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Syllabus for Principles of Microeconomics (1209ECON203C901)

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Course Description
An analysis of the economic principles underlying the behavior of individual
consumers and business firms. The goal is to apply select microeconomic
theories to real-world situations. Emphasis is on market theory. Topics
include the implications of government intervention, technological
innovation, the advantages and disadvantages of different market structures,
and income distribution and poverty.
Course Introduction

This class is concerned with the economic method and the fruits of that method. We
will start with a description of the tools of economics, such as basic definitions,
science, logic, and some math. The tools will be discussed in sufficient detail for
students to a good background to continue with the class.

Your study of economics will then move into an extended discussion of consumer
behavior and the law of demand, producer behavior and the law of supply, the firm's
behavior in competitive and imperfectly competitive markets, resource markets, and
market failures.

By applying our economic tool kit, we will be able to analyze and better understand
such issues as profit maximizing behavior, the benefits of competition, as well as
address concerns over government regulation and public choice.
Course Goals/Objectives

After completing this course, you should be able to

1. identify and apply the principles of microeconomics theory that describe personal
and professional economic decision making

2. employ microeconomic theory to better understand the economic behavior of firms
and industries

3. explain the advantages and disadvantages of running a business in different market
structures

4. identify economic principles that influence societal events
Course Materials

McConnell, Brue & Flynn, Microeconomics, Edition 19, McGraw Hill, ISBN
9780077337735
Grading Information

The final grade will consist of the following activities:

40% proctored exam
20% online exam
20% assignments
20% participation

GRADING SCALE

A: 90% - 100% - Outstanding Scholarship
B: 80% - 89% - Excellent Work
C: 70% - 79% - Good Achievement
D: 60% - 69% - Marginal or Unsatisfactory Performance
F(a): Below 60% - Academic Failure
F(n): Failure for Non-Attendance
W: Withdrawal
Project Descriptions

PROCTORED AND ONLINE EXAMS
The proctored exam in Week 8 consists of objective (multiple choice) and short-essay
questions and it is open book, open notes. The format of the online midterm exam is
"take-home exam" and consists entirely of essay questions and/or problems where I
am looking for evidence that you have understood the material, and that you are
capable of thinking critically about that information and applying the basic principles
you have learnt. The essay questions are usually in the format of "Explain how..." or
"Discuss..." or "What is (are)..." or "Why...". To the extent that clear, cogent
explanations depend on language skills, your grammar and sentence skills will be
taken into account. The online midterm exam covers the material from the start of the
course until the day of the exam while the proctored final exam covers the remaining
material until the end of the course.
The subject matter of Economics is cumulative as chapter builds upon chapter. Study
often and thoroughly. It is extremely difficult to catch up if you get behind.

ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments are set on a weekly basis on the material covered the previous week.
They usually consist of end-of-chapter review questions and numerical problems or
assigned reading from a professional journal or newspaper. You don't have to write
long essays. The sole purpose of assignments is to test your understanding on
particular topics. Please be prompt in the submission of your assignments.

PARTICIPATION
Remember that there is a 20% component of the final course grade based on
participation. Please, bare in mind that D.E. is not Independent Study. Apart from
occasional additional assignments, you should, at a minimum, pick up and respond to
messages regularly every week. Your contributions needn't be lengthy essays: try to
emulate how you would contribute to a conversation going on in a live classroom. I
also look for / expect a substantive reply to someone else's work. I'd really like to see
you working with your colleagues in the class rather than carrying out a dialogue with
me.
Simply listening to the conversations does not count as participation. You must write
to get credit. Messages that are administrative in nature ("Can you repost message
16?", "When is our next assignment due?") do not count as substantive contributions
to topics being discussed in class.
And finally, "late" responses to class topics may not count as class participation. I
shall move discussions on, in line with the class schedule, and will cut off discussions
on earlier topics. You need to be on-line on a regular basis in order to participate in a
timely manner.
Course Schedule
Week Session Dates Readings, Assignments, and Due Dates
1
22 - 28
October 2012
Personal introductions, course management issues and
introduction to economics.
2
29 October - 4
November
2012
INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS AND THE ECONOMY
Chapter 1 - Limits, Alternatives and Choices
Chapter 2 - The Market System and the Circular Flow
Assignment # 1 - end of Week 2 (Due end of Week 3)
3
5 - 11
November
2012
INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS AND THE ECONOMY
Chapter 3 - Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium
Chapter 4 - Elasticity
Assignment # 2 - end of Week 3 (Due end of Week 4)
4
12 - 18
November
2012
MICROECONOMICS OF PRODUCT MARKETS
Chapter 5 - Market Failure
Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior
Assignment # 3 - end of Week 4 (Due end of Week 5)
5
19 - 25 MICROECONOMICS OF PRODUCT MARKETS
November
2012
Chapter 7 - Businesses and The Costs of Production
Chapter 8 - Pure Competition in the Short Run
Chapter 9 = Pure Competition in the Long Run
Assignment # 4 - end of Week 5 (Due end of Week 6)
ONLINE MIDTERM EXAM (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6
26 November
- 2 December
2012
MICROECONOMICS OF PRODUCT MARKETS
Chapter 10 - Pure Monopoly
Chapter 11 - Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
Assignment # 5 - end of Week 6 (Due end of Week 7)
PROCTORED EXAM REMINDER
Make an appointment early at the site where you registered
7
3 - 9
December
2012
MICROECONOMICS OF RESOURCE MARKETS
Chapter 12 - The Demand for Resources
Chapter 14 - Rent, Interest and Profit
Assignment # 6 - end of Week 7 (Due end of Week 8)
8
10 - 16
December
2012
MICROECONOMICS OF GOVERNMENT
Chapter 16 - Public Finance: Expenditure and Taxes
Chapter 17 - Asymmetric Information, Voting and Public Choice
PROCTORED EXAM (10 - 16 December)
(Chapters, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17).
9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Additional Information

