Economics 10 1

2017 September

Lecture Intro

2017 Economics 101 CCC

Kelleen Wiseman, MBA, PhD
The University of British
Columbia
Educational Background
UBC Faculty Food & Resource Economics
15 years industry experience business sector
◦ Oracle Corporation
◦ Santa Clara Retail Management Institute
◦ Commercial Banking
◦ Business Planning & Development Consulting
◦ Private Consulting Business – my own!
Reasons for Teaching this Course
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course description
understand
and interpret
economic
events in the
world around
you.

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learning outcomes
◦ Describe and utilize the fundamental economic concepts and
microeconomic theories of pricing, markets, supply, demand,
trade, efficiency and equity.
◦ Analyze the economic behaviour of individuals and firms within
an economy
◦ Describe the different market structures, production and costs
◦ Identify the key characteristics and consequences of monopoly,
monopolistic competition and oligopoly
◦ Explain the general roles of the free market and government in
the economy.
◦ Identify the relevance of economics in a changing world
◦ Identify and apply critical reasoning to economic issues
◦ Describe the basic jargon used to model microeconomic
behaviour
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course website
Course Materials :
Notes, Assignments, Solutions: http://blogs.ubc.ca/econ101klw/
Poll Everywhere
In class polling activity: https://pollev.com/klwiseman
This is a simple application that allows you to text short answer or
answer multiple choice questions using mobile devices like
phones or laptops. See instructions below to register for
polleverywhere.

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course textbooks
Microeconomics: Canada in the Global Environment, 9th edition,
Parkin & Bade
◦ Option 1: (Paperback) Textbook
◦ Option 2: (Looseleaf) Binder Ready Textbook
◦ Option3: e-text
◦ Course ID for MyEconLab and etext is wiseman03545
If you decide to purchase the eight edition, it is your
responsibility to ensure you compare and accommodate for the
differences between the editions.

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evaluation

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practicalities

Assignments 1, 2, 3
Calculators
Class notes
Schedule
Epoll registration

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math in econ
Graphing, Slope positive or negative and value: Linear Supply and
Demand Curves
Equations, substitution and solve for X - Equilibrium Price and
Quantity
Percentage increase and decrease - Elasticity
Area of a triangle & rectangle - Consumer Surplus & Producer
Surplus in Linear Demand & Supply Curves
Resources:
http://blogs.ubc.ca/econ101klw/2016/08/24/math-for-economic
s/

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protocol
Be on time for class. You are in a university course – manage your
time. It is very disruptive for the rest of the students and the
professor if others enter the classroom late.
Participation is important in this class, stay engaged during class and
be prepared to answer questions! All students are expected to come
to class having read the assigned readings and additional resources
and be ready to engage in the materials. Attendance will be
considered when assigning final grades.
Lecturers present the course material in a structured and value-
added manner and all activities/Epolls (12%) are provided in class.
Therefore, it is important for you to attend class.

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protocol
Laptops are not necessary in the classroom unless for Epolls. If you
must have a laptop in class, then manage your access to respect
others and the instructor by focusing on the lecture.
Cell phones should be accessed only for time tracking and Epoll.
Texting in class is not respectful or professional!
Do not enter and exit the classroom during the class. The class is one
hour and twenty minutes long and you are expected to be in the
class the entire time.

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university vs high school
Do what you want to do!
Interesting courses
Start up
Workload
Assignments – no second chance
Exams – re-allocation
So what is economics?
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Economics …
Strives to understand how individuals and societies make
decisions and seek to satisfy needs and wants within a context of
scarcity of good or services.
Involves social and financial goals .. Not just business focus!
Analyzes and describes the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services.
Uses of frameworks and model to understand real life .. Predict …
Understand.. Intervene perhaps.
Is this a good example of
economics?
The park bench

http://vimeo.com/1665301

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What do you know about economics?

Terms??
Concept?
Decision making?

