General Information, Textbook, Software, and Requirements

All course materials, including instructions for assignments and the corresponding due dates, will be posted at the URL below. Blackboard will only be used for submitting memo assignments.

• https://wilcoxen.maxwell.insightworks.com/courses/pai723/

On Fridays there will be an optional lab session from 3:00 to 4:30 in Eggers 225B.

The sessions are very informal and you're welcome to come and go at any time. The content of any particular session will depend on the interests of the people who come by that day. Typical topics include: discussing weekly assignments or difficult material from class; going over supplemental problems from the web; and reviewing for exams.

Through this course you will learn how to construct and apply mathematical models for economic analysis.  By the end of the course you will be very comfortable applying key microeconomic techniques to: (1) carry out quantitative analysis of a wide range of market scenarios to assess how goods and services will be allocated in each scenario, (2) quantify and assess the efficiency and distributional impacts of government intervention in the market.  

To the extent that there's a textbook, it's Jeffrey Perloff, Microeconomics, Pearson/Addison-Wesley. It's optional. It's a good book but we're not going to follow it very closely and you may be able to get along fine without it, especially if you've had any economics before. If you do decide to get a copy, it's not necessary to have the latest edition: renting an older version would be fine.

Calculator

• Required: Calculator apps on phones and tablets may not be used on the exams. No particular model is required but if you don't have a calculator already, consider getting one that has "textbook" notation. More information is available here.

Software

• Required: Google Classroom. It's free and available for both iOS and Android. When you go to the app store to download it, don't be put off by its relatively low rating. Most of the poor reviews have to do with the way it handles deadlines and we won't use that feature at all.
  
  Google Classroom is used with your SU Google account, which has a userid that looks like your email address but with an extra "g." before "syr.edu". For example, someone with the netid "otto" would have otto@g.syr.edu as the userid of their SU Google account. That account has other features beyond access to Google Classroom: it has its own GMail address, 10 GB of Google Drive storage, and various other perks. There's more information here.
  
  Please note that you must have a PIN set on your phone or other mobile device in order to use the device with a g.syr.edu account. Otherwise, you'll get an error message saying you don't have access.
• Optional: A scanning app. You'll submit handwritten in-class exercises by taking a photo or scanning your work and uploading it via Google Classroom. Photos are OK but scans are better because a scanning app will straighten the image, convert it to black and white, increase its contrast, and allow multiple pages to be combined into one document. If you already have a scanning app, it will probably be fine. If you don't, a good option is Genius Scan. It's free, easy to use, works well, and is available for both iOS and Android.

Daily Exercises: 10% of final grade. These will be given out and done during class. Grading will be almost entirely based on effort: 9 points for an honest attempt or 10 points for a correct answer. However, if you don't try it or don't submit a response you'll get a 0.

Weekly Exercises: 15% of final grade. Grading will be on a 5 point scale: 5 for excellent work, 4 for good, 3 for an honest attempt and 0 otherwise. You'll need to do the exercises in order to do well on the exams. The exercises can be done in groups; more on that below.

Policy Memos: 25% of final grade. Twice during the semester the weekly assignment will be to write a two-page policy memo on a specified economic issue. The first memo will ask you about an issue previously discussed in class and will be graded mostly on the quality of your exposition. The second memo will ask you to evaluate a policy problem on your own, and will be graded on the quality of your analysis as well as your exposition. As described under Using AI Tools below, AI may be used on the memos for specific purposes. The weights of the memos and their tentative due dates are listed below.

Exams: 50% of final grade. The dates of the exams are listed below. The exams are weighted equally and the final will focus mostly on material in the last third of the course rather than covering the entire semester.

Daily Exercises: Working in groups is encouraged on the daily exercises: that will make them more fun and less frustrating.

Weekly Exercises: Working in groups of up to three people is also encouraged on weekly exercises. If you work in a group, please be sure to note all of your collaborators on your assignment. Also, it's OK to submit a single answer for the whole group. Please don't share answers between groups, although it's OK to talk about the exercises with people outside your group in broad terms.

Policy Memos: On the memo assignments, you may do the analysis (e.g., calculations) with a group but you must write the memo individually. The exposition, from overall structure down to the actual text, should be yours, although as noted below you may use AI for some purposes. If you have any questions about this rule, please don't hesitate to ask.

Exams: Working in groups is absolutely prohibited on exams: that work must be yours alone.

Artificial intelligence tools may be used in certain assignments but not others. Please follow the guidelines below. Check with me if you have any questions.

Prohibited uses: exams, daily assignments, and weekly assignments.

AI will not be available during the exams, which will be done in class using pencil and paper with only calculators allowed. People with accommodations that allow them to take the exams elsewhere will be subject to the same rules. AI is not allowed on the daily and weekly exercises because they are intended as practice for the exams.

