Advanced Topics in Microeconomics (OEC15) Course Tips

Struggling in OEC15, or want to learn how to do better? Wondering if OEC15 is a course you might want to take? We interviewed the instructor, Mr. Brege, and here is his advice about success in OEC15, as well as information about the course.

Course Overview

Advanced Topics in Microeconomics (OEC15) is a one-semester (spring) course that introduces students to conducting research in the field of microeconomics. Microeconomics is a field of economics which analyzes economics on an individual level, examining the transactions by, and incentives of, both firms and consumers.

Course Topics

• How research is conducted in the field of economics

  • How do are empirical conclusions made from data?

  • How are theoretical ideas created and justified, without empirical data?

• How the field of economics was created

• The process for the Nobel Prize in Economics, and the winners thereof

• Each week, students read a published paper on economics

• Students are learning to be able to read—and critically consider—economic research

• Students will also just get some exposure to what economic research is out there

Course Format

Work (outside of class) in OEC15 includes:

• There are no tests or quizzes, and most of one’s grade is based on participation and written assignments.

• There are not too many assignments.

• Much of students’ time, in both semesters, will be spent working on a major economic research paper.

  • Topic: Any economics or economics-related topic. A huge range of topics are acceptable!

Course Workload

Advanced Topics in Microeconomics has a relatively normal workload for a High School class at OHS. The workload is estimated to be 4-6 hours per week outside of class based on past students’ reports. However, due to the nature of this course, the time in any given week can often be flexible, with students usually being able to spend more time when they are able and less when they are not. If you are spending significantly more or less time (on average) doing coursework for OEC15 outside of class, it is a good idea to reach out to your instructor.

Available Supports

OEC15 does not have peer tutors. However, the instructor holds office hours a couple times a week. You do not need to have a specific question to attend office hours—your instructor is there anyway, and wants to talk to you!  Whether you have a specific question, want to better understand a concept, or just want to talk about econ in general and explore, office hours are a time for you and whatever you need.

In addition, alumni sometimes volunteer to (informally) do peer tutoring or hold review sessions.

Potential Challenges and What Can Help

Challenges that many students encounter in this course:

• The major paper

  • If you don’t keep up with it as you go along, and try to put it off until you have more time, it will be very hard to get everything done before the deadline

    • If students keep up with each stage and work on it as you go along, you will be fine.

    • But, if students procrastinate, it will be very hard at the end.

  • It’s easy to go down rabbit holes during research—be thorough in your research, but don’t dive down the endless rabbit holes that will present themselves. Sadly, there is not enough time to do all the research you may want to, and keep in mind your other commitments when doing research.

  • Sometimes students get so caught up in their topic that they lose track of the requirements. Being passionate about your topic is amazing, but make sure to still fulfill the requirements.

• Students are really working in the real world on economics in this course, reading real-world papers.

  • The papers students read are complicated and technical! They can be hard to get through and understand sometimes.

What can help:

• Attending office hours—your instructor is there to help!

• You can get help from the Writing and Tutoring Center on the writing parts of the course, like the major paper. While they may not know the specifics of economics, they know how to help with writing, and they are a great resource.

The list of challenging topics is meant to be a guide for where problem points may arise, so that you can best direct your study efforts and be prepared.