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Economic concepts
Decision making include consideration of :
◦ The Scarcity Problem: Boundless needs and wants, limited
resources so that having more of one good thing usually means
having less of another.
◦ Limited Resources refers to …
◦ Land: includes minerals, water, fish, oxygen, natural resources
◦ Labour: mental and physical efforts
◦ Capital:
◦ real capital – buildings, roads, manufacturing plants,
equipment
◦ human capital – training, health, skills, networks
◦ Entrepreneurship: organization of the above items

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Economic concepts
Choices: Every person, business, and government in the world must
make choices concerning the use of limited resources.
Rationality – well defined goals & values
Costs
◦ Explicit
◦ Opportunity cost: Next best alternative
◦ Everyone??
◦ Bill Gates.. Mr. Buffet
◦ You ..today?
◦ Sunk cost: money already spent as a result of a past decision.
Should be neglected in decision making
◦ Marginal cost: cost of one additional activity/product

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Economic concepts
Models
◦ Supply
◦ Demand
◦ Incentives
◦ Pricing

◦ And a few others

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We study Economics to
Understand the economy and society
◦ Free markets and how they work or why they do not work
◦ Recessions, Expansions & how to influence them
◦ Why are their OPEC cartels and stock markets?
◦ How exactly do trade agreements like NAFTA and border duty
regulations work? And why are they in place?
We study Economics to
Understand world affairs
◦ Global economic stability – EU, Greece & the rest of us?
◦ Canadian Elections – recessions - oil prices - exchange rates
◦ Syria – refugees - migration - Arab Spring – how does this
affect Canada?

Understand Market
◦ Pricing
◦ Supply Demand
◦ Risk
We study Economics to
Become a well-informed citizen
◦ Interest rates and bank loans
◦ Deficits, unemployment and government
◦ Supply Demand
◦ Business & Risk

Think logically
◦ Specific way of thinking and making decisions
◦ Ex: cost vs benefits
◦ Scarcity and Making Choices
Carbon tax

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Why does the airplane company charge
different rates for different seat?
Is that fair?
Airplane pricing
Restaurant timing
Why do people buy potato chips when
they are on sale but not potatoes?
Shared Economy

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 Is the difference between the rich and poor
getting better or worse?

In the US, the richest

1% of the country
owns a third of the
country's assets and
the poorer 50%
owns less than
2.5%.
The bad
The bad
More bad
Economics is a method rather than a
doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a
technique of thinking which helps its
possessor to draw correct conclusions.

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946)

Economics has two broad
branches:

Microeconomics… the firm and individual level

Macroeconomics… the whole economy level

 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
BEHAVIOURAL
LABOUR ECONOMICS
HEALTH
ECONOMICS

ECONOMETRICS
POLICY TAX..
TRADE
EDUCATION..
SUBSIDIES… FINANCIAL &
MONETARY POLICY
FOOD & RESOURCE
ECONOMICS
Microeconomics
Study of how people and firms make decisions regarding the
allocation of resources and prices of goods and services.

Focuses on supply and demand and other forces that determine

the price levels seen in the economy
THINKING LIKE AN ECONOMIST
MEANS ….

Viewing problems and scenarios using economic frameworks and

principles…

◦ Giving a better understanding of the problems

◦ Giving a range of the potential solutions from various

perspectives
How will you train yourself to
think like an Economist?
Read the textbook chapter before class – it is only 20 pages.
 Be clear about the objective and concept of the chapter
when you come to class
Print out the notes from the web, bring the notes to class and
take additional notes in class (see handout)
Make notes of class discussion/questions and content that the
professor says is important ( you will not remember when it
comes time to study!)
How will you train yourself to
think like an Economist?
Use the assignments as a way to work through the materials &
get practice for the exam.. Not something to just get done
Work through the questions at the end of the chapters and
Connect
Work through the textbook in-chapter examples and exercises
Learn, Use & Depend on the frameworks, terminology, graphs,
and equations to analyze the problems and questions..
Note Taking
Next week
Chapter 1, 2, 3

Notes

Consider you strategy!

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