Principles of Microeconomics

ECON 2010-300

Fall 2003

 

 

Instructor:  Stephanie Martin                           Office phone:  (303) 492-2648

 

Class Time:  MWF 1:00- 1:50 pm                  Office:  Economics 313

 

Class Location:  MCDB A2B70                     Office Hours:  T,F 9:30-11:00 am

 

Email:  Stephanie.Martin@Colorado.edu  email is my preferred method of contact, please email me with questions or to set up appointments

 

 

Course Description

 

This course is an introduction to the principles and tools of microeconomic analysis.  Despite popular misconceptions, economics is not about the study of money and how to make money.  Sure, we will talk about money in this class as a medium of exchange, but we are really going to be studying a much larger conceptual issue involving how people, firms, and governments make choices.  Specifically, we are going to be interested in how these entities make choices when faced with limited resources.  Our goal will be to develop a clear understanding of the underlying values, incentives, and ultimately choices, that manifest themselves in a variety of economic market structures and to reflect on how this new understanding can help guide us in thinking about a wide variety of public policy issues.   

 

 

Course Text

 

The required text for the course is Microeconomics , 4th Edition by Taylor. 

 

We will study the fundamental economic questions, which face all societies:  What to produce?  How to produce?  And for whom to produce?  But economics really is much broader in scope than this; it is really the study of wise decision-making in all areas of life.  After a brief introduction to the economic ways of thinking, we will study supply and demand.  We will study the workings of several different industry types. Here we will also focus on causes of market failure, examining public goods, and externalities.

 

We will cover a great deal of information, and I strongly urge you to keep up with reading the chapters before we cover them in class and then reread the more difficult concepts again after they have been covered in lecture.  This text is accompanied by a technology package which includes a cd-rom with exercises, a website with tutorials and additional readings and an online tutorial service.  Fully utilizing all of these resources will be the best way to ensure your success in this class.

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Grading

 

Exams

There will be two midterm exams each worth 20%, a final exam worth 40% of your overall class grade.  The final will be cumulative.

THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS FOR MIDTERMS.  If you have a conflict with the final exam date you must contact me for alternate arrangements within the first two weeks of the semester. 

It may be possible to drop one of your midterm grades if your final grade is higher.  Your grade will be calculated as stated and also with your lowest midterm dropped (in this case the final will count for 60% of your grade) and the highest of these two scores will be your final class grade. 

 

Homework: 

There will be several Homeworks assigned throughout the semester and these will be posted on the class website.  The Homeworks will be turned into Lecture on the due date at the top of the homework.  There is NO makeup opportunities for the homework.  They will be posted with ample time for their completion before the due date and there is no excuse for not completing them.  If for any reason you miss lecture on the homework due date you must either send your homework with a classmate or email me your answers Homework will be graded by your TA and will constitute 10% of your class grade. 

 

Recitation: 

Recitation will account for 10% of your class grade.  How your grades are determined in recitation is at the discretion of your Teaching Assistant who should explain this method to you during the first week of recitation.  Please note that there are NO recitations during the first week of classes, and they commence on September 2nd. 

 

 Important Notes :

 

§         It is expected that you understand CU Honor Code and will abide by it. Go to

http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

Honor Code: “On my honor, as a University of Colorado at Boulder student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this work.” 

§         If you have a conflict between religious observance dates and course examinations or assignments, you must notify me two weeks in advance so that your needs may be addressed.

§         If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter to me from Disability Services (DS) early in the semester so that your needs may be addressed.  DS determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671), Willard 322,www.colorado.edu/sacs/disabilityservices).

 

 

Course Outline

 

The outline of topics set below is an ambitious schedule and we may not get to some of the chapters at the end…but we are going to try.  The three dates for exams are set and will not be changed, however, the descriptions below should be thought of as an approximate roadmap of the topics that will be covered on each exam. 

 

Weeks 1-6 (Chapters 1-7)

 

  • The Central Idea
  • Observing and Explaining the Economy
    1. If you have difficulty with graphs pay special attention to the Appendix of this chapter
  • The Supply and Demand Model
  • Elasticity
  • The Demand Curve and the Behavior of Consumers
    1. We will be covering the material in the Appendix of this chapter
  • The supply Curve and the Behavior of Firms
  • The Interaction of People in Markets

 

MID-TERM EXAM I, Wednesday, October 1st

 

Weeks 7-12 (Chapters 8-12)

 

  • Costs and the Changes at Firms over Time
  • The Rise and Fall of Industries
  • Monopoly
  • Product Differentiation, Monoplistic Competition
  • Oligopoly and Strategic Behavior
  • Antitrust Policy and Regulation (if time permits)

 

MID-TERM EXAM II, Friday, November 21st

 

Weeks 13-16(Chapters 15, 13, 14 and 17)

 

  • Public Goods, Externalities, and Government Behavior
  • Environmental Policy (supplemental readings will be posted on my website for this section, as it is not extensively covered in the book)
  • The Labor Market
  • Taxes, Transfers and Income Distribution (if time permits)
  • The Gains from International Trade

 

FINAL EXAM, Tuesday, December 16, 1:30 pm