STATEMENT OF INTENT
This course is not a competition between you and me.
The idea is not that I should put in front you material that is both obscure and difficult
in the hope that I can fail as many of you as possible. With reasonable efforts on all
our parts, mine included, you not only will learn a great deal more about
Macroeconomics than you already know, but you will, I hope, have fun doing so, and
emerge in at the end of the course with greatly increased knowledge and a grade that
we can be both be proud of.

SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS
Please be prompt in the submission of your assignments. Taking into account that
most of you are either on active duty or working, a grace period of 48 hours is
allowed. No further extension will be given unless the delay is due to reasons beyond
your control (hospitalization, illness). After the end of the grace period, you will lose
10 points per late date.
Your responsibility, when you think things are in danger of getting out of hand, is to
keep me informed about what is going on, what the problem is, how long it is likely to
interfere with your ability to concentrate on the course, and so on. I am certain that, in
most cases, some sort of accommodation can be reached which will allow you to
continue and, most importantly, to complete the course satisfactorily, but I must know
what's going on. And I have to hear about such difficulties before any deadlines are
reached, let alone exceeded. So contact me by e-mail, let me know what the problem
is, and we can work something out.
Whatever you do, please don't just drop out of sight. Anyone who fails to turn up over
an extended period (say, a couple of weeks) without clearing the absence with me first
and working out how to keep up with the class in the interim will be urged to
withdraw. Since I, and I hope you, don't want this to happen, I repeat: It's up to you to
keep in touch with me.

PLAGIARISM
Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are not acceptable and will lead to an F(a) grade.
Academic dishonesty means (but is not limited to) getting someone else to prepare
work for you, or helping another person with his/her assigned and examinable work.
Plagiarism means passing off someone else's work as your own, and frequently
involves copying reports or pages directly from other people's Internet sites. You can
avoid this by giving credit where credit is due - record the sources of your work, learn
how to quote properly, and cite the books, articles or web pages you have used for
your information. It may sound like simple manners, but failure to live by the rules
has serious academic consequences. Please read the Academic Policies module on
your Webtycho interface.

CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
Some students don't see the point of participating in conferences.
"Bill and Mary and Richard have already said everything and no-one is interested in
my opinion anyway and I don't see why I should have to participate...."
I've heard it. Modern educational theory argues, however, that collaboration is the
crux of the learning process. Research indicates that students learn more, and better,
and retain knowledge longer, if the learning process is interactive, not just with the
material or instructor, but also with peers. That is the heart of the matter. That is what
the University as an institution is standing firm on. You will learn more and better
when you do not just sit passively and soak up information like sponges; you need to
be active participants in the learning process. I want to hear from you all, even if you
think it has all been said before.
There are different levels or types of interaction. First, you interact with the course
material and subject matter. You also interact formally with the instructor. And you
interact with your colleagues. To ignore one entire third of the process is not on.
Interaction with others is part of the game plan. Articulating your ideas is a means of
getting you to think critically about your work, your ideas, and other people's
attitudes. Even if you believe Mary or Fred has said it all in his/her post, you should
still post your own topic, for your own sake. Getting the idea out of your brain, down
your arm, and onto the page is active learning, even if it's only to say "I agree with
Fred".
Besides "passing the course", you should have several broader objectives in mind - or
at least be aware that faculty have these goals in mind:
Good writing, not just on assignments but in the conferences too, because we are
looking for clear articulation of ideas.
Interaction, not simply for its own sake, but because replying to Bob or Cindy means
thinking about their ideas, synthesizing those ideas, and creating your own ideas in
response.
Participation in group efforts both as a means of developing research skills and as a
way of developing broader management skills.
Academic Policies
Academic Policies are not course specific and are therefore created and housed
separately from this syllabus. You may access and print Academic Policies from the
Syllabus sub-menu in your classroom.

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