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Department of
Economics ECON 1101 Principles
of Microeconomics Section 001 Summer
Semester – 2004, Lecture: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri Instructor: Salam Abdus and Alma Romero-Barrutieta Office: 1175 Heller Hall Office: 1175 Heller Hall Phone: (612) 624-6084 Phone: (612) 624-6084 E-mail: asalam@econ.umn.edu E-mail: aromero@econ.umn.edu Office Hours: Class Webpage:-http://www.econ.umn.edu/~asalam/Econ1101/(Summer
2004) Recitation: Fri Recitation Leader: Christos Ioannou Office: 1131 Heller Hall E-mail: christos@econ.umn.edu Phone: (612) 625-1049 Office Hours: Fri 10:00 am -12:00 pm. Textbook Principles of Microeconomics, 3rd edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, Thomson South-Western 2004. ISBN 0-324-17188-9. There is a study guide, which is not required but may be useful. Both may be purchased at the University Bookstore on the East Bank. We strongly urge you to review the textbook before the lecture on a given subject, (a suggested reading schedule is attached). As you read, focus on the major concepts and issues: if anything is unclear, make it a point to ask for clarification in class. This familiarity with the material will make our once-a-week lectures much more productive and educational for you. Course
Objectives In this course, we will not teach you how to make money on the stock market or how to successfully start your own business. We will teach you the basic tools of economic reasoning, and help you apply these tools to everyday situations. This course is an introduction to the study of microeconomics. Economics is a social science that studies how people make choices under conditions of scarcity (i.e. both scarcity caused by nature and society). Microeconomics focuses on the decisions of individual consumers and firms. The main purpose of this class is to develop your understanding of microeconomic theory and applications of this theory. By the end of the course, you should have an understanding of the complex issues economists confront, such as minimum wage laws, subsidies for building a stadium, or how to deal with a monopoly like Microsoft. Principles of Microeconomics satisfies the CLE requirements for an International Perspectives Theme course. This is because the modern economy is a closely knit global network. Econ 1101 aims to clarify and explain these worldwide interconnections. Besides the traditional treatment of gains from trade, modern microeconomics offers insight into the world economy. Specifically, analyses of competition, trade-policy, tax policy, and welfare economics include international examples and concepts. Current technology and trade-policy mean that the world acts more and more as one large economy. Econ 1101 reflects these developments by showing students that all current economic decisions are made in the context of a global framework.
Prerequisites Basic algebra skills are assumed. In addition, skill with graphs is extremely helpful. Course
Description This
course is divided in two sessions. The first session is from There will be 4 homework assignments, 1 midterm, and a final. Class attendance is not mandatory, but you are responsible for material covered in lecture and the recitation as well as the assigned reading. Assignments Assignments are due on each Tuesday at the beginning of class, except for the first week. No late assignments will be accepted. Only documented special circumstances (i.e. illness) will exempt you from this rule. If you know in advance that you will not be able to hand in an assignment on time (i.e. you will miss class), you must speak to us (Salam or Alma, whoever is teaching) before the assignment is due and hand it in early. NOTE: All homework must be typed or it will receive a maximum grade of 75%. Christos will grade the homework as normal and then multiply by .75 and record that. Graphs and calculations may be handwritten. We suggest handwritten graphs as a form of practice for the exams. NOTE: Homework not turned in during class should be send by email to Christos by the time it is due. Please ask Christos if you have questions about this. NOTE: You are encouraged to work together. However, case you have to write your own answers to the homework problems and you have to acknowledge the contribution of others (i.e. cite them as a reference). Turning in identical homework will result in a zero for both parties. Similar homework will receive a warning the first time and a zero each additional time. Exams: The
midterm will cover the topics that Salam has covered. The final will cover
the topics that Grading Criteria: Your final grade will be calculated based on the following weights: Homework: 30 % Midterm Exam: 35 % Final Exam: 35 % % Grade 92-100 A 90-91 A - 88-89 B+ 82-87 B 80-81 B- 78-79 C+ 72-77 C 70-71 C- 68-69 D+ 60-67 D 0-59 F We reserve the right to lower these cut-off points (i.e. increase the letter grades for percent-ages), but I will not raise the cut-offs (i.e. make it harder to get good grades). Note: If you feel that you deserve more credit on a particular homework or exam question, you may return it to Christos within one week for re-evaluation. You must attach a note stating specifically why you think you should have earned more points. Schedule (subject to change, please check the web page for a weekly updated calendar) As an overview of the course: 1. We will spend the first week studying the standard tools of economic reasoning: supply, demand and market equilibrium. 2. After the first week, we will begin to apply these tools. First, we learn elasticities. We also see the market at the ideal of perfect competition. There we will observe free markets working at their best. 3. We then look at how governmental intervention affects the market, especially how they reduce the welfare of the society. 4. We also look at several situations in which free markets give undesirable outcomes and ask what might be done instead. 5. The remainder of this course discusses more specialized topics in microeconomics. |
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Date |
Topic (Notes) |
HW |
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06/14 06/15 06/16 06/17 06/18 06/21 06/22 06/23 06/24 06/25 06/28 06/29 06/30 07/01 07/02 07/05 07/06 07/07 07/08 07/09 07/12 07/13 07/14 07/15 07/16 07/19 07/20 07/21 07/22 07/23 |
Introduction (Ch 1&2), -
Interdependence and the Gains from Trade ( - Supply and Demand curves(Ch4) - Market equilibrium(Ch4) - Elasticity(Ch5) - Application of Elasticity(Ch5) - Effect of Government policies (Ch.6) - Consumer and Producer surplus(Ch.7) -
Market Efficiency ( - Cost of Taxation (Ch.8) - Gains from Trade (Ch9) - Effects of Tariffs and Import quotas (Ch 9) - Externalities (Ch 10) - Public goods (Ch 11) -Midterm(in
class) - Consumer Theory: Optimal choices
(Ch 21) - Consumer Theory: Income and substitution Effects (Ch 21) - Producer theory: The costs of production (Ch 13) - Profit maximization: Perfect competition (Ch 14) - Profit maximization: Monopoly (Ch 15) - Monopoly and effects on welfare (Ch 15) - Profit maximization: Natural Monopoly (Ch 15) - Price discrimination (Ch 15) - Real-life examples of monopoly cases (Extra-credit) - Case study: Duopoly and cartels (Ch 16) - Introduction to Game Theory (Ch 16) - Game Theory and oligopolies (Ch 16) - Monopolistic Competition (Ch 17) - Review and catch up - Final Exam (2 hours)(in class) |
Hw #1 assigned Hw #1 due Hw #2 assigned Hw#2 due HW#3 is assigned Due date HW#3 HW#4 is assigned Due date HW#4 |
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The ‘notes’ are the related chapters in the textbook to the concepts that we will cover that day. It is usually helpful to examine the readings BEFORE we cover the topic in class. |
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