Competing Philosophies in US Economic Policy is an examination of the economic, political, and social philosophies which influenced United States economic policy from Colonial times to World War I. The course will trace the development of a number of policy debates, looking at the economic rationale for the various positions presented. The course will examine current interpretations of the effects of historical policy decisions, and also relate the historical debates to current economic policy controversies.

Economics 224 has been designed primarily for freshmen and other students who have taken Economics 12 (Introduction to Economics), and have taken or are taking the General Education American History sequence, History 13 and 14. The course carries General Education Civilization credit for the American sequence (Am-C), one writing credit (WAC-1) and also counts toward the Economics major or minor.

Texts and Webs:		Readings for the course are drawn from primary source documents.   For reference, each member of the class should have any standard American history textbook, such as is used in History 13 and 14. Several acceptable titles are listed in the bibliography.  Required readings will be distributed in class, available online, or placed on reserve in Schaffer Library. Course website: http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/ECODEPT/kleind/eco024 Blackboard website: http://online.union.edu
Office:		My office is SS109, telephone and voicemail: 6056, e-mail: kleind@union.edu Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 2:45-4 pm, and by appointment. Written assignments can be submitted via the Blackboard Digital Drop Box.
Grading:		Attendance, homework, participation 15% Quizzes 15% (about 3 @ 5%) Papers 50% (10%, 15%, 30%) Final exam 15%
Papers:		You will be assigned two short papers (2-3 pages; 500-750 words) and one longer paper (8 pages; 2000-2500 words), each dealing with some area of economic policy debate which occurred between 1789 and 1913. You will be required to re-write one of your short papers. In your papers, you should rely mostly on primary sources (words written by people directly involved in the debate). The longer paper must include one or more primary sources not on the reading list. All papers should use complete footnotes, and will be graded on both content and mechanics.  See Guidelines. I will assign topics for the papers. Late papers will be penalized one grade step per day (e.g. A- to B+), beginning after class on the due date and including weekend days.
Quizzes:		Quizzes will, at least initially, be announced at least one class in advance. I do not give make-up quizzes, but will drop the lowest quiz. There will be about 3 quizzes.
Exam policy:		I do not willingly offer make-up exams. If you feel that you have a true emergency, you must contact me in advance of the scheduled exam.
Class rules:		Please do not wander in and out of the classroom during class time. It is distracting to me an to the other members of the class.  No food or drink is  permitted in the Olin Building classrooms.  Cell phones OFF.  No non-class related e-mailing, IM-ing, or web surfing during class.
Reading Assignments:		Unless otherwise noted, all readings will be distributed or are available online. See the Reading List and Bibliography pages. Readings should be done for the day indicated. Since the majority of the class time will be spent discussing and analyzing the readings, it is important both for the other class members and for your grade that you complete the assigned readings on time. I also expect you to regularly read a good newspaper or business magazine. One of the goals of this course is to relate the historical debates to current events, and to do this, I want you to be up on current events.
Computer Requirements:		You should have access to a computer with an internet browser, preferably Netscape v4.0 or higher, or Internet Explorer, version 4.0 or higher, e-mail, and a printer.  Some documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
E-mail:		Some assignments will be due by e-mail or other electronic submission.  You must have a working e-mail account, and must know how to use it. Obtain accounts at the OCS office in Steinmetz Hall; Stat Lab consultants can how you how to use it.  If you do not use your Union account, be sure it is forwarded to you.