Harvard Summer School

Summer 2018

ECON S-1615 Managerial Economics

Instructor: Dr. Aleksandar (Sasha) Tomic
Class Time: Tuesday/Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30pm
Classroom: Sever Hall 106
Office Hours: by appointment
E-mail: taleksa@gmail.com
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*This is a draft syllabus. Instructor reserves the right to change it as circumstances warrant.

Course Description:

This course provides an overview of economic tools and analytic approaches available to
the manager for business decision making. It includes such topics as pricing, forecasting,
demand analysis, production and cost analysis, and macroeconomic policy as it affects
the business environment. The purpose of this course is to develop an economic
perspective that is appropriate for students aspiring to manage business units or entire
companies in a wide variety of industries. Students can count ECON S-1615 or ECON E-
1600, but not more than one of these, toward a degree or certificate.

Objectives:

This is a course in applied microeconomics. The purpose of this course is to develop an

economic perspective that will be appropriate for the students aspiring to manage
business units or entire companies in a wide variety of industries.

Microeconomics is the foundation of all economic analysis. This course will present the
basic postulates of microeconomics and illustrate the widespread implications of these
postulates when we examine real world situations. The goal of this course is to have
every student “thinking like an economist” and feeling comfortable enough with
microeconomics to apply it in all walks of their lives. More formally, the objectives
include

1. Develop tools for useful business decision-making;

2. Conduct a detailed examination of price theory and consumer

choice;

3. Examine market structure and performance;

4. Discuss the welfare properties of different market outcomes;

5. Consider business problems from an economic perspective.

Prerequisites:

ECON S-10a or the equivalent.

Text (Required):

McGuigan, Moyer, and Harris: Managerial Economics: Applications, Strategy, and

Tactics, 14th ed., Cengage, 2017. ISBN-10: 1305506383 ISBN-13:
9781305506381 (MMH)

Maital, Shlomo: Executive Economics: Ten Essential Tools for Managers. Free Press,
2011. ISBN 9781451631593 (SM)

Grading and Exams:

Your grade in this course is based on weekly assignments (25%), a case study (25%),
midterm (20%) and a final examination (30%).

My grading range is the following:

Total Points Grade

100-90 A
89-85 B+
84-80 B
79-75 C+
74-70 C
70-60 D
59 or below F

Weekly assignments: These assignments will consist of a case exercise from one of the
chapters covered during the week. You are expected to work on the case exercise on
your own, and your work is due by start of class on the date indicated on the syllabus.
Exact exercises will be assigned at conclusion of each session. There will be a 10-point
penalty for each 24-hour period that the exam is past due.

Case Study: Information on the case study will be distributed in class. It will be due by
start of class on August 2nd, and it will be a team effort. You will have to present your
findings on August 2nd.

Exams: The midterm and final exams will be a multiple choice exams that you will
complete on dates indicated below. More details will be presented in class.

NOTE ON GRADUATE CREDIT: If you are taking the course for graduate credit,
exams will also contain some problems in addition to multiple choice questions.
Requirements for case studies will differ as well.
Academic Integrity:

You are responsible for understanding Harvard Summer School policies on academic
integrity (http://www.summer.harvard.edu/policies/student-responsibilities) and how to
use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding the rules, running out
of time, submitting the wrong draft, or being overwhelmed with multiple demands are not
acceptable excuses. To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit
the Resources to Support Academic Integrity
(http://www.summer.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources-supportacademic-
integrity) where you will find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two free
online 15-minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The
tutorials are anonymous open-learning tools.

University Policy for Students with Disabilities:

The Summer School is committed to providing an accessible academic community. The

Accessibility Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students with
documented disabilities. Please visit
http://www.summer.harvard.edu/resourcespolicies/accessibility-services for more
information.

Course Outline:

Date Topic Covered Reading Assignment

June 26th Introduction to Econ. MMH: Chptrs 1 and 2

SM Chapter 1

June 28th Demand Analysis MMH: Chapter 3,

SM Chapter 8

July 3rd Estimating Demand MMH: Chapter 4

Business Forecasting MMH: Chapter 5
Assignment I due

July 5th Managing in Global Economy MMH: Chapter 6

July 10th Production MMH: Chapter 7

SM: Chapters 5- 7
Assignment II due

July 12th Costs MMH: Chptrs 8 and 9

SM: Chapters 2 - 4
July 17th MIDTERM
July 19th Perfect and Monopolistic Competition MMH: Chapter 10

July 24th Monopoly and Dominant Firm MMH: Chapter 11

Oligopoly MMH: Chapter 12

SM: Chapter 10
Assignment III due

July 26th Organization and Governance MMH: Chapter 15

Government Regulation MMH: Chapter 16

July 31st Investment Analysis MMH: Chapter 17

SM: Chapter 9

August 2nd Case Study Due and Presentations

August 7th FINAL EXAM