Tentative 01/09/2006

Economics 2302 Principles of Microeconomics

Spring 2006 University of Texas at Dallas
Professor: Isaac McFarlin
Office: Green Hall, Rm. GR3.816
Phone: (972) 883-4761
E-mail: imcfarlin@utdallas.edu (Not via WebCT)
Course website: http://www.utdallas.edu/~imcfarlin
Lecture: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30am – 10:45am in CB1.104
Office hours: Tuesday 11:00am – noon and by appointment.
Teaching Assistant (TA): Shak Shivashankara
TA Office: Green Hall, Rm. GR2.816
TA Phone: (972) 883-4914
TA Office hours: Wednesday, 3:30 - 5:00pm and by appointment.
TA Discussion session: Friday 10:00am – 11:00am, xxx.xx
TA E-mail: sts051000@utdallas.edu
Course Description: Microeconomics is the study of how individuals, firms, and the government
interact within the context of markets to determine how scarce resources are allocated. In this
introductory level course, we will focus on the development of economic models that can be used
to analyze these interactions. Topics covered will include supply and demand analysis, production
analysis, market outcomes under different assumptions regarding the degree of competition, and
the effects of government policies such as taxes, subsidies, and price controls. The information in
this course is important to know for anyone considering further study in economics, business, and
other social sciences.
Prerequisites: College algebra. Students should be comfortable using equations, graphs, and
tables for this course. Modern economics is very much a quantitative social science. It is essential
that you be comfortable with doing math at a college algebra level. If you cannot, and you do not
seek remedial assistance, it is likely that you will do poorly or even fail this course! Many errors
on assignments occur from improper execution of basic algebra: order of operations, powers,
roots, and equations. You can test your ability by working through the first problem set, which is
posted on the course website. If you need remedial assistance, then it’s important to ask early in
the semester.

Required Readings:
1. Karl Case and Ray Fair, Principles of Microeconomics, 7th edition (ISBN: 013144283X).
2. Newspaper and magazine articles and handouts distributed in class on the website.

Recommended Readings:
1. Thomas Beveridge, Principle of Microeconomics (Study Guide).

Requirements: The course grade is based on individual performance on in-class quizzes (25%),
two midterm exams (20% each) and final exam (35%). The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
Extra credit opportunity based on attendance also exists. There will be no other extra credit
opportunities.

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Grade Structure: Throughout the term, you will accumulate points toward your final course
grade. The final grade will take the form of a number between 0 and 106 percent, based on your
course work and attendance bonus points. The final grade will not be rounded. Letter grades will
be assigned as follows:
93.00 – 106.0 % … A 73.00 – 77.99 % … C
90.00 – 92.99 % … A- 70.00 – 72.99 % … C-
88.00 – 89.99 % … B+ 68.00 – 69.99 % … D+
83.00 – 87.99 % … B 63.00 – 67.99 % … D
80.00 – 82.99 % … B- 60.00 – 62.99 % … D-
78.00 – 79.99 % … C+ 59.99 – 0.00 % … F

There will be mutual gains from you working hard so that neither of us has to feel bad, me from
having to give low grades, you from receiving them. I try to be fairly laid back about many things
but there are issues where I am very strict. If you deserve a bad grade, I will get over feeling bad
for long enough to give you what you earned. On every test, I want to see your UTD student ID
on your desk with your picture showing. I realize these are embarrassing pictures, and the TAs
and I will do our best not to laugh at them, at least until later. However, the misbehavior of some
students in my class has made this necessary. If you forget your ID card, you can return to your
room or home to get it, but the time you use for this will be time lost for the purpose of taking the
test.

Attendance/Class Participation: Attendance is strongly correlated with success in the course.

An attendance sheet will be circulated each class period for your signature. There are a total of 28
class meetings scheduled, including exam days. If you attend 27 or more scheduled meetings, you
qualify for 6 bonus points to your final course grade! If you attend 26 meetings, you qualify for 3
bonus points. If you attend 25 meetings or less, you receive no bonus points. A signed attendance
sheet is valid only if you attend the full class period. Do not come to class late or leave class early
and expect to sign the attendance sheet. The attendance policy is “no fault.” With the exception of
university closings, one is never excused for missing a class meeting. If there is a closing, then
the next scheduled meeting will be used to cover the missed lecture. Perhaps more importantly,
the material in this class is inherently cumulative, and falling behind can be devastating. Thus, it
is important to keep up with the material and come to class regularly, prepared to ask questions.
During class, don’t be afraid to make me stop, back up, and clarify a concept before moving on.
Problem Sets: Students will be assigned problem sets periodically, which are available on the
course website. While the problem sets will not be graded, it is important to work through
all exercises to gain a deeper understanding of the material. Learning economics involves
practice. If you are to become proficient users of economics, then working through homework is
essential.

Quizzes: Quizzes will reflect both the lectures and the material covered in the problem sets.
Quizzes will be held 2 to 3 lectures after problem sets are distributed. I will announce exact dates
in class. Quizzes count toward 25 percent of your course grade. A grade of zero will be earned if
a quiz is missed. The lowest quiz score will be dropped in computing the final course grade; this
is a “no fault” policy. Therefore, if you miss a single quiz due to illness, you won’t be penalized.
Use this “safety net” wisely. There will be no make-up quizzes.

Midterms: The midterms are given in class and are tentatively scheduled on Thursday,
February 23rd and Tuesday, April 4th. These dates should be assumed fixed unless I announce
changes to the schedule through an in-class announcement. Each midterm counts toward 20
percent of the course grade.

