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Common Sense Economics
The
following 15 week syllabus is built around Common Sense Economics, the Stossel Video Clips, Suggested Readings, Engaging Activities and Going Deeper
Exercises. Instructors are invited to modify the content below
based on course goals and learning objectives. Email
Tawni
Ferrarini, Northern Michigan University to get the file.
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Learning Week
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Stossel Video Clips |
Suggested Readings, Engaging Activities and Going Deeper
Exercises |
Week 1
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Common Sense Economics
Part I:
Ten Key Elements of Economics
(CSE I: Key) |
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CSE I: Key
1
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Incentives matter. |
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CSE I: Key
2 |
There is no such thing as a free lunch. |
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CSE I: Key
3 |
Decisions are made at the margin. |
|
| Stossel Video Clip |
|
Macro Clip 1 |
Is life
getting worse? |
This video clip is an excellent media piece for the first day of class.
It highlights the broad scope of economics and is guaranteed to
attract student interest in economics. |
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Readings |
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CSE I: Key 1 |
Lee, Dwight |
"The
Power of Incentives," The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty - June 1998.
(Audio,
8.19 minutes) |
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CSE I: Key
2 |
Frost, Robert |
The Road Not Taken, 1920
(Audio, 1.30
minutes) |
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Lee, Dwight |
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CSE I: Key 3 |
Lee, Dwight |
"It’s the Margin that Counts," The Freeman:
Ideas on Liberty - June 2000.
(Audio,
8.12 minutes)
"Markets and Marginalism," The Freeman: Ideas
on Liberty - February 2001.(Audio,
7.58 minutes)
"More On Marginalism," The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty - January
2001.
(Audio,
8.40 minutes)
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Week
2
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Common Sense Economics
Part I:
Ten Key Elements of Economics
(CSE I: Key) |
|
CSE I: Key 4 |
Trade promotes
economic progress. |
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CSE I: Key 5 |
Transaction costs are obstacles to trade. |
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CSE I: Key 6 |
Profits direct businesses toward activities that increase
wealth. |
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Stossel Video
Clip |
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CSE I: Key 4 |
Micro Clip 3 |
Exchange and wealth creation |
| |
Macro Clip 4 |
Government spending, jobs, and unemployment |
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Week
3
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Common Sense Economics
Part I:
Ten Key Elements of Economics
(CSE I: Key) |
|
CSE I: Key
7
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People earn income by helping others. |
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CSE I: Key
8 |
Economic progress comes primarily through
trade, investment, better ways of doing things, and sound economic
institutions. |
|
CSE I: Key 9 |
The
invisible hand” of market prices directs buyers and sellers toward
activities that promote the general welfare. |
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Week
4
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Common Sense Economics
Part I:
Ten Key Elements of Economics
(CSE I: Key) |
|
CSE I: Key
10 |
Too often long-term
consequences, or secondary effects, of an action are ignored,
unanticipated or unexpected. |
|
CSE Part I Test |
|
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE I: Key 10
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Micro Clip 1
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Opportunity costs, tradeoffs, and
secondary effects |
| |
Micro Clip 7 |
Subsidized flood insurance |
| |
Macro Clip 4
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Government spending, jobs, and
unemployment |
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Week 5
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Common Sense Economics
Part II:
Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress
(CSE II: EP)
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CSE II: EP I |
The Legal System and Economic Progress |
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CSE II: EP 2 |
Competitive Markets and Economic Progress
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE II: EP I |
Micro Clip 2 |
Economics of private property rights
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CSE II: EP 2 |
Micro Clip 9 |
Wal-Mart, competition, and cost control
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Week
6
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Common Sense Economics
Part II:
Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress
(CSE II: EP)
|
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CSE II: EP 3 |
The Limits on Government Regulation and Economic Progress |
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CSE II: EP 4 |
An
Efficient Capital Market and Economic Progress |
|
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE
II: EP 3 |
Macro Clip 10 |
Institutions, growth, and freedom |
| |
Macro Clip 9 |
Economic freedom and prosperity |
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Micro Clip 12 |
Child labor laws |
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CSE II: EP 4 |
Micro Clip 6 |
Pharmaceutical price controls and availability |
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Micro Clip 13 |
Investment versus giving |
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Week
7
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Common Sense Economics
Part II:
Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress
(CSE II: EP)
|
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CSE II: EP 5 |
Monetary Stability and Economic Progress |
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CSE II: EP 6 |
Low Tax
Rates and Economic Progress |
|
|
Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE II: EP 5 |
Macro Clip 2 |
Gas prices-nominal versus real
|
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CSE II: EP 6 |
Macro Clip 6 |
How
much taxes do the rich pay? |
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Week
8
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Common Sense Economics
Part II:
Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress
(CSE II: EP)
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CSE II: EP 7 |
Free Trade and Economic Progress |
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CSE Part II Test |
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE
II: EP 7 |
Macro Clip
