EC 110 Section 010: Prin Of Microeconomics
Fall 2011
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Kevin Pflum
Core Designation: University Honors, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Syllabus subject to change.
The topics in this course cover supply and demand for goods and services, taxes, and market structure. This course is not a mathematically challenging course, however it will make extensive use of graphs and graphical analysis to illustrate the economic concepts.
The purpose of this course is to serve as an introduction to economic theory and practice. This is a first course in economics so emphasis will be placed on learning how to think "like an economist," that is, how to analytically approach the problems and issues when examining human behavior and scarcity of resources. The topics in this course cover supply and demand for goods and services, taxes, and market structure. This course is not a mathematically challenging course, however it will make extensive use of graphs and graphical analysis to illustrate the economic concepts. We have a lot of ground to cover in this course and much of the material builds upon itself so make sure you do not fall behind and make sure you get help as soon as you feel you are falling behind.
This schedule is subject to change at my discretion.
Week 1: Introduction to Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapters 1 and 2
Week 2: Production Possibilities Frontiers/Opportunity Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 3
Week 3: Supply and Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 4
Week 4: Supply and Demand/Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .Chapters 4 and 5
Week 5: Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5
(09/26) Midterm Exam 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. .Covers Chapters 1-5,7
Week 6: Market Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 7
Week 7: Welfare Analysis: Taxation . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 8 and 12
Week 8: International Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 9
Week 9: Externalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10
Week 10:Public Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 11
(10/29) Midterm Exam 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .Covers Chapters 6,8-11,13
Week: 11 The Costs of Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 13
Week: 12 Competitive Markets and Monopoly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Chapters 14 and 15
Week: 13 Monopoly and Oligopoly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Chapters 15 and 16
Week: 14 Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Chapters 16 and 17
Week: 15 Antitrust Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . Not in the Book
(TBD) Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . Covers Chapters 12 - 18
Assignments: All assignments will be done using Aplia. All assignments will be due on a Monday at 9am, at which time Aplia automatically grades them. I've also included a number of practice problem sets on Aplia. You will not receive a grade for these, but I encourage you to work through them to reinforce your understanding of the course material and to practice for the exams.
Exam Policy:
1. There are no make-up exams (or early exams) for missed midterms. If you must miss a midterm because of illness or other unavoidable circumstances, you will receive the score of the second midterm in place of the first or one-half of the score of the fi nal in place of the second midterm. The final is not comprehensive and carries the same weight as the midterms. The fi nal will be the week of December 12-15. The speci c date TBD.
2. Calculators are not permitted.
3. Answers to exams will be e-mailed to you shortly after the exam is over.
4. Although I always do my best to eliminate ambiguities from the exam questions, they will sometimes slip by me. In fact, if a multiple choice exam question is not to be a give-away, more than one answer must have an element of truth in it. One answer, however, should be better than the others. Therefore, you are instructed to choose the one best answer to all questions. Credit will only be given for this one best answer. I appreciate your tolerance of this.
Your fi nal course grade will be based on the following weighting scheme:
10 Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Midterm 1 (09/26) . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%
Midterm 2 (10/29) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%
Final (TBD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%
There are no make-up exams (or early exams) for missed midterms. If you must miss a midterm because of illness or other unavoidable circumstances, you will receive the score of the second midterm in place of the fi rst or one-half of the score of the fi nal in place of the second midterm. The fi nal is not comprehensive and carries the same weight as the midterms. The fi nal will be the week of December 12-15. The speci c date TBD.
During the course, you will be required to complete homework assignments found on the APLIA WEBSITE (http://www.aplia.com). You can purchase an online version of your textbook along with access to Aplia for $90. If you would also like a hardback version of the textbook, you can buy the textbook with Aplia access for $142.50. Alternatively, if you want to borrow a friend's book or buy a used one, you can purchase an Aplia Access Card at the local bookstore for $76.50. The Aplia course-key is: Q6LA-TDVA-9ULU. Once you sign into Aplia make sure that you choose the correct section. This course is Section 10.
Course documents such as this syllabus and an Aplia instruction sheet are all available on the course's website.
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The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
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