Required Course for MPM students Prerequisites: Admission to 20-803 Economic Principles of Policy Analysis requires that a student satisfactorily complete the mini course, 20-000 Quantitative Methods Foundations (No tuition is charged for this course and no academic credit is awarded). An alternative is to demonstrate quantitative competence by achieving a satisfactory score on a test of quantitative competence. This requirement is effective for all students who begin the MPM program in the 1998 fall semester and after. It is also highly recommended for students enrolled prior to the 1998 fall semester, but not required. The course will introduce you to the basic concepts and tools of economics. With these tools we will first attempt to understand how market economics work (and when and where they might not). In so doing, we will also discuss applications of these tools and concepts to public policy issues in topics such as regulation (should the cables rates be regulated?), and employment (why do markets economies have recessions and what can the government do about it?). By the end of the term you should have: 1. Developed an understanding of basic economic concepts and tools such as opportunity cost, comparative advantage, supply and demand, GNP, and fiscal & monetary policy. 2. Developed an ability to apply these tools to public policy problems 3. Developed an ability to critically analyze economic arguments put forward in public policy debates. For instance, you should be able to read and understand the more general material in the economics section of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or a comparable publication.