ECON 2201 Intermediate Economics Reading List
Updated: 2011-12-11

Nota Bene: Readings will be added as the semester progresses, and I also reserve the right to make reasonable changes to the schedule as necessary, so please check back periodically.

Your first priority should be the readings and problems in the McCloskey text. Tackle the "supplementary readings" as you find time, and try to complete at least half. To access restricted journal articles from off-campus, use the UConn library remote access system.

Introduction

• McCloskey, pp. 1-4 (Introduction)
• Friedman, Chapter 1 (What Is Economics?)
• Friedman, Chapter 2 (How Economists Think)
• Supplementary Reading:
  • Gary Becker: The Economic Way of Looking at Life (Nobel Lecture)
  • Israel Kirzner: Market Theory and the Price System, Ch. 1-3 (on reserve)
  • George Stigler: The Theory of Price, Ch. 1-2 (on reserve)

Demand

• McCloskey 1 (The Budget Line)
• Alchian & Allen, Exchange & Production: Competition, Coordination, & Control (3rd ed.), 1983, pp. 36-37 (c.f. Alchian-Allen theorem)
• McCloskey 2 (The Consumer's Choice)
• Supplementary Reading:
  • Additional review material: Supply & Demand Review
  • Utility Maximization Examples
• Suggested Problems for Review:
  • McCloskey 1.1: Ex. #3, 6; Pr. #1-3, 7, 9
  • McCloskey 1.2: Ex. #1-2, 5; Pr. #1-2
  • McCloskey 1.3: Ex. #3; Pr. #1-3, 6
  • McCloskey 2.1: Ex. #1-2; Pr. #3
  • McCloskey 2.2: Ex. #1-2; Pr. #1-3
  • McCloskey 2.3: Ex. #1-4; Pr. #1-2
  • McCloskey 2.4: Ex. #1-2; Pr. #3

Exam #1: Monday, September 26

Demand (continued)

• McCloskey 4 (Indifference Curves & Demand)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 4: Ex. #7; Pr. #3-4, 6-8
  • Demand Example Homework
• Supplementary Reading:
  • Lecture 5, "Substitution Effects," in Gary Becker. Economic Theory. New York: Knopf, 1971.
  • "Applications of Utility Theory," (pp. 64-74) in George Stigler. The Theory of Price. Third Edition. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1966.

Exchange

• McCloskey 5 (Trade)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 5.1: Ex. #1-3; Pr. #1-2, 5
  • McCloskey 5.2: Ex. #2; Pr. #1-2, 4-5
  • McCloskey 5.3: Ex. #2, 5; Pr. #1, 3
  • McCloskey 5.4: Ex. #1-3, 5; Pr. #1
• McCloskey 6.1-6.2 (Using Market Supply and Demand)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 6.1: Ex. #4-7, 9-10
  • McCloskey 6.2: Pr. #1-4
• McCloskey 7.1 (Measuring Supply and Demand)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 7.1: Ex. #3-5; Pr. 3-4

Production and Welfare

• McCloskey 8.1, 8.3 (Production Possibilities)
• Suggested Problems:
  • Specialization & the PPF (ECON 1201 Problem Set)
  • McCloskey 8.1: Pr. 1-3, 5-8
  • McCloskey 8.3: Pr. 1-3
• McCloskey 10.1 (Consumers' Surplus)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 10.1: Pr. 1-3, 9
• Supplementary Reading:
  • Friedman, Chapter 15 (Economic Efficiency)

Exam #2: Friday, October 21

Production and Markets

• McCloskey 11 (The Firm)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 11.1: Pr. 2, 4
  • McCloskey 11.2: Ex. 2
  • McCloskey 11.3: Ex. 1-8
  • McCloskey 11.4: Pr. 3
• Supplementary Reading:
  • "Why do firms exist?" The Economist, December 16, 2010.
  • Asch, Beth J., James C. Miller III, & John T. Warner. "Economics and the All-Volunteer Military Force." in Better Living Through Economics, edited by John J. Siegfried. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2010. (see HuskyCT under Course Materials)
• McCloskey 12 (Cost Curves of the Firm)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 12.1: Ex. 1-3, 5; Pr. 1-4
  • McCloskey 12.2: Ex. 2-3; Pr. 3-4
  • McCloskey 12.3: Ex. 5; Pr. 3-4
• McCloskey 13.1 (Competitive Industry)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 13.1: Ex. 1-4; Pr. 1, 4
  • Problem #1 in ECON 1201 Problem Set #7
• McCloskey 14 (The Long-Run Supply Curve and the Principle of Entry)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 14.1: Ex. 5; Pr. 2-4
  • McCloskey 14.2: Ex. 1; Pr. 1, 3-4, 7-8, 9-10

Monopoly

• McCloskey 17 (The Behavior of Monopoly)
• Suggested Problems:
  • Problem #2 in ECON 1201 Problem Set #7
  • McCloskey 17.1: Ex. 1-6; Pr. 2-3, 7
  • McCloskey 17.2: Ex. 1-2, 4; Pr. 2-5

Exam #3: Friday, November 18

Monopoly (continued)

• McCloskey 16.1 (Competition for Property Rights)
• McCloskey 19 (The Welfare Economics of Monopoly)
• Suggested Problems:
  • McCloskey 16.1: Ex. 2; Pr. 7, 9
  • McCloskey 19: Ex. 1; Pr. 2-3, 5-6, 9
• Supplementary Reading:
  • Yale Brozen. "Is Government the Source of Monopoly?" The Intercollegiate Review, Winter 1968/69: 67-78.
  • "Creative Destruction" in Wikipedia

Game Theory & Oligopoly

• Bauman 8 (Simultaneous-move games)
• Bauman 19 (Sequential-move games)
• Bauman 20 (Iterated dominance & Nash equilibrium)
• McCloskey 21 (Competition Among the Few)
• Suggested Problems:
  • Optional Practice Problems (revised 12-11)
• Supplementary Reading:
  • The Compleat Strategyst was the first book about game theory that I read. Its approach is too old-fashioned to be of immediate use to you, but you might find it fun to skim it and get a flavor of what early game theory looked like. The example I stole for class is on pp. 69-70 ("The Attack-Defense Game").

Final Exam: Wednesday, December 14, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm, Montieth 217

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