Allowed use: memos, under the rules given below.

All memos must include an "AI Disclosure" heading at the top whether or not AI was used. It should be after the To, From, Date and Subject headings. If no AI was used, please indicate that. Otherwise, give the name of the tool used and indicate the purpose.

AI may not be used to carry out the analysis in a memo assignment but it may be used to improve the memo's exposition (grammar, spelling, word choice, logical order, and so on). Examples of permissible expositional uses include: composing a first draft from an outline; refining the wording of specific paragraphs; making the text clearer and more concise; or polishing the memo at the end. However, any use of AI is subject to the following stipulations:

1. You agree to include the disclosure heading if you subsequently submit the memo to a potential employer or other party as a writing sample.
   
   
2. AI may only be used to improve the exposition, not to add any detail. In particular, the memo must be carefully vetted to make sure that the AI tool does not hallucinate or add any material or information beyond what was given in the assignment. Any added material will be subject to a significant penalty.

The penalties in the second rule are serious and there for an important reason: in the future it will be your professional responsibility to understand and be able to defend anything you write, and you'll need to avoid letting an AI add anything that might not be true.

Moreover, in this context you should not let an AI add anything beyond the specific details in the assignment and your results, even if you know the AI's addition to be true. That's because the purpose of the memos in this class is to help you practice summarizing the results of an economic analysis that you've done clearly and concisely. They are not intended as open-ended research papers.

All graphs and diagrams for the exercises and exams can be drawn by hand. They should be neat and scaled appropriately, so it's probably a good idea to use graph paper. Figures in the memos showing numerical results should be drawn using Excel or a similar program.

As a pre-eminent and inclusive student-focused research institution, Syracuse University considers academic integrity at the forefront of learning, serving as a core value and guiding pillar of education. Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy provides students with the necessary guidelines to complete academic work with integrity throughout their studies. Students are required to uphold both course-specific and university-wide academic integrity expectations such as crediting your sources, doing your own work, communicating honestly, and supporting academic integrity. The full Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy can be found by visiting https://class.syr.edu, selecting, “Academic Integrity,” and “Expectations and Policy.”

Upholding Academic Integrity includes the protection of faculty’s intellectual property. Students should not upload, distribute, or share instructors’ course materials, including presentations, assignments, exams, or other evaluative materials without permission. Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g., Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others, which are then presented as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and may be classified as a Level 3 violation. All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person assignments, quizzes, and exams also apply online.

Students found in violation of the policy are subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined by the School or College where the course is offered. Students may not drop or withdraw from courses in which they face a suspected violation. Any established violation in this course may result in course failure regardless of violation level.

Based on the specific learning outcomes and assignments in this course, artificial intelligence is permitted on assignments as described in the section on "Using AI Tools". Any AI use beyond that which is described in that section is explicitly prohibited except when documented permission is granted.

Syracuse University values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to a climate of mutual respect and full participation. There may be aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion and full participation in this course. I invite any student to contact me to discuss strategies and/or accommodations (academic adjustments) that may be essential to your success and to collaborate with the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) in this process.

If you would like to discuss disability-accommodations or register with CDR, please visit Center for Disability Resources. Please call (315) 443-4498 or email disabilityresources@syr.edu for more detailed information. The CDR is responsible for coordinating disability-related academic accommodations and will work with the student to develop an access plan. Since academic accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact CDR as soon as possible to begin this process.

SU religious observances notification and policy, found at the URL below, recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holidays according to their tradition.  Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the end of the second week of classes for regular session classes and by the submission deadline for flexibly formatted classes. If you prefer, however, you can notify me directly by email. In either case, just check with me and we'll work out an arrangement that fits your schedule. More information is available https://chapel.syracuse.edu/spiritual-life/religious-observances-policy/.

The University does not discriminate and prohibits harassment or discrimination related to any protected category including creed, ethnicity, citizenship, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, gender, pregnancy, disability, marital status, age, race, color, veteran status, military status, religion, sexual orientation, domestic violence status, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression or perceived gender.

Any complaint of discrimination or harassment related to any of these protected bases should be reported to Sheila Johnson-Willis, the University’s Chief Equal Opportunity & Title IX Officer. She is responsible for coordinating compliance efforts under various laws including Titles VI, VII, IX and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. She can be contacted at Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Resolution Services, 005 Steele Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-1120; by email: titleix@syr.edu; or by telephone: 315-443-0211.

Mental health and overall well-being are significant predictors of academic success. As such it is essential that during your college experience you develop the skills and resources effectively to navigate stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. Please familiarize yourself with the range of resources the Barnes Center provides (https://ese.syr.edu/bewell/) and seek out support for mental health concerns as needed. Counseling services are available 24/7, 365 days, at 315-443-8000.