1. Thinking Like an Economist Chapter 1 Week 1

2. Hurricane Katrina Can a major disaster be good for the economy??

3. Broken Window Fallacy Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas I am sorry to disturb these ingenious calculations, as far as their spirit has been introduced into our legislation; but I beg him to begin them again, by taking into the account that which is not seen, and placing it alongside of that which is seen. The reader must take care to remember that there are not two persons only, but three concerned in the little scene which I have submitted to his attention. One of them, James B., represents the consumer, reduced, by an act of destruction, to one enjoyment instead of two. Another under the title of the glazier, shows us the producer, whose trade is encouraged by the accident. The third is the shoemaker (or some other tradesman), whose labour suffers proportionably by the same cause. It is this third person who is always kept in the shade, and who, personating that which is not seen, is a necessary element of the problem. It is he who shows us how absurd it is to think we see a profit in an act of destruction. It is he who will soon teach us that it is not less absurd to see a profit in a restriction, which is, after all, nothing else than a partial destruction. Therefore, if you will only go to the root of all the arguments which are adduced in its favour, all you will find will be the paraphrase of this vulgar saying - What would become of the glaziers, if nobody ever broke windows? --Frédéric Bastiat 1850

4. Rationality Assumption People have well-defined goals and try to fulfill them the best they can.

5. Scarcity Principle No free lunch. Boundless needs and wants.

6. Concept of Cost Dollar costs (seen) Opportunity costs (unseen) Sunk costs (out of sight—forget about them!)

7. Cost Benefit Principle An action is taken if marginal benefit exceeds marginal cost.

8. Space Shuttle Example Number of launches Total cost ($ billions) Total benefit ($ billions) Average cost ($ billions) Marginal cost ($ billions) 000 136 2712 3 18 42024 53230

9. Space Shuttle Example Number of launches Total cost ($ billions) Total benefit ($ billions) Average cost ($ billions) Marginal cost ($ billions) 00000 13633 27123.54 3121845 4202458 532306.412

10. Decision Pitfalls 1.Measuring costs or benefits proportionally. 2.Ignoring opportunity costs. 3.Ignoring sunk costs. 4.Using average instead of marginal costs and benefits.

11. Ten Propositions about Which Most Economists Agree

12. Current Statistics U.S. GDP 08/31 3.3% Unemployment 08/05 5.0% Inflation 06/05 3.2%

13. Types of Graphs

14. Figure A-2 Using the Coordinate System

15. Novels Purchased by Emma Copyright©2003 Southwestern/Thomson Learning

16. Demand Curve

17. Shifting Demand Curves

18. Calculating the Slope of a Line

19. Graph with an Omitted Variable

20. Graph Suggesting Reverse Causality