ECONOMICS 207 -BLOCK 3, Fall 2001

Course Schedule, Problem Sets, Readings, Solutions, and other Microeconomic Information

Check Your Grades

Class List and Pictures

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The objective of this course is to develop your skills in the use of microeconomic analysis through the investigation of the fundamental economic problem - the allocation of scarce resources. The over-arching concept that we will use throughout the course is marginal analysis; that is, analysis of decisions that consumers and producers make at the margin which will reveal important insight into how resources should be used or consumed. We will examine the conditions for efficient economic allocation and ask whether these conditions are fulfilled in fact.

The development of skills in economic analysis requires practice. Economics is no different than sports, music, or physics in this respect. Just as you cannot expect to become an expert skier without practice, you cannot expect to become facile with economic analysis without solving problems. Fortunately, you will have ample opportunity to work problems and thus develop your analytical skills over the next three and a half weeks.

By the end of the course you should have a solid foundation in microeconomic analysis, which you can apply to issues from international trade, labor, industrial organization to resource and
environmental economics. But more importantly, you should be able to look at many social and economic problems analytically and, in turn, critically evaluate proposals intended to address them.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Homework 16%

Quizzes 16%

Ejournal: 5%

Case Preparation: 10%

Class Participation 5%

Exams (4 - 16% each) 48%

Note: Homework, quizzes and each exam is worth 16% of the total grade. The lowest among the six of these scores will be discarded at the end of the course before calculating your final grade.

It is my expectation that you will come to class each day having read the material assigned for that day in advance of the class meeting. This will facilitate both your understanding and our class discussion of the material.

In addition to the reading assignments, problems will be assigned everyday. Working these problems is your key to understanding microeconomics. The problems on all exams will be very much like the homework problems.

Homework will be collected everyday and reviewed by the course graders. Selected problems will be graded, but not all. It is your responsibility to check your homework against the answers to seek additional explanation if needed.

Homework problems will be reviewed everyday between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.. If you have no problems with the homework you are welcome to join class at 9:30 a.m..

There will be "surprise" quizzes at 9:30 a.m. on most days based on the previous night's homework assignment. The quizzes will be distributed at 9:30 a.m. Quizzes will be graded on a 0-3 point scale. Quizzes will be collected between 9:40 and 9:45 regardless of the time you chose to arrive for class. Additional time for completing a quiz will not be granted to late arrivers.

Each block course at C.C. is expensive and there are relatively few in your four years of undergraduate education. It is important that you participate fully and enthusiastically in the activities of the course if you (and your parents or whoever is paying your tuition) are to receive your full measure of value from it. It is equally important to the other students in the course that you share your opinions and respect theirs, participate in class activities, and otherwise assist in the "joint" learning experience, which can be an important element of the class. A portion of your class grade will be based upon the instructor's evaluation of your participation.

You will learn as much economics as your motivation and efforts allow; for some this will not be enough to pass the course, while for others it will be more than enough to earn an "A." The incentive to learn and explore economics must come from you. The instructor is a resource person who will help guide the class through the material; individual students will take advantage of this resource in different ways according to their motivation and initiative. Remember that the initiative must come from you, after which assistance in many forms can be made available.

You are expected to come to class prepared, namely having read the assigned material and made an effort to understand it. "Read" here means not just a cursory glance, but rather a careful study and check to see that concepts and definitions are firmly understood. In class we will cover some of the more difficult materials and discuss some of the more interesting aspects. These class sessions will not be a comprehensive review or presentation of everything in the assigned readings. You will be expected to raise questions on materials you do not understand. Extra help sessions are possible to review difficult aspects of the course materials.

There will be four exams in the course. Each will have equal value. Your grade will be based upon the three highest of your exam scores. Exams will be closed book and closed note. You may, however, bring a one page "cheat-sheet" to the exam and add to this cheat-sheet as the course progresses. By the last exam you may bring up four pages to the exam. You will need a calculator and straight edge (ruler) to work the exams.

All exams must be turned at within the time limit set for the exam.

It is highly recommended that you study with others in small groups on a regular basis. This will permit active rather than passive learning as you explain concepts to others, have them explain things to you, and debate correct answers and possible test questions. Look around the class for others who are working at the same pace as you, since group study works well only if all members are attuned basically to the same material at the same time. Remember, if you understand the material well enough to explain it to a fellow student, then you truly understand it.

For students having a particularly hard time with the material, a tutor should be considered as early as possible. By close to the end of a block it is usually too late for help to be beneficial.

This is a reminder that as in all academic work at C.C., the Honor Code applies to all work in this course. For exams it means that no assistance can be received or given to other students before, during, or after the exam which would violate the Honor Code. Please take special note of the fact that students not present for an exam will take a make-up before or after the class session. No discussion of the contents or possible answers to an exam is allowed until all students in class have completed that exam. Before you discuss an exam, determine if the other student has also completed the exam. If in doubt, ask before you discuss.

Exceeding the time limit set for an exam will also be considered a violation of the Honor Code.

If you have any questions about the Honor Code or how it might apply in a particular situation, seek clarification from the instructor or a member of the Honor Council.

I use the following method in determining your final grade. First, I add up all points for all assignments for all students in the course. Once I know the high score, I calculate the difference between this score and a score of 95%. I then add this amount to every student's final point total and assignment grades according to the scale below:

A : 93-100

A-: 90-92

B+: 87-89

B : 83-86

B-: 80-82

C+: 77-79

C : 73-76

C-: 70-72

D+: 67-69

D: 63-66

NC: <63

Clearly using this grading system there is always at least one A in the course, sometimes only one, but sometimes many A's. If the highest score in the class exceeds 95% of total points, no points are added to your final scores.

Know: - the theory of consumer and producer behavior in a quantitative and analytical

framework;

• how markets work;
• why markets fail.

Think: - improved ability to identify economic content in general business and public

policy issues;

• an ability to analytically model the economic component of such issues.

Do: - ability to use Excel in solving economic problems;

• ability to understand how economists think.

Feel: - more confident in your analytical abilities;

• strengths and weaknesses of economic way of thinking;
• how economics can be used to make society better off;
• what "value" means in economics.