Economics I

Fall 2021
Instructors: Emails: Office Hours
Prof. Avishek Konar [email protected] Fri 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
& Prof. Sarni Jain [email protected] (by appointment only)

Course Description
This course is intended to be an introduction to economics to students without any background in
the subject. No prior knowledge of economics will be presumed. There are three main objectives the
course sets out for itself. Firstly, the course strives to introduce the fundamental building blocks of
microeconomic theory—market demand and supply, consumer behaviour/choice, production and cost,
different market structures (perfect competition vis-à-vis imperfect market structure, say monopoly),
externalities and public goods, and so on. In addition to this, it is the intention of this course to spell
out, as clearly as possible, the underlying assumptions that allow the arguments of standard economic
theory to go through, and subject these assumptions to critical scrutiny. These include, but are not
limited to, the ideas of rationality (utility maximizing behaviour for consumers, profit maximizing or
cost minimizing for producers), efficiency (some criterion for allocative efficiency) etc. More
fundamentally, the course seeks to critically assess the claim to value neutrality of the discipline
because of the usage of mathematics and deductive logic as a tool of analysis. Lastly, the course seeks
to demonstrate, using case studies and examples, the applications of economic theory in real life (such
as government intervention in cases of price control/rent control). The course is going to end with a
criticism of markets, and a brief presentation of an alternative way of thinking about economic
questions as a critical counter position to the neoclassical theory that we spend the semester learning.

Course Aims
 Introduce the fundamental ideas of microeconomics--demand and supply, consumer
preferences, budget constraint, consumer choice, production and cost, perfectly competitive
markets, monopoly, externality, public goods etc.
 Articulate as clearly as possible the assumptions and presuppositions behind every theoretical
claims made.
 Demonstrate the usage of economic theory learned in real life applications, say in standard
 government interventions such as rent control.

Textbook and Readings

There is no single required textbook for the course. The most important component for success in
the course is in-class lectures. The materials will be drawn from different sources, and readings for
every topic will be periodically sent to the class as and when required. Lecture slides for most topics
covered will be sent to students. The slides are not a substitute for attending classes or reading relevant
portions from the book—they do help students in pointing to the topics covered and the structure of
the arguments. However, there will be many things that will be discussed in class that will not appear
in the slides, and some things mentioned in the slides that we may not be able to discuss in details in
class. Students would be deemed responsible for all the contents discussed in class and those present
in the slides. If you do not understand anything you read in the book or slides, make sure to bring that
up in class or discuss it with me by making an appointment.

A tentative chapter division from the different books is also given at the end of the course manual.
I will refer to the following textbooks at different points in time during the semester. The major
readings outside of class lectures and lecture slides would be from the following books:

Required Readings:

Required readings for the various modules are from the following books. Relevant chapters are
indicated in the lecture program later in the document.

 Mankiw, N. Gregory. “Principles of Microeconomics.” (Chapters denoted below are from the
seventh edition.)
 Goodwin, Neva, Jonathan Harris, Julie Nelson, Brian Roach and Mariano Torras. “Principles
of Economics in Context.” (Chapters denoted below are from the 2015 edition.)
 Hausman, Daniel, and Michael McPherson. “Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy and
Public Policy.”
 Heilbroner, R. L. (1967). “The worldly philosophers: the lives, times, and ideas of the great
economic thinkers.”
 Fred Block, Margaret R. Somers – “The Power of Market Fundamentalism_ Karl Polanyi's
Critique”
Further Readings

 Basu, K. (2010). “Beyond the invisible hand: Groundwork for a new economics.” Princeton
University Press.
 Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.

Instructional Method and Class Policy

This is a lecture based class. Students who have taken regular lecture notes have done well in this
course in previous years. The lectures will draw on multiple sources, all of which I will point you to
during the class. However, you will find that it might be difficult to just study from one book for the
exam because different topics are covered better in different textbooks. The advantages of paying
attention and taking good notes during class cannot be overstated. For studying for the exam, students
are encouraged to go back to lecture notes, slides, and refer to the relevant sections of given textbooks
as mentioned in the lecture plan below. Students should go over the relevant sections from the assigned
textbook for each topic as noted in the lecture plan below. But, since this is a lecture based course,
students should assign more importance to concepts discussed in class, and problems solved in class.
In case of absence, students are expected to get updated about the concepts that were discussed in
class.

Student participation and input are very important from my pedagogical perspective. So, if at any
point you think that there is anything that I can do to make the class better, more engaging or organized,
feel free to raise it. Constructive criticisms are welcome. While I promise to pay heed to the concerns
that you may raise, it may not be possible to implement everything suggested by students.

Office Hours
Office hours are on Fridays from 4:30 – 6:00 pm. I will meet students by appointment only.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Learning and knowledge production of any kind is a collaborative process. Collaboration demands
an ethical responsibility to acknowledge who we have learnt from, what we have learned, and how
reading and learning from others have helped us shape our own ideas. Even our own ideas demand an
acknowledgement of the sources and processes through which those ideas have emerged. Thus, all
ideas must be supported by citations. All ideas borrowed from articles, books, journals, magazines,
case laws, statutes, photographs, films, paintings, etc., in print or online, must be credited with the
original source. If the source or inspiration of your idea is a friend, a casual chat, something that you
overheard, or heard being discussed at a conference or in class, even they must be duly credited. If you
paraphrase or directly quote from a web source in the examination, presentation or essays, the source
must be acknowledged. The university has a framework to deal with cases of plagiarism. All form of
plagiarism will be taken seriously by the University and prescribed sanctions will be imposed on those
who commit plagiarism.

