UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

(All rights reserved)

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES

FIRST SEMESTER 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR

COURSE SYLLABUS

ECON 101: INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS I (3 CREDITS)

Lecture Periods and Venues: Mon 13.30-15.20 (JQB14), Group A: Wed 7.30 – 9.20 (CC), and Group
B: Friday 13.30-15.20 - NNB3.

Course Instructors: Dr. Iddisah Sulemana

Dr. Richard Ayisi
Dr. William Bekoe/Mr. David Tanoh Aduhene

Teaching Assistants
TBA

Course Overview
Like other subjects, economics has diverse fields. However, two major fields have been distinguished –
Microeconomics (the economic analyses of individual economic agents or units such as the consumer,
firm or government) and Macroeconomics (the economic analyses of aggregate economic phenomena
such as Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, inflation, etc.). The former is the focus of this course
while the latter will be taught in the second semester. Thus, in this course, we will discuss economic
issues from a microscopic perspective. We shall cover such concepts as opportunity cost, production
possibility frontier, demand and supply and their concomitant equilibrium price and quantity
determination, and the basic theory of consumer behavior. We will then turn to the theory of the firm by
examining production and cost functions in both the short-run and long-run as well as profit
maximization/cost minimization behaviors of firms under four market structures (i.e., perfect
competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly).

Course Objective/Goals:
The overarching objective of this course is to introduce to students the basic concepts of economics
along with the simplest tools used in analyzing microeconomic problems. The course is intended to
equip students with tools that will help them “think like and as economists.”

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Learning Outcomes
After successfully taking this class, students would be able to, inter alia, do the following:
 Understand and be familiar with basic theories and concepts in economics.
 Derive market demand and supply functions, and demonstrate their understanding of how markets
clear through the interaction of demand and supply.
 Show graphically and algebraically how firms respond to changing demand and costs.
 Distinguish income effect from substitution effect, comparative advantage from absolute
advantage, accounting profit from economic profit etc.
 Show graphically and algebraically the consequences of government intervention in the form of
price controls and indirect taxes.

Course Delivery:
In general, the course delivery will be primarily by lecture sessions, each lasting for about two hours.
However, the course Teaching Assistants (TAs) will organize and deliver tutorial sessions to support
student learning. These sessions tend to be extremely beneficial. As a result, students are highly
encouraged to attend them as regularly as possible.

Plagiarism policy
The University of Ghana takes plagiarism in any form as a very serious and unacceptable offence.
Accordingly, appropriate sanctions, as stipulated in the Plagiarism Policy, will be applied when students
are found to have violated the Plagiarism Policy. The policy is available at
http://www.ug.edu.gh/aqau/policies-guidelines. ALL students are expected and encouraged to
familiarize themselves with the contents of the Policy.
Assessment and Grading
Evaluation will be based on continuous assessment (30%) and end of semester examination (70%).
Further details of continuous assessment and the end of semester examination will be given in class
during the course of the semester.

Grading Scale:
The table below shows the grades, marks, grade points and the interpretations of the course grades.
Letter Grade Marks Grade Point Interpretation
A 80 - 100 4.0 Outstanding
B+ 75 – 79 3.5 Very good
B 70 - 74 3.0 Good
C+ 65 – 69 2.5 Fairly good
C 60 – 64 2.0 Average
D+ 55 – 59 1.5 Below Average
D 50 - 54 1.0 Marginal Pass
E 45 – 49 0.5 Unsatisfactory
F 0 - 44 0 Fail

Reading List /Required Text

There are many good textbooks available on Introductory Economics. However, no single text is
available in sufficient quantities to serve all students as the prescribed text for the course. Furthermore,
the materials to be covered in the course can be found in any good introductory book on Economics.
Nonetheless, some of the very useful textbooks available at Balm Library (Main University Library)
include the following:
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 1. Mankiw, G. (2012). Principles of Economics (6th Edition), South Western.
2. Begg. D., Fischer, S. & Dornbusch, R. (2003), Economics, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill.
3. Lipsey R. G. & Chrystal, K. A. (2004). Economics, 10th Edition, Oxford University Press.
4. Bade, R. & Parkin, M. (2009). Foundations of Microeconomics, 4th Edition, Pearson Education
Inc., Boston.
5. Hall, R.E. & Lieberman, M. (2008). Economics: Principles and Applications (4th Edition),
Thomson/South Western.

Other Information
Studies have shown that academic performance is positively correlated with class attendance and
participation. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to attend classes regularly and punctually. You
should read the relevant topics prior to coming to class. Unruly behaviors such as mobile phone use in
class or taking of pictures or videos that distracts you or others will not be tolerated. Laptops and other
learning devices are allowed insofar as they are used for the purposes of this class.

COURSE DELIVERY SCHEDULE

Week Topic Readings Instructor
1 The Ten Principles of Economics Chapter 1 Dr. Sulemana

2 Thinking Like an Economist Chapter 2 Dr. Sulemana

3 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand Chapter 4 Dr. Sulemana

4 Elasticity and Its Application Chapter 5 Dr. Sulemana

5 Supply, Demand and Government Policies Chapter 6 Dr. Bekoe/Mr.

Aduhene
6 Consumers, Producers and the Efficiency of Chapter 7 Dr. Bekoe/Mr.
Markets Aduhene
7 Mid-Semester Exams – October 15
8 The Theory of Consumer Choice Chapter 21 Dr. Bekoe/Mr.
Aduhene
9 Theory of Production (The Cost of Production) Chapter 13 Dr. Bekoe/Mr.
Aduhene
10 Theory of Cost (The Cost of Production) Chapter 13 Dr. Ayisi

11 Firms in Competitive Markets Chapter 14 Dr. Ayisi

12 Monopoly Chapter 15 Dr. Ayisi

13 Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly Chapter 16 & Dr. Ayisi

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14 Revision Week
15-16 First Semester Examinations