Economics Lecture Notes

Lecture 1: Principles of Economics

Course Overview and Objectives

• Course Objectives:
  • Part 1: Introduction to the course, available resources, evaluations, and administrative details.
  • Part 2: Overview of economics, its place among the social sciences, and its relevance to policy studies.
  • Understand the fundamental principles of economics.
  • Identify the key concerns of economics and the approaches economists use.
• Reference:
  • Textbook Chapter 1: Ten Principles of Economics.

Part 1: About This Course

• What is Economics?
  • A definition in your own terms and past knowledge
• Group activity
  • Identify a specific problem that economists are well-equipped to address.

Defining Economics

• Traditional Definition (Outdated):
  • Study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
  • Study of markets, banking, money, profit, and business.
• Modern Economics:
  • The impact of legalized abortion on crime rates.
  • The effects of immigration on wages, unemployment, and crime.
  • The role of information friction in post-secondary enrollment.
  • The rationality behind enforcing taboos, even on one's own thoughts.
  • The reasons for polarized opinions on various topics.
  • The formation and changes in personal values.
  • The dynamics of peer pressure in education (e.g.,