Course Outline Econ 337: Economic History of the United States Winter 2014 Vancouver School of Economics, UBC

Instructor: Class Times: Class Location: Email: Office Hours: Office: TA: Email: Office Hours: Office: Marina Adshade Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 3:30 Chemistry D200 marina.adshade@ubc.ca Tuesday and Thursday 9:15 10:45 Buchanan Tower #626 Sarah Zehner snzehner@gmail.com Monday and Wednesday 3-4pm Brock Hall Annex #2363

Description: If you follow world events, you have probably wondered at some point in time: How did the United States of American arrive where it is today? Growing from an extremely poor and sparsely populated land into the wealthiest nation on earth, America is a colonial success story. But there is more to the story than economic growth; poverty, inequality, racial conflict, declining fertility, violence, and economic instability are outcomes of economic decisions that were made in the past. Over the course of this term we will talk about the characteristics of the US economy that can be credited for its exceptional historic economic growth with an eye to understand its current economic conditions. Approach to learning: Rather than walk you through half a millennium of American history, this class will break down the individual components of the US economy that have contributed to its long run growth trajectory. Material will be based on published economic history literature that is available to you via the UBC library website. All lectures will be taught under the assumption that you have completed the required reading in advance of class. This approach will give us the opportunity to move beyond a simple discussion of historical events and to examine the economic mechanisms that have contributed to Americas historic economic success. Evaluation: Your progress in this class will be measured three ways: 1. Pop quizzes (given without warning) that test your understanding the material in the required reading for that lecture. These quizzes will be short (approximately five minutes) and will be given eight times over the term. Two written projects, one in the first half and one in the second half of the term, with instructions posted on Connect well in advance of the due date. A comprehensive final exam given at a time and date determined by the university.

2. 3.

The weight of the individual components in the final grade is as follows: Quizzes (6/8)..18%

Written projects (2)....37% Final Exam..45% Materials: There is no required textbook for this course. You will be given references to the papers you must read in advance of class. I will give instructions on the first day of class on how to access these papers through the UBC library. Occasionally I will post links to online articles and videos within the lecture notes. Policy on phone / laptop use in the classroom: Phones and laptops may not be used in the classroom under any circumstances. Please leave them in your bag during the lecture to avoid time-consuming interruptions to the lecture. Schedule: This schedule is tentative and subject to change as we progress through the term. January 7 January 9/14 January 16/21 January 23/28 January 30 February 4/6 February 11 February 13 February 17-21 February 25/27 March 4 February 27 March 4/6 March 11 March 13/18 March 20 March 25/27 March 1 April 3 April 8 Welcome / Introduction US Historic Growth Introduction to the Neoclassical Growth Model Economic Institutions Technology Innovation and Adoption Education and Human Capital Population and Fertility Slavery Property Rights and Land Allocation / First Term Project Due Reading Week Trade and Globalization Unionization Infrastructure Investment Industrialization Women in the Workforce Money and Banking Culture and Religion Natural Resources: Oil and Gold Conflict Government Inequality / Second Term Project Due

Penalty for late/missed work: Your final quiz grade will consist of your top six (out of eight) marks to take into consideration that there are sometimes legitimate reasons why you might be late for, or absent, from class. No explanations for absences are required and no special consideration, with respect to the grading, will be given for missed quizzes. Assignment grades will have 33 percentage points deducted for every 24-hour period late. If you cannot complete an assignment due to illness or a recognized emergency please notify me in advance of the assignment due date so that alternative arrangements can be made. Statement on academic honesty: All students are personally responsible for familiarising themselves with the standards for academic honesty at the University of British Columbia. These policies can be found at: http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/student-

responsibilities/academic-honesty-standards. Please speak to me if you have any questions regarding the standard for academic honesty at the university.