Grading Policy

Do keep in mind that this grading policy is from before the commencement of online classes. Be sure
to check if there are any institutional changes in the assignment of letter grades.

Percentage of Grade
Marks Grade Value Grade Definition
Sound knowledge of the subject matter, excellent
organizational capacity, ability to synthesize ideas,
rules and principles, critically analyse existing materials
80 and above O 8 and originality in thinking and presentation.
Sound knowledge of the subject matter, thorough
understanding of issues; ability to synthesize ideas, rules
75 - 79 A+ 7.5 and principles and critical analytical ability.
Good understanding of the subject matter, ability to
identify issues and provide balanced solutions to
70 - 74 A 7 problems and good critical and analytical skills.
Adequate knowledge of the subject matter to go to the
next level of study and reasonable critical and analytical
65 - 69 A- 6 skills.

Decent knowledge of the subject matter but average

60 - 64 B+ 5 critical and analytical skills.

Limited knowledge of the subject matter and irrelevant

55 - 59 B 4 use of materials and poor critical and analytical skills.
Poor comprehension of the subject matter; poor critical
and analytical skills and marginal use of relevant
50 - 54 B- 3 materials. Will require repeating the course.
Below 50 F 0 None of the above.
Assessment: The details of the assessment plan will be discussed in class, and a separate
document will be circulated elaborating on the specifics of the plan.

Disability Support and Accommodation Requirements

JGU endeavours to make all its courses accessible to students. The Disability Support Committee
(DSC) has identified conditions that could hinder a student’s overall well-being. These include
physical and mobility related difficulties, visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental health
conditions and intellectual/learning difficulties e.g., dyslexia and dyscalculia. Students with any
known disability needing academic and other support are required to register with
the Disability Support Committee (DSC) by following the procedure specified
at https://jgu.edu.in/disability-support-committee/

Students who need support may register any time during the semester up until a month before the
end semester exam begins. Those students who wish to continue receiving support from the previous
semester, must re-register within the first month of a semester. Last minute registrations and support
might not be possible as sufficient time is required to make the arrangements for support.

The DSC maintains strict confidentiality about the identity of the student and the nature of
their disability and the same is requested from faculty members and staff as well. The DSC takes a
strong stance against in-class and out-of-class references made about a student’s disability without
their consent and disrespectful comments referring to a student’s disability.

All general queries are to be addressed to [email protected]

 Lecture Program and Schedule

Given below is a rough outline of intended lecture program and schedule.

Teaching
Lecture Title Readings
Week
Economy, Society and Capitalism
The mainstream neo-classical economics assumes that
market is a self-regulating entity, abstracted from the Ch. 2 (from Worldly
1 society. It is important to unravel the social context of Philosophers by Robert
markets and understand its social history. It is here, the Heilbroner)
idea of capitalism is introduced.

Markets and Efficiency:

Chs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8
The perfectly competitive market model is introduced. This (Mankiw)
2-3 includes discussions on demand, supply, competitive
Chs. 4, and 6
equilibrium, allocative efficiency, government intervention
(Goodwin)
and deadweight loss.
Consumer Behavior Ch. 21 (Mankiw)
4-5 Arriving at individual demand from preferences given Chs. 8, and 9
individual’s budget constraint. (Goodwin)
Beyond Rationality: Critical Appraisal of Efficiency
6 What does rationality entail? Are buyers and sellers always Chs. 4, 5 and 6
rational? Do they also behave ‘irrationally’? (Hausman and
McPherson)
Historicizing Market & Beyond Efficiency
Ch. 4 (from Power of
Evolution of the institution of Market overtime. The value
Market
neutrality of the idea of market efficiency is questioned.
Fundamentalism by
7 Students are familiarized with other values based on which
Block and Somers)
market outcomes can be evaluated. These include equality,
equity, justice etc.

Production and Cost

Ch. 13 (Mankiw)
8 Arriving at supply curve from technology, relationship
Ch. 16 (Goodwin)
between production functions and cost curves.
Perfect Competition
Ch. 14 (Mankiw)
9 Assumptions and workings of the ideal market form.
Ch. 17 (Goodwin)
Implications of perfect competition.
 Imperfect Market Structure
After unraveling two fundamental assumptions of the
perfectly competitive model, the course returns to different Ch. 15 (Mankiw)
10
forms of market structures. We investigate how Ch. 18 (Goodwin)
imperfection alone, in neoclassical economics, can show
profits in the long run.
Ch. 13, Goodwin
Externalities: The Problem of Social Cost Coase, R. H. (2013).
Perfectly competitive market assumes all costs and benefits The problem of social
11-12
are private. What happens when costs and benefits become cost. The journal of Law
social? and Economics, 56(4),
837-877.
Free Market: Myth, Reality and Policy Discourse
Wright, E. O. (2005).
Foundations of a neo-
Free market theory entails freedom of conditions of
Marxist class analysis.
13 production, trade, selling and buying. What happens when
Approaches to class
there is protectionism? What happens to liberty and class
analysis, 4-30.
structure?

14 Revision