But obviously there are complications. First, it is not always easy to measure benefits and costs -- you have to know some economics and perhaps even some philosophy. Second, bernefits and costs can occur at different times, and you have to adjust for that problem. Third, benefits and costs are received and borne by different people, and both the economics and the politics of dealing with distributional issues can get tricky. Fourth, there are many different types of programs for which an aspiring public servant might want to do a benefit-cost analysis. This list goes on, and it will easily fill a semester for us to cover it adequately.
Deardorff: | 458 Lorch | Mondays | 2:00-3:00 PM |
Thursdays | 10:30-11:30 AM | ||
Anderson: | 365F Lorch | Mondays | 4:30-6:00 PM |
Wednesdays | 2:00-3:30 PM |
Schedule |
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Jan. 17 |
Jan. 24 |
Feb. 7 |
Feb. 21 |
Deardorff: | 764-6817 | alandear@umich.edu |
Anderson: | 913-2441 | hbandrsn@umich.edu |
The most important requirement for the course is the term paper, in which you will do a benefit-cost analysis on a topic of your choice. This will be done in two parts: a one page outline or prospectus due February 6, and the paper itself of 10-15 pages due on the last day of class, April 22. The paper topic must be approved by me, so come and talk to me about your paper ideas as early in the semester as possible. The paper may be done in groups, limited to 3 persons maximum (see Changes, Feb. 2), and you should be warned that grading will be slightly tougher in this case.
The schedule for the requirements and their contributions to your final grade are as follows:
Date Due | Percent of Grade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Problem sets (20%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Case Exercise
| Midterm Exam #1
| Midterm Exam #2
| Term paper (35%)
| |
E-mail to: alandear@umich.edu | Return to: Economics 573 |
Deardorff's Home Page |