged
but might change your letter grade rank.
A+
90% and above
85 to 89%
A-
80 to 84%
B+
77 to 79%
73 to 76%
B-
70 to 72%
C+
67 to 69%
63 to 66%
C-
60 to 62%
D+
57 to 59%
53 to 56%
D-
50 to 52%
Less than 50%
Letters of Recommendation
Maybe, if you have done a project under my supervision or who have worked for me as a teaching or research assistant.
Course Outline
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Analysis of Markets

Lecture every Tuesday, 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. in MB 2.210

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

About COMM 220

Tuesday, October 27, 2015; in-class, multiple-choice, topics 1 through 5

2. Utility Theory (1 lectures)

3. Welfare and general equilibrium (1 lecture)

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

4. Information (two lectures)

5. Production and finance (1 lecture)

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

6. Government intervention (1 lecture)

7. Market failure (1 lecture)

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

8. International markets (1 lecture)

9. Intertemporal markets (1 lectures)

10. Markets for risk (1 lectures, time permitting)

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

90% and above

Less than 50%

COMM 220 BB Fall 2015

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