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Final Exam: The final exam is mandatory for all students. The final for this course has been
scheduled by the registrar for Thursday, April 27, at 8:00am in CB1.104. This time is fixed and
will not change. Do not register for this course if you cannot make the final exam. The final will
cover work from the entire course. There is no way to make up the final. It counts toward 35
percent of your course grade.
Contacting Professor/TA: My office hours are Tuesdays from 11:00am to 12:00pm and also by
appointment. If you cannot make my regularly scheduled hours, it is your responsibility to
schedule time to find time to meet me. Having other obligations during my office hours is not an
excuse. If you want to schedule an appointment, contact me via e-mail (imcfarlin@utdallas.edu)
or talk to me after class about the issue or to discuss a mutually agreeable time. When e-mailing,
be sure to state your full name and course name, as I teach multiple courses. Please do not
contact me via WebCT. I will not receive your messages via this system. The teaching
assistant’s contact information is listed above.
Showing Your Work & Partial Credit (Sloppiness): On all assignments, quizzes, and exams
for this class, it’s imperative that all steps be shown (i.e., calculations). To receive any credit for
an answer, all work must be shown. If you only provide the “final” answer, you will not
receive any credit for the answer. If I cannot read your answer, follow the steps that you
have taken, and clearly see how you arrived at your answer, you will not receive any credit
for the answer.
Provided you have shown your work, your answer will be considered correct if it is within
rounding error of the answer I have calculated on the key. Incorrect answers receive no credit.
Partial credit for wrong answers is given in only one case, that of “serial” questions, in which
your answer to one question is used in another. If you get the first question wrong, you will get
the second one wrong, too. Showing your work will enable me to see that you only got the
second question wrong because of your errors in the first one, and you will receive full
credit for that subsequent question.
Make-Up Policy: No make-up quizzes or midterm exams will be scheduled. You will be
required to present WRITTEN documentation concerning the excuse, which I will dutifully
verify. Students who miss an exam without submitting a valid excuse beforehand will receive a
score of zero. The final exam, which is comprehensive, will serve as the make-up exam for
midterms. Missed quizzes will receive a score of zero.
Disputing Exam/Quiz Score: If you have questions about your examination, please contact me
or your teaching assistant. Regrading requests must be submitted in writing within 1 week after
exams have been distributed in class, even if you are absent. Be certain to review your exam in
full, as the entire exam/quiz will be reevaluated.
Incompletes: Please note that the university requires that you have completed at least 70% of the
course material to be eligible for a grade of incomplete. Moreover, the incomplete work must be
completed within eight weeks of the original granting of the incomplete. See the course
catalogue.
Discussion Section: The TA for this course will also hold office hours at the time listed above. I
will also try to coordinate a discussion section, where material related to the course is presented
and questions can be answered in a smaller group setting. This section is completely optional, and
in all likelihood, because resources are scarce and student desires are unlimited, everyone will not
be able to attend the section. As benevolent social planner, I will try to accommodate as many
students as possible. If attendance is low, then the section will be canceled.

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Additional Help: A math/economics lab is available to assist students in all undergraduate

economics courses. It will provide help in ECO courses beyond the help provided by the teaching
assistant. The lab is staffed by Lei Zhang and located at GR2.822. Mr. Zhang can be reached at
lxz051000@utdallas.edu. The lab hours are Monday 9-12pm, Tuesday 6-9pm, Wednesday 4-
6pm, Thursday, 7-9pm, and Friday 9-12pm and 2:30 – 4:30pm. For assistance with mathematics
only, you may also visit the UTD Math Lab located in McDermott Library in Room 2.412. The
hours are 10am until 8pm, Monday through Thursday, and by appointment from 10am to 2pm on
Friday.
Academic dishonesty: You simply must do your own work. Cheating on exams and plagiarism
and any other form of scholastic dishonesty is unacceptable. Violations will result in disciplinary
action to the fullest extent of the policy. Detailed explanations are found within the university
catalogue. If uncertain about a contemplated act, consult the policy, or ask me.
Accommodations: If you have a condition that requires accommodations in this course, please
speak with me after class or in office hours during the first week of class. I will be happy to make
appropriate accommodations provided timely notice is received and the arrangement is consistent
with any recommendations from Disability Services, when applicable. Disability Services can be
reached at 972-883-2098 and is located in the Student Union, room 1.610.

Tentative schedule: This schedule is TENTATIVE, subject to change with in-class notification.
I reserve the right to change dates for lectures, quizzes, exams, and assignments from those
shown below. All changes will be announced in class. It is your responsibility to listen for them
or consult a classmate, if absent. Readings listed below are from the text and articles and are to
have been read by the respective class date.

Dates Topics Case & Fair Chap. Complete Prob. Set

Jan 10 Organizational meeting
Jan 12 Introduction 1 1
Jan 16 No Class: MLK Day
Jan 17, 19 Opportunity Cost 2
Article: “Aids in India”
Jan 24, 26, 31 Supply, Demand, & Equilibrium 3 2
Feb 2, 7, 9 Demand & Supply Applications 4
Article: "Medical Malpractice"
Feb 14, 16 Theory of Consumer Choice 5 3
Feb 23 Midterm #1
Feb 28 The Production Process 6
Mar 2 No Class
Short- & Long-Run Costs &
Mar 14, 16 Output Decisions 7,8 4
Mar 21, 23 Labor & Capital Markets 9,10
Mar 28, 30 General Equilibrium & Efficiency 11 5
Apr 4 Midterm #2
Apr 6, 11 Monopoly 12
Apr 13, 18 Monopolistic Comp & Oligopoly 13 6
Apr 20 Review
Apr 27 Final Exam 8am in CB1.104