ECO 481 – Public Choice Theory The W.A. Franke College of Business NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY Spring…

ECO 481 – Public Choice Theory

The W.A. Franke College of BusinessNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Spring 2016 – 3 credit hours

web page: oak.ucc.nau.edu/dlf/e-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Dennis Foster Seq. #4566 (sec. #1)523-8178, FCB #308 M/W 12:45 pm – 2:00 pmOffice Hours – Monday, 10:00-11:00 am, 4:00-5:00 pm Wednesday, 10:00-11:00 am, 4:00-5:00 pm, and by appointment.

Room #115 - FCB

ECO 481– Spring 2016 – Course Syllabus

Description: Public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study non-market decision making, especially decisions in the political arena. This course reviews the economic rationale for government and how government failure is an outgrowth of rent seeking behaviors, and the role played in these outcomes by distorted incentives, including the flaws with various voting systems. We will consider alternatives to contemporary government provision through deregulation, constitutional limitations and, in the extreme, the totally free society. II. Prerequisites: ECO 284 and Junior Status.


Course Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students should have:

A. An understanding of the economic rationale for government and collective choice.

B. An ability to analyze political decisions from a perspective of rent-seeking behavior.

C. An understanding of how voting systems impact political outcomes.

D. The ability to contrast private provision with public provision of goods and services.

E. An understanding of how different institutional arrangements impact the extent of government failure.


IV. Course Materials: Materials for this course include the following:

Beyond Politics – The Roots of Government Failure by Randy T. Simmons (The Independent Institute, 2011). ISBN is 978-1-5981-3042-3

Nullification by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (Regnery Publishing, 2010).ISBN-13: 978-1596981492

Chaos Theory by Robert P. Murphy (Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010). ISBN-13: 978-1933550657Note: In addition to these required texts, on-line reading assignments will be posted up on my web page throughout the semester.


Teaching Methods: Primary teaching methods for this course include class lecture, class discussion and assignments. Also, the use of current technologies will be expected of students.

Learning Process: Each student must take personal responsibility for learning the material presented in this course. Successful students have two common traits that I have observed--a 100% commitment to the class and active study habits. Read and review the assigned material before the lecture. Feel free to consult with me any time regarding your progress in class.


VI. Evaluation Tools: Evaluation inputs will include the use of an all essay midterm exam and an all essay final exam. A term paper project and weekly assignment papers will also be made a part of the evaluation. Your final letter grade will be based on your performance as follows :

Grading procedure – I will assume that your performance will follow a standard curve:

A: > 90% B: 80% - 89.9% C: 70% - 79.9% D: 60% - 69.9% F: < 59.9%

This curve reflects my general expectations of student performance based on the nature and difficulty of the course and the assignments. Should student performance vary significantly from what I expect, I reserve the right to curve the individual exams.

Midterm exam = 100 Term paper/project = 100 10 of 11 homework assign. @ 10 pts. = 100 1Final exam = 100 Total points possible = 400


Make-up Assignment/Exam Policy – A make-up midterm exam will only be given for a serious and documentable excuse, as determined by me. If granted, it will consist of an alternate essay exam. It will be similar to the midterm exam, except that the selection of essays will not necessarily be available on a prior basis (see Midterm Exam below). If you will miss the exam due to an “institutional excuse,” I must be informed ahead of time so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Missed classes – It is your responsibility to keep up with material in the class. If you will miss a class as a result of an “institutional excuse” you must inform me ahead of time so that you are able to complete any homework that is assigned.


Academic Dishonesty Policy – Unless noted, the work you do must be your own work. If not, a zero will be given for the assignment/exam. Repeated offenses will result in expulsion from the class. Acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, copying another student’s homework assignment (either in part, or in whole), using crib notes (when not allowed) and copying test answers from other students. The W.A. Franke College of Business has a student code of conduct:

http://franke.nau.edu/oas/current_students/student_resources/student_handbook_for_business_majors1/appendix_a_fcb_code_of_conduct





Miscellaneous: Food and beverages are not allowed in the classrooms. Computer laptops, tablets and cell phones must be kept out of sight and turned off unless you have some special circumstance that I need to be aware of. NAU supports and promotes a drug free environment. Other related NAU policies can be found at:

http://nau.edu/OCLDAA/_Forms/UCC/SyllabusPolicyStmts2-2014/

Classroom behavior: Most students know and follow generally accepted standards of courteous classroom behavior. A few do not. Please note that repeated breaches can lead to your removal from this class. Behaviors I find especially egregious are coming into class late, leaving early, leaving and coming back during the class, and inattentiveness. E-mail me: If you have questions/problems you want to ask about, you may see me during my office hours, or e-mail me. If you do the latter, please fill in the subject category as follows: mail-ECO481-last name. This will help me to respond in a timely fashion.

http://nau.edu/OCLDAA/_Forms/UCC/SyllabusPolicyStmts2-2014/


Midterm Exam - The date is noted on the course outline. The exam will consist of a sub-set of essays drawn from a larger set handed out in advance. No notes will be allowed. Calculators will not be allowed. As the exact questions will be known in advance, I will be only be available to discuss the most general of inquiries that you might have with regard to these essays. Final Exam - The date is noted on the course outline. Like the midterm exam, this exam will consist of a sub-set of essays drawn from a larger set handed out in advance. No notes, nor calculators, will be allowed. As the exact questions will be known in advance, I will be only be available to discuss the most general of inquiries that you might have with regard to these essays.


Conditions for these exams – You are free to discuss the general nature of these questions, and issues pertaining to them, with other students from this class. You may not work together to write out answers. To the extent that you write out fully developed answers the work you do should be your own. If students turn in answers that are identical to one another, or extremely close to it, they will receive zeros for their answers. So, I would advise against sharing any of your written work with others. Also, note that I will be only be available to discuss the most general of questions that you might have with regard to these essays.


Term Paper/Project – There will be a term paper/project for this course that will require you to select a local topic for analysis and work in a group of 3 or 4 students. The final paper should be 8-10 pages long. Although there will be more specific information given in class on this project, you will have to provide some preliminary bibliography of sources, fully participate in the mid-semester round table that we will have on your topic, along with a written overview and required reading for the class. In addition to the final paper, there will be a poster presentation as part of NAU’s Undergraduate Symposium on Friday, April 29 and a final in-class oral presentation during the last week of class. The total value of the entire paper/project is 100 points. Part of this score will depend on peer evaluations from group members.

http://nau.edu/undergraduate-research/undergraduate-symposium/


Weekly Q&A Papers – Except for weeks 1, 8, 9 and 15, you will be required to bring to class a typed out copy of answers to questions that I will give you over the reading assignments for the upcoming week. You are free to make written notes on these papers during the class period, but I will pick them up in Monday’s class and return them to you on the following Wednesday. Generally this will be worth full credit as long as it is complete and you have put forth a reasonable amount of effort. But, note that this is an individual assignment and the work you turn in must be your own. Also, you must be present to receive credit. There are 11 total assignments and your lowest score will be dropped, leaving 10 counted.



ECO 481 – Public Choice Theory

The W.A. Franke College of BusinessNORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Spring 2016 – 3 credit hours

web page: oak.ucc.nau.edu/dlf/e-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Dennis Foster Seq. #4566 (sec. #1)523-8178, FCB #308 M/W 12:45 pm – 2:00 pmOffice Hours – Monday, 10:00-11:00 am, 4:00-5:00 pm Wednesday, 10:00-11:00 am, 4:00-5:00 pm, and by appointment.

Room #115 - FCB

Documents

ECO 481 – Public Choice Theory The W.A. Franke College of Business NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY Spring…