Principles%20of%20Agricultural,%20Resource%20and%20Community%20Development%20Economics

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Principles of Agricultural, Resource and
Community Development Economics

• Course Introduction

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Course Overview
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What is economics?

• The allocation of scarce resources among
  alternative desirable ends
• For this and future generations
• What does allocation mean?
• How do we decide how many resources are available
  to be allocated?
• How do we decide on distribution?

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Why study economics?

• What issues do you care about?
• Job stability, unemployment
• Community issues Poverty, Community stability
• Government issues Taxes and how we spend them
• Environmental issues Climate stability, ozone
  depletion, pollution, ecosystem degradation
• Food supply and distribution
• Economics drives many of the decisions that
  affect these issues

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Neoclassical vs. ecological economics
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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

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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

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Approach of this course

• Enough exposure to neoclassical economics to be
  able to handle more advanced courses
• Critique of neoclassical economics
• Presentation of ecological economics as an
  alternative with solid foundation in both science
  and ethics

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Course Objectives

• Answer the three basic questions that arise from
  this definition of economics, particularly as
  they pertain to agricultural, resource and
  community development economics
• 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?

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Course Objectives (cont.)

• Critically examine how conventional economists
  think
• Learn how ecological economists think, and how
  they address some of the shortcomings of
  conventional economics
• Understand how markets can in theory utilize
  decentralized information and personal choice to
  balance supply and demand, possibility with
  desirability
• Recognize the explicit and implicit assumptions
  of conventional economic analysis required for
  (3), and assess their validity. 
• Understand policies related to agriculture,
  resource management, and community development

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My Teaching Philosophy vs. 150 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 cogitate and contribute

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Teaching Philosophy
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Administrative Stuff
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Contact Info

• Instructor Joshua Farley205 H Morrill Hall
  656-2989ONLY USE WEB-CT E-MAIL
• If you must send an e-mail to my regular inbox,
  Subject line must begin with CDAE 61
• Office Hrs. Morrill Hall, MW, 1000-1200 or
  by appointment

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TAs

• Marta Ascherio
• Ben Crockett
• Tristan Hansell
• Kevin Stapleton
• Lance Stratton
• You are assigned to TAs for grading, but can go
  to any review session or office hours
• Office hours and review session times TBA

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Course Resources

• WebCT will be used to
• Post the syllabus and important announcements
• Post required and recommended readings
• Facilitate discussions between students
• Keep track of grades
• Communicate with all of you
• Receive feedback on the course

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Course Resources (cont.)

• WebCT overview
• http//webct.uvm.edu
• Log-in like you do with e-mail
• Syllabus
• Calendar
• Assignments
• Discussion board

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Homework Review Sessions

• 1 hour TA sessions, time TBA
• Students attending grade their own homework, and
  get bonus points.
• You can ask TAs questions about course content.
  When they don't know the answer, they will
  consult me then get back to you.

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Content Review Sessions

• Kevin Stapleton, time TBA
• Either Kevin or I will give review sessions for
  exams.

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Course texts

• REQUIRED Ecological Economics Principles and
  Applications, by Herman Daly and Joshua Farley,
  Island Press, 2003 (DF in Syllabus) available
  from Tina Haskins, 205 Morrill Hall. 35 cash or
  check, Ill buy back for 25
• REQUIRED Selections from Principles of
  Microeconomics, by Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke,
  2nd Edition, 2003 (FB in syllabus)
• Additional readings will be posted on WebCT
  and/or available on Bailey Howe reserve

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Course Requirements

• Attending lecture is necessary
• Participation 10 of grade, but students who
  fail to attend regularly are most likely to fail
  the class
• Incentive system for attendance (besides just
  passing the course)?
• Attendance sheets?
• Readings must be done carefully.
• Do exercises when included in chapters
• Homework assignments intended to help you learn
  material, reflect on material, and prepare for
  exams

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Course Requirements

• Two midterm exams
• One comprehensive final
• One make-up exam
• 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 150 students in this
  class.

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Grading

• Homework assignments 30
• Midterms 17.5 each
• Final 25
• Participation 10
• Bonus points

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Assignments

• Assignments must be turned in to TAs at start of
  class
• 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.

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Class policies

• All assignments must be done on time
• One Makeup exam
• 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 elses work
  wont help you.
• 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.