Principles of Community Development Economics

Course Introduction

Joshua Farley

Assoc. Prof, CDAE

205 B Morrill Hall

jfarley@UVM.edu

Course Overview

What is economics?

• The allocation of scarce resources among alternative desirable ends– For this and future generations– Desirable ends?

• What does ‘allocation’ mean?

• Scarce resources or available resources?

• How do we decide how many resources are available to be allocated?

• How do we decide on distribution?

Why study economics?• What issues do you care about?

– Unemployment, declining incomes, growing inequality, oil prices, climate change, biodiversity collapse, health care, poverty, pollution, resource depletion, food, energy, water, etc.

• Economics drives many of the decisions that affect these issues

Neoclassical vs. ecological economics

Neoclassical economics

• built on mathematical framework based on a several powerful assumptions, e.g.– Homo economicus– Perfect competition– Pareto optimality – Economy can and should grow for ever

• Presented as objective science

• Elegant, simple, and wrong

NYT, 8-13-10

• “In my view, when economists wax mushy on the virtue of what they call “efficiency,” it is time to run for the hills, for they are selling a preferred moral doctrine in the guise of science.”

Uwe Reinhardt

Ecological economics

• Transdisciplinary, no single methodology• Built on assumption that economic system is

subsystem of global ecosystem• Physical laws of thermodynamics drive

economic system• Ecological sustainability, just distribution,

efficient allocation• Not elegant or simple: we live in a highly

complex world• Better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong

Goals of this course

• To get you excited about economics and its importance in addressing the critical problems our society faces.

• To provide an adequate background in ecological economics for students to recognize its strengths, challenge its weaknesses, and continue in the field.

• To provide an adequate background in neoclassical economics for students to recognize its strengths, challenge its weaknesses, and take upper level courses in the discipline.

Course Objectives

• Answer the three basic questions that arise from this definition of economics, particularly as they pertain to community development:– What are the desirable ends towards which society

should allocate its scarce resources?– What are these scarce resources, and what are their

characteristics relevant to allocation?  – Based on the nature of the scarce resources and

human nature, what allocative mechanisms are best for achieving these desired ends?

Course Objectives (cont.)

1. Critically examine how conventional economists think2. Learn how ecological economists think, and how they

address some of the shortcomings of conventional economics;

3. Understand how markets can in theory utilize decentralized information and personal choice to balance supply and demand, possibility with desirability

4. Recognize the explicit and implicit assumptions of conventional economic analysis required for (3), and assess their validity. 

5. Understand policies related to community development

My Teaching Philosophy vs. 250 Students

• My goal is not to teach you facts, but to teach you how to think: analysis, synthesis and communication

• I don't know all the answers, and no professor does (nor does the boss in any job you'll ever have)– In an evolving system, knowledge must also

evolve. Much of what I teach is wrong now, or will be in the future.

• Students should not be here to absorb and regurgitate, but rather to learn and apply– If you can’t apply it, you didn’t learn it

Teaching Philosophy

Administrative Stuff

Contact Info

• Instructor: Joshua Farley205 B Morrill Hall 656-2989

• If you must send an e-mail to my regular inbox, Subject line must begin with CDAE 61

• Office Hrs.: 205 B Morrill Hall, T, Th 9-11 or by appointment

TAs

• Adam Riggen• Alana Robinson• Amanda Lantieri• Francis Valocchi• Catie Stone• Justin Barton• Katie Ettman• Kenni Johnson

• Laura Kim• Lauren Wroblewski• Megan Stoeckel• Rebekka Miller• Riley MacDonald• Robert Liu• Skyler Perkins

TA assignments

• You are free to see any TA at any time for questions on course content

• If you have a legitimate reason for missing class or for turning in an assignment late, contact your assigned TA

• Each TA will grade a different group of students on each assignment. We will post a matrix explaining which TA graded which students. Contact this TA if you have issues with your assignment grade.

Review Sessions and Office Hours

• TA’s will hold regular office hours at different times

• Great opportunity to go over homework assignments

• You can ask TAs questions about course content. When aren’t sure of the answer, they will consult me then get back to you.

Course Resources

• Blackboard (bb.uvm.edu) will be used to:– Post the syllabus and important announcements– Post and receive assignments – Post required and recommended readings – Allow you to contribute to class discussion– Keep track of grades – Communicate with all of you – Receive feedback on the course

Course texts

• REQUIRED: Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications, by Herman Daly and Joshua Farley, Island Press, 2004 or 2nd edition, 2010

• REQUIRED:  – Selected chapters from Principles of Microeconomics,

by Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke, any edition– OR– Principles of Microeconomics by Libby Rittenberg

and Timothy Tregarthen, Flatworld Knowledge, available on-line at http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/printed-book/2147

• Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard

Course Requirements

• Attending lecture is necessary– Participation = 10% of grade, but students who fail to

attend regularly are most likely to fail the class

• Readings must be done carefully.– Do exercises, understand “big ideas” when included

in chapters

• Homework assignments intended to help you learn/apply material, and prepare for exams

Course Requirements

• Two midterm exams• One comprehensive final (counts for more if you

missed a midterm for a legitimate reason)• The more an exam makes you think, the harder

it is to grade. The stupider an exam is, the easier it is to grade. There are >200 students in this class.

Grading

• Homework assignments (30%)

• Midterm 1 (17.5%)

• Midterm 2 (17.5%)

• Class participation (10%)

• Final Exam (comprehensive) (25%)

• Quizzes and other assignments at my discretion

Assignments

• Assignments must be handed in on time. If there is a valid reason you cannot turn an assignment in on time, let your TA know ahead of time by e-mail.

• Count for 300 points, but likely to add up to well over 300, e.g. You get some freebies.

• Biggest reason for doing poorly in this class is failure to complete assignments.

• Collaboration OK, copying is not.

Class policies

• Attendance is mandatory• All assignments must be done on time• No disturbing others in class• Sleep at home, not in class• You can discuss assignments with each other and work

on them together if it helps you learn the material, but simply copying someone else’s work is grounds for expulsion

• Any questions about grades must be submitted in writing within 48 hours.

• TAs and I will try to get grades back to you as quickly as possible, with comments.

• Never more than one generation away from complete ignorance