Econ 102 Syllabus - Fall 2009

Grand View College Syllabus Economics 102 — Principles of Microeconomics Fall 2009 October 20, 2009 Department and Course: ECON 102 Course Title: Principles of Microeconomics Academic Term: Fall 2009, Section II Class Times: Tuesday and Thursdays, 5:45p – 8:00p Instructor: Tom Schenk Telephone Number: 515-481-0774 Email: [email protected]

Academic Major Goals and Objectives 1. Demostrate abilities to conduct research to access relevant information and then communicate the results of the research to others in written and oral format. 2. Demonstrate abilities to work in a team environment, as a leader and as a follower, to generate solutions to specific situations. 3. Develop skills in analyzing business situations and recommend courses of action that show a thorough understanding of the internal and external envorments.

Instructional Objectives ∙ Learning as Knowledge 1. Identify the definition(s) of economics and microeconomics. 2. Identify the basic principles of the law of supply, law of demand, and market equilibrium. 3. Identify and understand the basic types of market structures and economic properties of each structure.

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4. Understand the economy as a system. ∙ Learning as Process or Behavior 1. Relate political economy systems to the U.S. and other economies. 2. Study how the market system allocates products and services to consumers. 3. Apply economic theory in real-world applications 4. Learn how policy affects all the elements of the economy. ∙ Learning as Attitude 1. Appreciate the basic underlying dilemma of economics. 2. Develop an awareness of how economics impacts their daily lives. 3. Appreciate the complex interactions in an economy.

Content Outline ∙ Elements of economics: political economy, science, and moral philosophy ∙ Economic institutions ∙ Trade-offs (opportunity cost) and the formation of an economy ∙ Supply and Demand: individual choice to market equilibrium ∙ Elasticity: the responsiveness of supply and demand ∙ Applications: Taxation and market efficiency ∙ Constructing supply and demand: individual choice and industrial production costs ∙ Market structures: perfect competition, monopoly, and monopolistic competition ∙ A Beautiful Mind: game theory

Instructional Procedures Instructional procedures for this course will include lectures, class discussions, company (group) exercises, case analysis, and individual assignments. Students will successfully pass the class if they aforementioned activities.

Instructional Resources 1. Textbook: Economics by David Colander, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill, Irwin: 2006 ISBN: 0-07-340286-9 2. Periodicals: The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Des Moines Register, New York Times 3. Blogs: See Greg Mankiw, Marginal Revolution, Brad DeLong, EconLog, Economists View, Market Design 4. Other course materials will be distributed via the course website: http://www.tomschenkjr.net.

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Assessment of Academic Achievement The final grade will be determined through the formula: 𝑦 = 0.2 ⋅ 𝐸1 + 0.2 ⋅ 𝐸2 + 0.3 ⋅ 𝐹 + 0.2 ⋅ 𝐴¯ + 0.07 ⋅ 𝑃 + 0.03 ⋅ 𝐶 where 𝐸1 is exam 1, 𝐸2 is exam 2, 𝐹 is the final, 𝐴¯ is the average of homework problems, 𝑃 is participation, and 𝐶 is company scores. Each component is described in detail below. Exams: Two exams will be administered throughout the semester. The exams will consist of a multiple choice, argument, and long problems. Multiple choice questions will test basic economic vocabulary and elementary relationships. Argument questions will ask the student to reply to a normative statement using economic reasoning taught in class. I may use quotes from recent periodicals and/or blog posts. Finally, long problems will be multi-part and will test whether the student can work through an economic model. Each exam will implicitly be cumulative insofar as the principles of economics are tightly intertwined, but the emphasis will be on the contemporary lesson. Final : The final will explicitly be cumulative, although the emphasis will be slightly more on the latter third of the class. The format will be similar to exams: multiple choice, essay, and long problems. The test is worth slightly more and, thus, will be slightly longer than exams. Assignments: Assignments will be given throughout the semester through the course website. Homework will (usually) be distributed on Tuesday and will be due at the beginning of the following Tuesday. Assignments are not meant to be taxing, but to help the student prepare for exams and the final. Most assignments will involve a question that will resemble an exams long problem. Participation: Students are expected to regularly participate in classes and, if not in class, in out-of-class communication with the professor. Lack of participation and irregular attendance will be especially noticed if the student is struggling in class. The professor will warmly reward struggling students who seek help through email and questions. Company Score: Students will be randomly assigned to companies of 3 to 4 individuals, depending on the final class size. Companies will accumulate points throughout the semester based on exams, assignments, participation, and any other metric the professor feels is appropriate. These activities are meant to be fun and introspective, while being educational. At the end of the semester, points will be assigned as the inverse of company rank multiplied by 100, e.g., first place: (1/1)*100 = 100, second: ()*100 = 50, etc. The company score is especially helpful toward boarderline students.

Final Course 𝐴 = 90 − 100 𝐵 = 80 − 99.9 𝐶 = 70 − 79.9 𝐷 = 60 − 69.9 𝐹 < 60

Missed Exams and Assignments Assignments will be due at the beginning of class every Tuesday and tests will be given on the days denoted below. Late assignments will be penalized 40 percent. Students will be allowed to make up exams ONLY when the professor received prior notification for the inability to complete the exams. In extreme cases where prior notification is impossible, the student must provide written documentationnot by the studentexplaining the absence. Students who miss a test for an unexcused absence will receive a zero.

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Attendance Students will be expected to attend every class. Irregular attendance will be reflected in participation and company exercise scores.

Writing and Critical Thinking Modern economics is intensely mathematics, but few people possess the training to grasp a mathematical model. As such, economics is typically communicated in written periodicals so it is no coincidence that wellknown economists tend to be good writers–e.g., Paul Krugman, Herny James, John Gailbraith, and Milton Friedman. Employers often lament and seek those with sharp writing ability. Although writing ability is hard to notice during an application procedure, employers will often quickly promote those who effectively communicate. This class will challenge student to reply to assertions during an examination. Students will need to synthesize economic theory and writing to convince the professor the original argument was either fallacious or correct. This experience will be different from writing an essay or research paper. Argument portions of the exam will give the student little room to wonder or add fluff.

Tentative Reading and Schedule The most up–to–date reading schedule will be available at the course website (www.tomschenkjr.net). Economics is truly an interdisciplinary subject involving political theory, moral philosophy, mathematics, and elements of all social sciences. This course will be based around the cold logical and mathematical aspects often satirized in TV and movies. However, this class will also overtly emphasis applications of economic theory and briefly highlight the moral philosophy and political philosophy elements. Readings are mandatory and should be completed prior to the beginning of class, with the exception of the first week. Suggested readings are not mandatory, but will help the student understand the mandatory content if needed. The suggested readings will often re-explain the material from a slightly different perspective, much like the function of this sentence to the former sentence. Lastly, voluntary readings are tangential to the topicinteresting, but not necessary knowledge for the class. These readings will delve into political theory, philosophy, and other classical writings that will add to the students comprehensive knowledge. Students will not be tested over the material and absolutely should complete other assignments first. I hope this syllabus will be a resource for the student after the class has been completed.

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