7 |
Are
boycotts of sweatshop products helpful? |
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Macro Clip
8 |
Does
out sourcing cost Americans jobs? |
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Macro Clip 9 |
Economic freedom and prosperity |
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Macro Clip 10 |
Institutions, growth, and freedom |
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Week
9
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Common Sense
Economics
Part III -Economic Progress and the Role of Government
(CSE III: EP and
Gov) |
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CSE III: EP and
Gov 1 |
Private
Property Rights and Public Goods |
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CSE
III: EP and Gov 2 |
Government is not a corrective device. |
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CSE
III:
EP and
Gov 3 |
Taxes
are not the only cost attached to government. |
|
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE III EP and
Gov 1 |
Macro Clip 11 |
Property rights, eminent domain,
and the role of government |
| |
Macro Clip 12 |
Is government too big? |
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Macro Clip
12 |
Size and growth of government |
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Week
10
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Common Sense
Economics
Part III -Economic Progress and the Role of Government
(CSE III: EP and
Gov) |
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CSE III: EP and
Gov 4 |
Special interests group will act in their best
interests at the expense of taxpayers and consumers. |
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CSE
III: EP and Gov 5 |
Unless
restrained, legislators will run budget deficits and spend excessively. |
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CSE
III:
EP and
Gov 6 |
The
government slows EP when it assists one group at the expense of others. |
|
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE III EP and
Gov 4 |
Micro Clip 7 |
Subsidized flood insurance |
| |
Macro Clip 14 |
Pork barrel spending |
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Micro Clip 12 |
Child labor laws |
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CSE III EP and
Gov 4, 6 |
Micro Clip 8 |
Politics, economics, and farm subsidies
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Macro Clip 5 |
Stadiums, subsidies, and taxes |
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Week 11
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Common Sense
Economics
Part III -Economic Progress and the Role of Government
(CSE III: EP and
Gov) |
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CSE III: EP and
Gov 7 |
The
government slows EP, on average, when it transfers income from one
group. |
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CSE
III: EP and Gov 8 |
Central
planning replaces markets with politics, which wastes resources and
retards economic progress. |
|
CSE
III:
EP and
Gov 9 |
Competition
is just a important in government as in markets. |
|
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE III EP and
Gov 8 |
Macro Clip 4 |
Government spending, jobs, and unemployment
|
| |
Macro Clip
5 |
Stadiums, subsidies, and taxes |
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CSE III EP and
Gov 9 |
Macro Clip
15 |
Competition and efficiency of government |
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Week
12
|
Common Sense
Economics
Part III -Economic Progress and the Role of Government
(CSE III: EP and
Gov) |
|
CSE
III:
EP and
Gov 10
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Constitutional
rules that bring the political process and sound economics into harmony
will promote economic progress.
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CSE Part III Test |
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Week
13
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Common Sense
Economics
Part IV - Personal Finance
(CSE
IV: Personal Finance) |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 1 |
Discover your comparative advantage. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 2 |
Be
entrepreneurial. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 3 |
Spend less
than you earn. Save now. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 4 |
Don't finance
anything longer than its useful life. |
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Stossel Video
Clips |
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CSE IV Personal Finance
1 |
Micro Clip 14 |
Is
making money good or bad? |
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Micro Clip 10 |
Poverty and
entrepreneurship |
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Classroom Activities |
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CSE IV: PF 2 |
Are you an entrepreneur? |
This activity
helps students identify entrepreneurial traits. |
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Week
14
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Common Sense
Economics
Part IV - Personal Finance
(CSE
IV: Personal Finance) |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 5 |
Two ways to get
more out of your money: Avoid credit card debt and
consider purchasing used items. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 6 |
Begin paying into a "real
world" savings account every month. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 7 |
Put the power of compound
interest to work for you. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 8 |
Diversify. |
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Student Activity |
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CSE IV: PF 5 |
Access Your Free Credit Report |
Encourage
students to print a copy of their credit report from one of the
same consumer reporting companies. Ask them to self-assess
their credit history or consult with an expert.
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Week
15
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Common Sense
Economics
Part IV - Personal Finance
(CSE
IV: Personal Finance) |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 9 |
Indexed equity funds can help you beat the experts without
taking excessive risks. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 10 |
Invest in stocks for long-run
objectives; as the need for money approaches, increase
proportion of bonds. |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 11 |
Beware of investment schemes! |
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CSE IV: Personal Finance 12 |
Engage in life-long investment
education and teach children to earn, learn and invest! |
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Student Activity |
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CSE IV: PF 5 |
The Cost of Raising Children |
Ask
students to find out what it costs, on average, to raise a child
from age 0 to 17 within different family configurations.
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Final Examination Week |
