Letter 1
From: J Smith
Sent: Sunday, December 1, 2019 1:01 PM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject: Regarding Teaching Intermediate Microeconomics
Hello professor Block
Im due to be running tutorials for intermediate microeconomics here at xyz University for next semester and am wondering how you, as an austrian economist, taught the course.
Being that this is usually the first course mathematics are used at great lengths in the undergraduates economics degree, im wondering how you taught the material?
Best Regards
J Smith
Letter 2
On Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 6:31 PM , <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Yakov:
I teach intermediate micro from a mainstream point of view. And then I add an Austrian critique of indifference curves, cardinal utility, etc.
For example, I use the text by Steven Landsburg, which doesn’t even mention the dread “A” word. If my students go on to grad school, and many of them do, they would be ill prepared if I used Man, Economy and State, or Human Action instead. But, my students do get a lot of Austrian criticisms of mainstream economics during the course. I like to think that this, in addition to teaching them good economics, also helps them grasp the neoclassical analytic framework.
Best regards,
Walter
Letter 3
From: J Smith
Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2019 8:08 PM
To: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Regarding Teaching Intermediate Microeconomics
My TA ship has me running tutorials for classes of 50 students at a time twice a week. I also work for a small Jewish university startup (for lack of better term for the endeavor) here which has partnered with empire state college in NY (apparently its easier to work a program through the states than in canada).
Do you have supplementary slides or materials you can share with me? Im interested in how an austrian work/notes for intermediate micro would look like.
Letter 4
From: Walter Block <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2019 7:32 PM
To: ‘J Smith’
Cc: William Barnett <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Regarding Teaching Intermediate Microeconomics
Dear J:
A lot of the material I use for this sort of thing can be found in this book of mine:
Barnett, William II and Walter E. Block. 2017. Essays in Austrian Economics. New York: Ishi Press; http://www.amazon.com/Essays-Austrian-Economics-William-Barnett/dp/4871873242/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348528287&sr=1-1&keywords=essays+in+Austrian+economics
Best regards,
Walter
3:00 am on April 24, 2020
