PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

 

MPA Thao Pham

Thaopp@ftu.edu.vn

 

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I. COURSE MATERIALS

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1. Mankiw, Gregory (2014). Principles of Economics. 7th edition, International Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning Mason.

2. ​Core - Economics for changing world

II. ASSESSMENT

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• Attendance: 10%

• 02 midterm Exams: 15% each

• Final Exam: 60% 

 

III. READING LIST: 

0.Week 0: Prerequisite Readings 

• My teaching philosophy: CLICK HERE

• How to study

  • ​My post on how to make it stick: CLICK HERE

  • ​How Youtubers study for exam: CLICK HERE or HERE

  • How ex FTU study for exame: CLICK HERE

• ​Presentation sample: CLICK HERE​

• Important forms

1. ​Introduce yourself

2. Group registration spreadsheet

3. Report on lazy group member(s)

4. Grade other group presentations​

5. Question about your grade

1.Week 1: Thinking like an economist

• Chapter 1,2

• Handout 

• Clips:

  • ​Why studying economics?

  • ​Opportunity cost in Pretty Woman

  • ​Netlfix & Data

• ​Extra Readings: ​​

  • ​Hiểu và phản biện: Phiên bản quốc dân
  • Charlie Munger: Academic Economics — Strengths and Weaknesses, after Considering Interdisciplinary Needs
  • Regression, Fire, and Dangerous Things (1/3)
  • ​Opportunities cost of car owning
  • ​The Philosophy of Economics
  • ​​Psychology & Economics
  • ​​Difference between Fascism vs. Communism
  • Guns or Butter, Cannabis or Wine, and Other Choices
  • How Only Being Able to Use Logic to Make Decisions Destroyed a Man’s Life

• ​My writings: 

  • ​​Why you should get married

  • ​Happiness: A revolution in economics (2008)

  • My Tedx talk 

  • ​What is the most free economy?

  • ​To choose and to be chosen

• Movies: 

  • ​​Who was Karl Marx?

  • Bulkland (2017)

  • This country isn't just carbon neutral — it's carbon negative

 

2. Week 2,3,4: The market force of supply and demand

• Chapter 4

• ​Handout

• Presentation Group 1 (for Week 1)​​

• ​Clips: 

  • What causes economic bubbles? 

  • ​Summary of Rockonomics

  • ​​Sin tax​

  • ​​McDonald in Vietnam fail?

  • From the Labs: Winning the Netflix Prize

  • ​Oddly Normal's Ba cọc ba đồng

• ​Extra Readings: ​

  • ​Foodstamps

  • Starbucks, monetary superpower

  • ​Why Price Controls Should Stay in the History Books

• Movies

  • ​The Big Short (2015)

  • The Sugar Coated documentary (2015)

  • ​Big Sugar 

  • Food makes that make billions 

  • ​​The Great Hacker (2019)

  • ​​Explained: Diamond (2019)

  • ​Charles and chocolate factory (2005)

 

3. Week 5,6 : Elasticity and its application

• Chapter 5 & Revision

• ​Presentation Group 2 (for Week 2,3,4- Supply and Demand)​

• Movies

  • The True cost (2015)

  • ​Wal-Mart: The hight cost of low price (2005)

  • ​​Pump (2014)

• Clips:

  • ​ Examining the so-called 'Pink Tax' in drugstore essentials l GMA  (Good Morning America - Youtube)

   

4. Week 7,8 : Consumer theory

• Chapter 7a

• ​Presentation Group 3 (for Week 5,6 - Elasticity)​

• ​Extra readings:

  • Nudge : Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, 2018, Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein

  • Đến Stabucks mua Cà phê cốc lớn (Yoshimoto Yoshio)

  • ​Happyism

  • Increasing prices in Covid-19? Chanel, Louis Vuitton show it works

  • Happiness: A revolution in economics (2008)

•  ​Clips: 

  • The IKEA Effect, by Dan Ariely (Introduction to Economics Behavior)

  • The Century of the Self

 

5. Week 9 - Midterm 1

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6. Week 10, 11: Producer theory

• Chapter 7b, 13

• ​Presentation:​

  • Group 4 (for Chapter 7,8 - Consumer Theory)

  • ​Group 9 - Free topic

• Extra reading: 

  • Đến Starbucks mua Cà phê cốc lớn (Yoshimoto Yoshio)

  • ​The economics of marriage

  • Small is beautiful … but Schumacher's economics of scale runs deeper

• ​​Movies: 

  • ​​Who was Karl Marx?

  • ​​Charlie Chaplin - Factory times

  • ​Taxonomity of Moats​

  • ​​The Founder (2016)

  • ​The Globalization Triology 

   

 7. Week 12,13,14: Market structure

• Chapter 14,15,16,17

• ​​Presentation:

  • Group 5 for Week 10,11 (Producer theory)

  • Group 6 for Week 12 (Perfect Competition)

  • Group 7 for Week 13 (Monopoly)

  • ​Group 8 for Week 14 (Other forms of market structure)

• Movies: 

  • ​A beautiful mind (2001)

  • Pump (2014) 

  • The Informant! (2009)

  • Diamond Empire (1994)

  • Pepsi, Where's My Jet? (2022)

• Extra reading:

  • Chương 4 - Đến Stabucks mua Cà phê cốc lớn (Yoshimoto Yoshio)

  • Airbnb case in Vietnam

  • Rare earth elements (REEs)

  • ​Tại sao giá điện phải tăng

• Clip:

  • Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam - Adam Ruins Everything

  • ​Drug Pricing

  • ​​Nash on dating

  • ​​The Simpson Bill Gates

  • ​​Microsoft trial on Monopoly on Netscape

  • Why this Gucci knockoff is totally legal

8. Week 15 - Midterm 2